Will Knaak

William Carter Knaak (born September 23, 1984, Austin, Texas) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who has released his own albums as a solo artist and frontman, and has performed as a sideman in several bands, notably as lead guitarist in the alternative rock band Blue October and on guitar and Pedal steel guitar with country superstar Parker McCollum.

Early life and musical start Knaak was born and raised in Austin, Texas. His father played piano and fronted his own band Mad Knaak and the Revolution, and also briefly played keyboard in The 13th Floor Elevators. His grandmother played violin, and his uncle was a guitar player. When Knaak was eleven, his mother died in a house fire. The group played western swing covers, and even wrote some original songs, releasing the album Deep, Wide, & Forever in 1998. Knaak graduated from Natural Ear Music School in Austin where his teachers included the legendary fiddler Alvin Crow and Texas Music Hall of Famer Johnny X Reed who both promptly invited him to play as sideman at their gigs, and immersed him into the deep history of the Austin blues scene in addition to adding the influences of 50s R&B and surf rock to Knaak's playing.

After a year of performing weekly concerts with Reed's band The Nortons, and Crow's group The Pleasant Valley Boys, at age sixteen Knaak was fronting his own band, Knaak Attack, with bassist Silas Parker and drummer Vincent Ambrosone. Record producer David Dickinson caught one of their shows and offered to produce an album for the group, which they sold on CD-Rs at their concerts throughout their formative years. He credits this as the day when he fully committed himself to pursuing a career in music and never looked back. Later in 2016 Knaak teamed up with a different group of players to record the EP Will Knaak & the Voodoo Exorcists which showcased a hard-edged sound heavily influenced by 90s grunge, The Joshua Tree era U2, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lenny Kravitz, and Jimi Hendrix. Working with Lance Harvill as producer, the band consisted of Chris Gilbreath on rhythm guitar, Keith Long on bass, and Michael Ferguson on drums. In December 2016 Knaak's former teenage band The Knaak Attack played a reunion show and enjoyed the experience so much that they went into the studio and recorded an album, independently releasing it in May 2017. The group played a series of concerts that summer to promote the album. Knaak on stage with Parker McCollum's band at The Fillmore Detroit in 2023. In addition to his solo work, Knaak has been an in-demand sideman and session player in the Austin scene for a diverse array of artists. He played national tours with acts such as Kacy Crowley, Angela Peterson, Johnny Solinger of Skid Row,

Knaak joined Bowen's band for the tour in support of Bowen's 2014 self-titled album, which included an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Knaak then played banjo and guitar on Bowen and Rogers' 2015 collaborative album Hold My Beer Vol. 1, which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Country albums chart, and number 3 on Billboard's Independent Albums Chart. He played on the album's supporting tour "Hold My Beer and Watch This!" and continued as a member of Bowen's band until 2018. Inspired by the birth of his daughter, and unable to tour during the COVID-19 pandemic, Knaak recorded a solo album Live in Lockdown Vol. 1 which he released via Bandcamp on June 23, 2020. On April 29, 2022 Knaak self-released a jazz-influenced minimalist instrumental album entitled Lonely Lo-Fi. In November 2022 Knaak launched a kickstarter campaign for his next solo album Dying Day which he described as a "gritty, soulful, bluesy, and roots-based". The campaign raised over $20,000, double the initial goal. Knaak's goal was to record the album by June 2023 and release it in 2024. As of August 2023, the recording sessions are complete, and the album will be mixed by Blue October's recording engineer Eric Holtz in mid 2023, in preparation for a 2024 release.

In June–July 2022, Knaak toured as a sideman in Parker McCollum's band, which included several dates opening for Thomas Rhett. Following the tour, he accepted an offer to be full-time guitarist in McCollum's band starting in December 2022.

In 2026 Knaak toured as a member of Ty Myers' backing band.

Blue October and related projects

Through his extensive session work in Austin, Knaak befriended local producer and studio owner Matt Noveskey. When Noveskey's band Blue October found themselves in need of a guitarist in February 2018, Knaak jumped at the opportunity. He toured North America and Europe for Blue October's I Hope You’re Happy tour in 2018–2019, and his first album with the group, Live From Manchester was released in November 2019. In 2020 Knaak played lead guitar on Blue October's tenth album This is What I Live For and received co-writing credit for the song "Stay with Me". In a 2020 interview, Blue October frontman Justin Furstenfeld said Knaak is probably the most talented guitarist Blue October has ever had, calling him a "true professional guitarist". Along with Noveskey and Blue October's drum technician Charley Seiss, Knaak is also a member of the Ryan Delahoussaye-fronted side project The Meeting Place, which played their first shows in August 2019. He also contributed guitar to Matt Noveskey's side project Icarus Bell, co-writing the band's debut single "Aces".

The Statesboro Revue A Different Kind of Light

Wes Hayden Full Circle

Jon Wolfe It All Happened in a Honky Tonk

Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen Hold My Beer Vol. 1

Royal Southern Brotherhood Don't Look Back: The Muscle Shoals Sessions

Pauline Reese Just Getting Started

Will Knaak The Only Open Road

Will Knaak & the Voodoo Exorcists Will Knaak & the Voodoo Exorcists

Knaak Attack Knaak Attack

Blue October I Hope You're Happy

Blue October King

Jake Lloyd MoonLit Mornings

Blue October Live From Manchester

Will Knaak Live in Lockdown Vol. 1

Blue October This Is What I Live For

Lia Catallo In My Fantasies

Will Knaak Lonely Lofi

Blue October Spinning the Truth Around (Part I)

Durawa One Human Race

Will Knaak Dying Day