AL PETTEWAY
Our Grammy-winning Guitar Week coordinator, Al Petteway, was voted #27 in a list of the top 50 acoustic guitarists of all time by readers of Acoustic Guitar Magazine. He is comfortable playing most styles of traditional and popular music, performing solo or as a sideman with some of the biggest names in the music industry. He is featured on dozens of recordings including his own CDs, music books and instructional videos which have won him international acclaim in acoustic guitar circles. His original compositions have been used for programs on National Geographic Television, NPR and PBS, including Ken Burn’s Mark Twain and National Parks series. Before relocating to the Asheville area in 2002, he was the recipient of two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for Music Composition and has been awarded a total of fifty WAMMIES by the Washington Area Music Association, including the top honors of “Artist of the Year” and “Musician of the Year” which led to performances at the Vice President’s House and The White House during the Clinton administration. In 2001, he and his wife, Amy White, won an INDIE Award for their duo guitar project, Gratitude, and in 2004, Al won a Grammy for his participation in Pink Guitar - The Music of Henry Mancini. Al and Amy have been Artists-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and at Warren Wilson College, and now enjoy a life of touring and performing together, but also love working at home in the mountains of western North Carolina at their own Fairewood Studios. www.alandamy.com

PETER FINGER
Since the 1970’s, Peter Finger has enjoyed an outstanding international reputation as an acoustic guitarist, and the music press has consistently included him in the pantheon of the world’s best guitarists. Born in Weimar, Germany to a conductor father, Peter began violin lessons at age 6, later also learned to play piano, and took up guitar at 13. Since his first recording in 1973, he has released 13 solo recordings in Germany, Italy, England and the U.S. for Kicking Mule Records, Stockfisch, Edition Collage and (since 1989) Acoustic Music Records. Peter’s music achieves a rare balance of virtuosity, musicality and composition. One can hear echoes of the tonal language of Debussy, Ravel or Stravinsky, then, in the next moment, find oneself in the realm of rock. Peter has toured throughout Europe and North America and participated in numerous television and radio productions. Working with WDR, Deutschlandfunk and Deutsche Welle, he has authored a number of programs on guitar music, and composed for symphony orchestras, film, television and solo projects on his own Acoustic Music Records label. As a producer, he has been an integral part of dozens of CDs, including several prize-winning releases of guitar music, blues, jazz and world music. Since 1995, Peter has served as the publisher of the German publication, Akustik Gitarre magazine. www.peter-finger.com

PAT DONOHUE
Pat Donohue has earned prominent recognition for his mastery of acoustic fingerstyle guitar, which he exhibits weekly as the guitarist for the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band on Garrison Keillor’s radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. Chet Atkins called him “one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world today” and Leo Kottke has called his playing “haunting.” Although he considers himself first and foremost a folk guitarist, Pat manages to blend jazz and blues with folk, and the mix is seamless. Over the years he has captivated audiences with his original compositions, dazzling instrumentals and humorous song parodies, including “Sushi-Yucky” and “Would You Like to Play the Guitar?” His honors include several Minnesota Music Awards, the 1983 National Finger Picking Guitar Championship, and a Grammy for his contribution to Pink Guitar, a compilation of Henry Mancini guitar arrangements that was 2005’s Best Pop Instrumental. His original tunes have been recorded by such artists as Chet Atkins, Suzy Bogguss and Kenny Rogers, and he has also been a featured performer at many major music festivals including the Newport, Telluride, Philadelphia and Winfield Folk Festivals. Recently he was featured in the Robert Altman/Garrision Keillor film, A Prairie Home Companion. www.patdonohue.com

SCOTT NYGAARD
Grammy-winning guitarist Scott Nygaard is one of the most inventive and original flatpicking guitarists in the bluegrass/acoustic music scene. His solos, a seamless amalgam of bluegrass, folk, and jazz influences, shift easily from breathtaking virtuosity to soulful melodic musings and his accompaniment is always intriguing, supportive, and propulsive. Downbeat magazine called him “a phenomenally talented stylist.” He has performed and recorded with Tim O’Brien, Darol Anger, Chris Thile, Jerry Douglas, Laurie Lewis, and many others, and has released two solo albums, No Hurry and Dreamer’s Waltz on Rounder Records. He currently performs and records with Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings, the Anonymous 4, Bill Evans String Summit, the Matt Flinner Trio, and the Scott Nygaard Band. Scott was also an editor at Acoustic Guitar magazine for more than eight years, and has written more than 200 lessons and articles for Acoustic Guitar, Play Guitar!, Strings, and Guitar World Acoustic. He has taught guitar at workshops from Fairbanks to Finland, is the author of the Stringletter Publishing/Hal Leonard book, Bluegrass Guitar Essentials, and has recorded an instructional DVD, Bluegrass Lead Guitar, for Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop. www.scottnygaard.com

