About Ander Zubillaga
Ander Zubillaga bere bakarkako lehen kontzertuan. Argazkia: Ainhoa Orkaizagirre
Ander Zubillaga is a guitarist and singer from Tolosa, born in 1990. He has been part of numerous bands in the Basque Country and has collaborated with many others (Governors, Xabi Solano, Izaro, Huntza, Postal Kolekzionistak, Esanezin, Mikel Moreno, Iker Lauroba, Sorotan Bele Gogoan, Zesuma…). He has been making a living professionally from music for more than 14 years.
He began studying accordion at the age of 8 at the Isidro Larrañaga Musika Eskola in Tolosa, where he spent six years. He was a member of the Isidro Larrañaga Accordion Orchestra and took part in several competitions, as well as European tours. A few years later, in 2007, he developed an interest in learning guitar, and he has never put it down since. He completed his professional studies at the Escudero Conservatory in Donostia with professor Jorge González, and upon finishing, he joined the management team of the aforementioned Isidro Larrañaga Musika Eskola. Today, Ander is the director and owner of the school.
After playing in many bands of very different styles, during the summer when his second child, Elur, was about to be born, Ander began shaping his own project. When Elur was born, he inspired him to finish a song he had started, and he decided to record it on video. That was the small push he needed to launch the project, after which he released Itsasoan Elurra, his first solo album, in November 2023.
This album is made up of songs created over the years, pieces inspired by his experiences and the important people in his life. With fingerstyle as the main thread, he enjoys blending blues, country and rock. Guitarists like Joe Bonamassa, Chet Atkins, El Twanguero and Tommy Emmanuel have had a strong influence on his playing style and also on his way of composing.
He recorded Itsasoan Elurra with a band, but for live shows he decided to perform solo — with the intention of sounding like a full group. To achieve this, he uses his acoustic guitar as percussion, a stompbox (a pedal that creates a kick drum sound), a tambourine and a looper (a pedal for recording live). It’s a style rarely seen in the Basque Country, and he felt it could be very striking for the audience.
In his first year he played around 25 concerts, performing at festivals such as TolosandBlues and Arrasate Blues, and also in Madrid and Toledo.
In December 2024 he was invited to open El Twanguero’s concert in Donostia — a very special moment for him, as El Twanguero had been a reference for years. The concert took place at Dklub. Although he originally intended to record only two live videos to showcase his live sound, the quality he achieved that day and the uniqueness of the event led him to release Ander Zubillaga Live, including all the songs performed at the show.
The album was released on March 26th, 2025, on Ander’s 35th birthday. A few months later, in May, he had the chance to play alongside the “god” of fingerstyle, Tommy Emmanuel, at his Guitar Camp in Rome. Ander performed his own piece Mare and Cannonball Rag, the latter a well-known Merle Travis tune often considered a sort of fingerstyle anthem.
Ander Zubillaga gitarra perkusio modura erabiltzen. Argazkia Josetxo Perez.