“I’m the lucky one, because I’m still playing music,” says virtuoso guitarist and songwriter Alejandro Escovedo about his surviving Hepatitis C. “I learned the hardships of falling short. But I can look back and not be ashamed by any of it.” Escovedo has just released one of the best albums of his career and is currently playing to some of the biggest crowds of his life while opening for Dave Matthews Band. Click below for more on Escovedo, including the story behind the song “Chelsea.”

• Alejandro Escovedo Mines His Glam Punk Past