Born John Peter Petrucci on July 12, 1967, he grew up in Kings Park, New York, a small suburban town on Long Island where he began playing guitar at age 12. His early influences included Steve Morse, Al Di Meola, Steve Howe, Allan Holdsworth, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Randy Rhoads, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Alex Lifeson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Rush, Yes, Iron Maiden, The Dregs and Metallica. At age 18 after graduating from high school, he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston along with schoolmate/bassist John Myung where they fatefully met drummer Mike Portnoy and quickly formed the nucleus of what was to become Dream Theater.

As a guitar player, John has been featured on the cover of numerous guitar publications throughout the world including the March 2019 and December 2021 issues of Guitar World and the January 2020 issue of Guitar Player. He’s received many notable awards including the 2007 Guitarist of the Year as named by the readers of Total Guitar magazine and Best Metal Guitarist in the 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards poll in Guitar Player magazine. John was named Best Metal Guitarist again in the 2011 Guitar Player’s Reader’s Choice Awards poll and one of the 20 Greatest Metal Guitarists Ever in a 2011 poll for Total Guitar as well as being voted Best Guitarist in Classic Rock Presents Prog Magazine’s 2011 readers poll. In 2013 John was voted Best Shredder in Guitar World’s Reader’s Poll and in 2014 John secured his place in the magazine’s Hall Of Fame. In 2019 John was included in Guitar World’s 20 Best Guitarists Of The Decade issue and was voted #1 guitarist in the UK’s Prog magazine reader’s poll. He was also named Guitarist Of The Year in Spain’s Mariskal Rock magazine and voted #1 Prog Guitarist In The World Today by MusicRadar. In 2020 and in 2021, John was voted the #1 Guitarist in Japan’s BURRN! magazine reader’s poll. In 2021 he was named Guitarist Of The Year by the readers of Prog Magazine.

John has been awarded Best Prog Guitarist by MusicRadar for 2 years in a row, first in 2020 and then in 2021.
In 2019 John was proud and honored to be named the recipient of the SENA Performer’s European Guitar Award and was presented the award at the prestigious annual event held in Bergen Op Zoom in The Netherlands. Past year’s recipients have been Brian May, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Vai, Slash, Steve Lukather and Joe Satriani. On September 12, 2019, John received the Chris Squire Virtuoso Award at the 2019 Progressive Music Awards held at the famous Underglobe in London.

John met his wife Rena Sands in 1989 and the two would later marry in September 1993. Rena is the guitarist and founding member of the all-female metal band Meanstreak.

Outside of music, John’s passions include bodybuilding, bearding, bbq, and all things Disney. He currently resides on Long Island, New York with his family.