Steve Rothery

Steve Rothery is an English guitarist and the longest-serving member of neo-progressive rock band Marillion; he has appeared on each of the band's albums since 1983's Script for a Jester's Tear. In the world of prog rock, he is one of the most respected and influential guitarists; his atmospheric textures and soaring, emotive solos make up the band's signature sound. Outside Marillion, Rothery formed Wishing Tree with vocalist/lyricist Hannah Stobau and released two albums: 1996's Carnival of Souls and 2012's Ostara. In 2013 the self-released Steve Rothery Band Live in Plovdiv appeared and was followed in 2014 by the instrumental solo album The Ghosts of Pripyat. Rothery has played on recordings by metal bands Swallow the Sun and Vanden Plas. He has played in guitarist Steve Hackett's Genesis Revisited band since Genesis Revisited II in 2012. In 2018 he played on Hackett's Broken Skies, Outspread Wings, and in 2025 on The Lamb Stands Up: Live at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2026 Rothery and Hackett released the duo album The Roaring Waves. Rothery was born and raised in Yorkshire. He began playing guitar at 15 and discovered prog rock via the Alan Freeman show on BBC Radio 1. In 1979 he saw an ad in the music press for a band called Silmarillion in need of a guitarist. He auditioned successfully and joined. The band shortened its name to Marillion. They charted out of the box with 1983's Top Ten Script for a Jester's Tear. They've been together ever since and have released more than two-dozen studio and live albums. Rothery continued playing with Fish and appeared on numerous albums between 1993 and 2018. He also started a solo project, the Wishing Tree (with Hannah Stobau on vocals and lyrics), and released the albums Carnival of Souls (1996) and Ostara (2009). In 2011 Rothery founded the British Guitar Academy for the purpose of bringing together "some of Britain's top guitarists to pass on their hard-won knowledge and experience" to a wider audience through a series of workshops and masterclasses. The aim is to concentrate not just on technique but also creativity and individuality." In 2012, Rothery joined Hackett's live Genesis Revisited project and played on Genesis Revisited II and doom metal outfit Swallow the Sun's New Moon. In 2013, Rothery played on Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith and took his own band on the road. He privately issued the Steve Rothery Band Live in Plovdiv, and in 2014 followed with the release of the widely acclaimed instrumental solo studio album The Ghosts of Pripyat. The seven-track set featured four guitarists including Hackett, Steven Wilson, and David Foster. That band, sans guests Hackett and Wilson, cut the concert offering Live at Bush Hall and Live in Rome later that year. Between 2015 and 2018, Rothery played on studio and live albums by RaneStrane including A Space Odyssey (Starchild Final Part). In addition to Marillion's busy recording and touring schedules, Rothery found time to do session work with artists ranging from prog metal's Ayreon to Rick Armstrong of Edison's Children. In 2021, Armstrong played on The Steve Rothery Band: Live in London. Rothery played on subsequent Armstrong albums as well. The SRB independently released three more live dates from their German tour in 2024: Live in Cologne, Live in Frankfurt, and Live in Hamburg. The following year, Rothery appeared on Bioscope's Gentō, and rejoined Hackett's band for The Lamb Stands Up: Live at the Royal Albert Hall. In August 2026, Rothery and Hackett completed and released the instrumental album The Roaring Waves. The deeply atmospheric, instrumental, seven-track album was shaped by memory, imagination, and the elemental power of the sea. It had been written spontaneously in studio, but given busy touring and recording schedules, it took eight years to complete. Other musicians on the set included drummer Leon Parr, bassist/drummer Danielle Pomo, and keyboardist Ricardo Romano. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi