Guitar virtuoso, singer-songwriter, and record producer, Nuno Bettencourt rose to international prominence as guitar player with the multi-platinum rock band EXTREME. To date, the Grammy-nominated band is one of the most successful rock acts of the early to mid 1990s selling over 8 million records worldwide. Nuno penned the acoustic ballad “More Than Words” that went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and “Hole Hearted” that reached #4 on the same chart.
Outside of EXTREME, Nuno has written, produced and performed with many artists. He was personally recruited by Rihanna to be her guitar player and touring music director on her past 4 mega-world tours. Nuno performed with Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler at the 21st Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, honoring children’s rights activists Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai. Nuno has also preformed with Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Janet Jackson, Perry Farrell and many others.
In December 1990, Washburn Guitars unveiled the Washburn N4 Nuno Bettencourt Signature Series Guitar- a series of Bettencourt-designed guitars which endures today. The N4 is the flagship guitar for Washburn. Nuno also has his own signature series amp he designed through Randall Amplification called the NBKing.