The creators of Guitar Center Sessions are musicians themselves, so they have a very clear goals in mind when it comes to their nationally aired program: The want it to be the best sounding music show on the air, they want to give artists a platform to expose their music and they want to bypass the usual sensationalist television schtick.

“We wanted to make this show about the art,” says Executive Producer of 'Sessions, Dustin Hinz. “We're musicians so we [wanted to make it so] when you watch the show, you're actually inspired to pick up an instrument.”

To do that, they recruit artists that, as Hinz says “have a sincere level of musicianship.” And if you want to find artists that still play their instruments and write their own songs in a musical climate saturated with vocal-based pop music, you need look no further than our scene.

“Bands like Frank Turner and Asking Alexandria and Alkaline Trio [who are all featured on this season of Guitar Center Sessions] are inspiring the next generation of musicians the same way that a guy like Joe Walsh might have—a nd to this day still does, but definitely did back in the ‘60s and ‘70s when he was the same age as the bands today.”

—

This season's airing schedule:

JUNE 21 ALKALINE TRIO

JUNE 28 TALIB KWELI

JULY 12 ASKING ALEXANDRIA

JULY 19 ALL TIME LOW

JULY 26 THENEWNO2

—

Today, we’re giving you a preview of this Friday’s session, featuring Alkaline Trio with a performance clip of their classic and fan-beloved “Cringe,” the opening track from the band’s debut full-length, Goddamnit!.

“[Cringe] is a pretty fun, high-energy tune, and the few fans we had at the time [we released it] really responded to it,” says Alkaline Trio vocalist/bassist Dan Andriano. “I love playing it to this day because it reminds me of that energy and the connection we began to share with the crowd, which is something we've strived to maintain to this day.”

Of collaborating with Guitar Center for the session, Andriano adds:

“Besides stopping by multiple Guitar Centers on every tour we've ever done, we were fortunate enough to do “Live At Guitar Center” last year. It was an acoustic performance and fun, but we were excited to come back for a full plugged in set on Guitar Center Sessions around the release of our new record, My Shame Is True.

“We are fans of the show and it was on our wish list, so when the opportunity came up, we jumped on it. The performances of the new songs are the first time those were played live, actually.”

Tune in this Friday, June 21, at 9 p.m. ET to catch ‘Trio’s session on Direct TV!