David Lord at MKeUltra in Milwaukee on July 20, 2026

David Lord is a fascinating guitarist and composer who straddles the line between jazz and composed modern classical guitar music in a way that fascinates me. His compositions are often brief, sometimes with the spare directness of a Webern piece and sometimes with a full serving of effusive and dynamic joy.

This blog was fortunate enough to cover his spectacular St Patrick's Day 2024 appearance at the Jazz Gallery, performing before Andrew Trim's group Hanami. This appearance at MKeUltra also included Trim -- in fact the final piece on this recording is an improvised duet with the two guitarists.

Purchase his most recent album here.

Recording information:

DAVID LORD


2026-07-20
Milwaukee, WI
MKeUltra

David Lord: guitar
Andrew Trim: guitar (track 8 only)

Setlist:
01 Wolf’s Milk Slime Mold / Brush Footed Butterfly (6:41)
02 Old Man of the Woods (3:32)
03 Mossy Maze Polypore / Tapering Russula (7:16)
04 The Forest Butterfly (3:23)
05 Humble Mushroom (3:39)
06 Amethyst Deceiver (2:59)
07 Crown Rust (2:08)
08 Rabbit Hole (8:44)

Total time = 38:22

Recorded with kind permission of the artists by Richard Hayes for the blog www.milwaukeetaper.com

Microphones: Line Audio CM3 in ORTF

Additional source: Soundboard feed from Andy
Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii
Software: Audacity, Fission, xAct

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video of David performing at Elastic in Chicago in March 2024: