A virtuosic Russian guitarist whose dazzling fingerstyle technique invokes names like Alex de Grassi and Michael Hedges, Alexandr Misko first caught the public's attention via his finger-tapped YouTube rendition of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," which went viral in 2016. Born in 1997 in the southern city of Krasnodar, Misko draws inspiration from a wide array of artists (including minimalists Steve Reich and Philip Glass) and styles (technical death metal, shoegaze, cloud rap, chillstep, new age). Shortly after his Jackson cover caught fire, he released an album of original material called The Songs of Adolescence. His sophomore effort, 2017's Beyond the Box, included some of his most popular cover songs, including renderings of Wham!'s "Careless Whisper," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and the aforementioned "Billie Jean," all of which were delivered via his signature fingerstyle method. ~ James Christopher Monger