 | Acoustic Music Festival Catfish Keith Tickets: $20 (donation)
 Catfish Keith (courtesy photo) Catfish's innovative style of foot-stomping, deep delta blues and American roots music garners acclaim from all circles. His first recording (on Kicking Mule, in 1984), Catfish Blues, reached Number One on independent worldwide radio charts. The all-solo debut established him as a new force in acoustic blues, enabling him to play and tour continually, and to learn directly from legends such as Johnny Shines, David Honeyboy Edwards, Jesse Mae Hemphill and Henry Townsend. A two-time W. C. Handy Blues Award nominee for Best Acoustic Blues Album, he now has fourteen highly-acclaimed albums to his credit, including his latest, Put on a Buzz (on Fish Tail). He is a 2008 inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame. He has performed solo at numerous major music festivals, and has appeared with John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor, Taj Mahal , Leo Kottke, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Johnny Shines and many others. Catfish picked up delta blues guitar after hearing the iconic Son House. Hailing from Davenport, Iowa, he embarked on his lifelong path as a solo performer of American roots music. But travels in the Caribbean brought a wealth of island sounds, rhythms, jazz, calypso, reggae and the music of Joseph Spence, inspiring Catfish to new musical heights. He grew up on the Mississippi River; but he earned his moniker from a West-Indian lobster diver who, seeing him swim, dubbed him "Catfish-Steel-Guitar-Man." Catfish Keith constantly tours, and his music is heard in the USA and abroad. He is a major endorser for National Reso-Phonic Guitars. He’s also a respected educator, doing guitar workshops, master classes and blues in schools throughout the world. Quotes "Known to work his audiences to the bone, Catfish Keith is the real acoustic blues king!" -Rock 'n' Reel "Pulling blues out of the sky, Catfish lays down a foot-stomping groove. One of the most exciting guitarists of any genre." -Acoustic Guitar "One of the finest acoustic bluesmen in America. Every fan of acoustic blues should have all of his discs in their collection. Every record label in America should be engaged in a bidding war. This man is flat-out spectacular!" -Big City Blues "Catfish bends entire chords as well as the neck and body of his guitar to wrench emotion from his songs. Knock yourself out!” -Guitar Player “For Catfish Keith, a resonator guitar is an organic extension of his body, an instrument he plays intuitively and with absolute authority. Manhandling Delta vamps, artfully finger picking rag-influenced Piedmont patterns and languidly chording ballads, Catfish is one of the premier pre-war style guitarists recording today.” - Living Blues Catfish Keith’s website can be visited at www.catfishkeith.com |
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