Peter Neri Introduces Us To Five Artists You Should Get To Know Who Are Solo Guitar Instrumentalists
Peter Neri began playing the electric guitar in Connecticut rock groups that opened for some nationally known acts. When his bands broke up, Peter moved West and performed in a band and also as a solo folk/blues performer in California and Montana.
Moving back East to Vermont, Peter married, had a family and worked for years in the corporate world as a technical writer. As happens with many musicians, music had to take a back seat in those years. He did manage to play for a few years in a rock and roll band while still working a day job. Circumstances and events culminated when the rock band broke up and Peter retired from his "money-making" job.
Having played traditional classical guitar pieces, he continued writing music for the new acoustic guitar.
With such a rich background of musical experiences, Peter now plays acoustic guitar in a style that is a marriage of many disciplines. Peter sites the following diverse group of guitarists as major musical influences on his playing style: Leo Kottke, Eric Clapton, Christopher Parkening, Eliot Fisk, Jimi Hendrix, Preston Reed, Chet Atkins, Keola Beamer, Tommy Emmanuel and Michael Hedges.
Peter's third solo acoustic guitar CD (July, 2019),
Rough Edges, is a mix of hard-hitting, imaginative, amusing, and melodic numbers that break new ground in the world of solo acoustic guitar instrumental compositions.
Peter's second CD, Dreaming of Home, is a lyrical collection of new instrumental guitar pieces. Following a background theme of the ups and downs of raising children, Peter dedicates Dreaming of Home to working parents everywhere.
The release of Night Visions was Peter's first solo acoustic guitar CD and is a merry mix of styles comprised of all original compositions for the "new" acoustic guitar.
Website: www.peterneriguitar.com
Peter presents a weekly radio show called One Guitar, it's a show that highlights the music and the magic that is created and performed on a single guitar with no accompaniment. By playing guitar music in different genres, it is probably the longest running, still active music show of its kind anywhere. Only instrumental guitar music is aired on this show.
One Guitar originates from South Royalton, Vermont on WFVR, 96.5FM, serving the local communities in and around South Royalton, Vermont, it also airs twice a week worldwide on Blues & Roots Radio.
Website: www.peterneriguitar.com/one-guitar
CHRISTIE LENÉE
Singer, songwriter and renowned fingerstyle guitarist Christie Lenée is more than a musician – she’s an experience. Symphonic compositions flow from her fingertips effortlessly, with sound ranging from transcendental folk-pop to virtuosic instrumentals. Her recent title of Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2019 awarded by Music Radar Magazine out of the UK, has launched Christie’s career towards international stardom.
Christie is often described as ‘Michael Hedges meets Joni Mitchell and Dave Matthews,” integrating melodic pop lyricism with catchy hooks and percussive, harmonic textures. As an Official Showcase Artist at Folk Alliance International consistently logging a number of major festivals, events, opera houses and theaters nationwide, Christie Lenée performs with radiant joy that awes crowds and inspires fellow musicians.
Christie has also shared stages with Tim Reynolds (Dave Matthews Band), Andy McKee, and Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) to name a few, who have all raved about her talents. Her first-place victory in the acclaimed 2017 International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship has earned her featured coverage in Guitar Player Magazine, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Premier Guitar and Vintage Guitar. She has released five albums, with “STAY” one of three finalists for “Best CD of 2016” (Indie Acoustic Project Awards). The album includes three instrumentals produced by Grammy Award Winning producer Will Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records, and a music video for the title track supporting a movement on suicide prevention.
In 2018 Christie released an arrangement of Ed Sheeran’s “Castle on the Hill” which garnered media attention across several Digital Publications.
During the pandemic, Christie is currently working on a solo album in addition to collaborative tracks with artists such as Tommy Emmanuel, Phil Keaggy and Laurence Juber.
In July 2020 she was featured on the Grammy Museum’s virtual program streaming from Los Angeles, along with another 4-page article in Guitar Player Magazine. With over 16,500 fans on Facebook and over a million plays on YouTube, Christie continues to spread the love of music through live streams, digital airplay and virtual appearances on television stations. As an artist, she hopes to bring joy, freedom, and light to the world though the love of music.
MAKANA
Born and raised in Hawaii, his guitar playing has been featured on three Grammy-nominated albums, including the soundtrack of the Academy-Award winning film "The Descendants", starring George Clooney.
In 2008, he was second runner up in Guitar Player Magazine's Guitar Superstar competition eliciting praise from judges Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Elliot Easton. In 2012, he was awarded one of Hawaii's top musical honours: a Na Hoku Ki Ho'alu (Slack Key) Legacy Award (Hawaii's “Grammy”) by the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts.
Makana began singing when he was seven years old, took up 'ukulele at nine and began learning the indigenous art of slack key guitar at eleven. A protégé of slack key guitar legends, including Bobby Moderow Jr. and the late master Uncle Sonny Chillingworth, Makana has dedicated his life to perpetuating as well as evolving the traditional Hawaiian art form of slack key guitar. From this tradition, Makana has evolved his own dynamic style, coined "Slack Rock": slack key infused with elements of bluegrass, rock, blues and raga. Makana's playing has garnered praise from such guitar luminaries as Kirk Hammett (Metallica) and Pepe Romero (Spanish Flamenco Master).
