It all began...

• October 2018, Age 5, Russell first picked up the acoustic guitar. Purchased by his dad so they could play together. 
  
• October 2021, Age 8, six months after losing his dad to cancer, Russell discovered & first played electric guitar and enrolled at School of Rock for lessons.
  
• August 2023, Age 9, attended his first concert and was transformed by the live music of Metallica & Pantera at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
  
• September 2023, end-of-season performance with his School of Rock’s Green Day tribute band.
  
• October 2023, attended Power Trip festival to see legendary artists AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, TOOL, Guns n’ Roses and Metallica.
  
• November 2023, solo guitar performance of Metallica’s ‘Seek and Destroy’ for his 4th Grade class.
  
• November 2023, attended the Metallica shows in Detroit, Michigan where he met Anthony & Louis Noguera, the filmmakers of the Nothing Else Matters documentary and began working with them as a featured story in their film about the healing power of metal & Metallica’s music.
  
• December 2023, met the members of Southern California’s Metallica tribute band, Damage, Inc. in Santa Fe Springs, California, who he remains friends with to this day.
  
• December 2023, solo guitar performance of Metallica’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ for his elementary’s all-school holiday assembly.
  
• February 2024, end-of-season performance with his School of Rock’s Van Halen tribute band at age 10, he was the youngest in his band.
  
• February 2024, met & zoom-called with UK-based metal guitarist Andy James, was gifted a lifetime membership to the Andy James Guitar Academy. 
  
• February 2024, open mic night performance at School of Rock of an original piece, inspired by Andy James.
  
• February 2024, attended the “G3 Tour” where he saw legendary guitarists Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson perform live in San Diego.
  
• February 2024, attended the Mammoth WVH / Nita Strauss in St. Louis, MO where he met Nita Strauss and discussed songwriting.
  
• March 2024, played lead guitar on songs by AC/DC, Neil Young and Iron Butterfly with his “11 & Under” All-Star House Band performance for his elementary school.
  
• March 2024, first trip to Nashville, TN to visit Carter Vintage Guitars, Gruhn Guitars and Gibson Garage.
  
• April 2024, end-of-season performance on lead guitar with his School of Rock’s ‘Garage Rock’ band at Vail Ranch Headquarters in Temecula, California.
  
• April 2024, first-ever stage-dive! Courtesy of his friend, lead singer Raghunath (Ray) Cappo at Shelter Band’s show in Huntington Beach, California
  
• April 2024, pulled on stage to dance with legendary Blues guitarist, Eric Gales while he played at the Southern California Jazz and Blues Festival in Murrieta, California.
  
• April 2024, on the rail for the historic Slipknot show at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, California where they unveiled their new drummer, Eloy Casagrande to a tiny audience of less than 600 people.
  

Cont'd...

• August 2024, pulled on stage by Lars Ulrich at the Metallica concert at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois where he rocked out with the band while sitting on Lars’ drumkit for the entirety of ‘The Unforgiven.’
  
• August 2024, met the members of progressive metal band, Mastodon, at The Forum in Los Angeles, California.
• September 2024, end-of-season performance with his School of Rock Temecula’s ‘Blues Band’ where he played lead guitar on Led Zeppelin’s ‘Traveling Riverside Blues.’
  
• October 2024, met the members of his favorite death metal band, Gojira at Korn’s 25th anniversary show in Los Angeles, California.
  
• October 2024, attended Aftershock Festival to see legendary artists such as Slayer, Pantera, Slipknot, Lorna Shore, Anthrax, and Evanescence. 
  
• November 2024, met the members of modern metal band, Lifecycles Texas in Huntington Beach, California, who he remains friends with to this day.
  
• November 2024, launched his instagram account @russellwatsonguitar, to begin sharing his metal music & message of healing with the world.
  
• December 2024, met legendary guitarist & one of his biggest musical influences, Zakk Wylde at the Zakk Sabbath show in Riverside, California.
  
• December 2024, attended Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation benefit concert hosted by Jason Momoa at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles benefiting organizations such as Support and Feed, Montana Pool Service and Homeboy Industries.
  
• January 2025, attended his first NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Center. 
  
• January 2025, end-of-season performance with his School of Rock Temecula’s Metallica Tribute Band where he played lead guitar on ‘Wherever I May Roam,’ ‘Sad But True,’ ‘Enter Sandman,’ and ‘King Nothing.’
  
• March 2025, traveled to Fresno, California where he met the owners of the American Music Fresno music store and purchased an ESP Arrow-200 with his first Floyd Rose tremolo.
  
• April 2025, collaboration with Positive Grid Amplifiers to help launch their new Spark NEO bluetooth amplifier headphones. 
  
• May 2025, returned to Nashville, TN to visit Carter Vintage Guitars & Gibson Garage, and to attend the Metallica / Limp Bizkit / Pantera shows. 
  
• May 2025, artist for Metallica, Tony Squindo, included Russell’s artwork in his presentation about his work for the band & honored Russell in his talk at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
  
• June 2025, met the members of Pantera, one of his all-time favorite bands and biggest musical influences, at Mercedes-Benz arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
  
• June 2025, met Lead Singer of Lamb of God and author, D. Randy Blythe, at his book release and spoken word at House of Blues San Diego.
  
• June 2025, met Lead Singer of Metallica, James Hetfield, backstage at the show in Santa Clara, California.
• July 2025, attended Back to the Beginning, Ozzy Osbourne’s final show, in Birmingham, England where he saw legendary artists such as Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Lamb of God, Gojira, Anthrax, Mastodon, and Alice in Chains.

Cont'd...

• July 2025, attended the first-ever screening of the Metallica documentary he is featured in, the Nothing Else Matters Film, in London, England.
• July 2025, discovered by Gibson President & CEO, César Gueikian when he was playing guitar at the Gibson Garage in London, England and offered a place as an endorsed Gibson Artist.
• July 2025, invited by Lead Guitarist Mark Morton of Lamb of God to watch their show from side-stage in the band’s hometown of Richmond, VA so Russell could learn more about what goes into a professional performance.
• October 2025, met Lead Guitarist Richie Faulkner and Drummer Scott Travis of Judas Priest, one of his biggest musical influences, at The Forum in Los Angeles, California.
• November 2025, invited by Gibson to be a G3 Artist (Gibson Generation Group Class of 2027).