His debut album “Makana” was released in 1999; it won the Best World Music Album Award at the Hawaii Music Awards. It was followed by “Koi Au” in 2002 (“A landmark musical statement” – Star Bulletin) and “Ki Ho’alu: Journey of Hawaiian Slack Key” in 2003. Soon thereafter Makana contributed to the Grammy-nominated albums “Hawaiian Slack Key Kings I & II”. In 2008, his first all-original release “Different Game” came out and in 2009 he released a 20th anniversary slack key guitar instrumental compilation, “Venus, and the Sky Turns to Clay”.
His latest album Ripe was released in 2013 and funded by fans through the online crowd sourcing platform Kickstarter. It was produced by multi-platinum producer Ron Nevison (The Who, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones) and renowned producer Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt), with arrangements by Grammy-award winning keyboardist, composer, and arranger Jeff Bova (Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton).
Makana has toured with or opened for acts such as Jason Mraz, Santana, Elvis Costello, Paul Rodgers, Sting, No Doubt, Jack Johnson, Chris Isaak, John Legend and more
FRANCESCO BUZZURO
Francesco Buzzurro (born October 7, 1969, in Taormina, Italy) is an Italian guitarist.
Buzzurro began studying classical guitar at the age of six. He earned a diploma from the Bellini Conservatory in Palermo, and later obtained a Master of Advanced Music from the International Arts Academy in Rome. There he was taught by musicians such as Stefano Palamidessi, David Russell, Alberto Ponce, Hopkinson Smith, and John Duarte.
He writes music for theatre and television and appears on radio and television programs. Indiana Productions, owners of Muccino-Brothers, chose the music of Buzzurro for the film Io ricordo
MANELI JAMAL
Award winning guitarist Maneli Jamal has wowed audiences around the world with his visual style of playing acoustic guitar. He incorporates many musical textures in his performances while keeping rhythm with his two hands but you'll swear he has a trio with him. You've got to visually see him live to experience what you thought is possible with the acoustic guitar. He has just reached 40 million Spotify plays, 5 million video views and 100,000+ followers on social media sites making him an artist to watch for.
Guitarist Maneli Jamal has lived in five different countries (Iran, Belarus, Germany, USA, Canada) and moved twenty times by the time he was 18. He's gained a sense of musical maturity rarely seen among his peers especially when he transforms his nomadic life experiences into musical movements. There aren’t many players in his style that have his balance of power and sensitivity, nor his breadth of ideas. His rhythmic concepts can be alternately short and dense, or explored carefully through several movements and real life stories. This becomes evident with having won countless music competitions around the world including most recently placing 1st at Canada’s Soundclash Music Awards. Maneli was also named one of the world's top 30 guitarists under 30 by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
Having been brought up in an artistic and musical family has contributed to shape his unique and comical story telling approach in live settings. He has already performed in 5 continents and 17 countries as a soloist, has a signature model acoustic guitar named after him and was on the front cover of 2015 Toronto magazine (500,000 copies distributed worldwide). Maneli's music is played all throughout Spotify playlists like the popular Peaceful Guitar and Acoustic Concentration.
He is a six-time recipient of Canada Council grants, six-time recipient of Ontario Council grants and seven-time recipient of Toronto Arts Council grants.
The world is his home and he plays from one end to the other.
JOE ROBINSON
Born into a musical family in the bush country of Temagog, Australia, Robinson began playing guitar when he was just nine years old, eagerly exploring the Internet to expand and deepen his craft. At the age of 13 he won the Australian National Songwriting Competition, and at 15 released his first collection of original material. A monumental achievement followed when he won first place on the “Australia's Got Talent” television show. It came with a $250,000 grand prize.
By his eighteenth birthday Robinson had played more than 1,000 shows, and by the time he celebrated his twenty-fourth he had played over 2,000, an incredible total number of performances logged in a comparatively brief professional career.
Robinson was invited to come to Nashville by his mentor and inspirational savant Tommy Emmanuel. In 2009, for his debut album Time Jumpin’, Robinson chose to work with Brad Paisley producer Frank Rogers. At that same time, he was awarded the Senior Grand Champion Performer of the World award at the World Championship of Performing Arts in Hollywood, where no less than 70,000 contestants vied for the top prize.
Such high praise and recognition hardly dampened Robinson’s creative energy. In 2011 he released Let Me Introduce You, produced again by Frank Rogers, where his deep excursions into acoustic and electric music only served to solidify his growing reputation as a creative genius.
Various EP projects followed, most significantly Gemini Vol. 2 on which Robinson played every instrument, and produced and mixed all songs. He also deftly expanded his craft as an accomplished vocalist and lyricist, continuing to compose songs that vividly reveal his varied influences, from bluesy shuffles to jazz-tinged solos and truly celestial musical musings that stir and awaken the soul.
Robinson's popularity has rapidly grown as he continues to tour nationally and internationally, treating audiences to his rare virtuosity on guitar and his beautiful singing voice. His fluid and inimitable style has delighted audiences around the world, garnering high praise and prestigious awards from the international music community.
More artists from around the world you should get to know