PAT KIRTLEY
With a category-defying repertoire of folk, pop, Celtic, Latin, jazz, and down-home country, Pat is a US National Fingerstyle Champion, and National Thumbpicking Champion whose playing continues to garner international praise. He was hailed as one of “The Next Generation: Hot New Acoustic Acts for the Millenium” by Acoustic Guitar magazine, and has been a featured columnist for Onstage, Electronic Musician, Home Recording, Wood & Steel, and Germany’s Akustik Gitarre. Pat is also a respected educator, traveling thousands of miles each year giving musician workshops as an international clinician for Taylor Guitars, where he is known for his patience, encyclopedic knowledge of guitar, clear explanations of difficult ideas, and taking the time to address the individual needs of each student one-on-one. He is a veteran of the festival and summer music camp scene, having been a featured performer and master class presenter at many of the major events across the country and abroad. Pat has produced numerous instructional videos for Guitar Workshop and Vestapol Videos, and books for Mel Bay. He has released five albums and was a featured artist on Narada Records’ CD project Guitar Fingerstyle, which sold over a quarter million copies, as well as Narada’s Masters of Acoustic Guitar and Guitar Fingerstyle 2. His music is featured on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and has been used as soundtracks on Lifetime Network’s The Wire. www.win.net/mainstring/

STEVE BAUGHMAN
Steve Baughman is a Rounder Records recording artist and the author of five guitar books for Mel Bay Publications. He was described by Dirty Linen Magazine as “one of the best Celtic fingerpickers in the United States.” His duo album with Robin Bullock, Celtic Guitar Summit, was voted one of the best albums of 2003 by Acoustic Guitar magazine. Steve’s latest solo album is also pretty good. This is Steve’s seventh year on staff at Guitar Week. www.celticguitar.com

DOUG SMITH
Acoustic guitarist Doug Smith won a Grammy Award for his contributions to Pink Guitar - The Music of Henry Mancini, and in 2006 became the International Fingerstyle Champion at Winfield. With instrumental and compositional chops that Billboard magazine called, “Inviting melodies... stunning fingerpicking,” his playing has been heard on the big screen in the recent film, August Rush, and others including Twister and Moll Flanders, and his original compositions are heard everywhere from E’s True Hollywood Story to The Martha Stewart Show. His association with Mannheim Steamroller includes a book of guitar arrangements of Chip Davis’ Christmas tunes, and he also has his own performance/instructional DVD and book published by Alfred Publishing. In performance, Doug’s dynamic stage presence, on display in such popular tunes such as “Renewal,” “Order of Magnitude,” and John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” have dazzled audiences across the country. His patient and enthusiastic teaching style makes him a favorite at music camps across the country, including Mark Hanson’s Accent On Music Seminar and the American River Acoustic Music Camp. www.dougsmithguitar.com

ROLLY BROWN
Rolly Brown has been a National Fingerpicking Champion (1980), a Philadelphia Music Award nominee, the host of the Guitar Wizards program on public radio in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Maine, a solo performer and teacher. He has also served as a sideman for Magpie, Winnie Winston, Saul Broudy, Jack McGann, Priscilla Herdman, Jay Ansill, and many others, and has performed with 1995 National Flatpicking Champion Mark Cosgrove, and with the late fiddler and singer extraordinaire, the Gathering’s own Freyda Epstein. Over the past 42 years, folk, blues, ragtime, country, jazz, and bluegrass music have each been his passions. After retiring from the road in 1990 to practice and teach acupuncture and T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Rolly found the perfect musical venue for his particular skills: summer guitar camps! With his teaching skills and musical versatility, he has been in demand as a guitar teacher and performer since 1998 at such camps as Summer Acoustic Music Week in New Hampshire, and Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamps in Tennessee. www.rollybrown.com

PATRICK LANDEZA
Musician, songwriter, producer, educator and creator of the Hawaiian Music Institute, a traveling music school that features an instructor staff of top Hawaiian musicians, Patrick Landeza is a leading proponent of Hawaiian slack key guitar, or ki ho’alu. Considered by George Winston as “one of the best and most dedicated of the new generation of slack key players,” Patrick is also a driving force in the education of the slack key style world-wide. Born of Hawaiian parents and raised on the ‘island’ of Berkeley, California, as a teenager, Patrick honed his craft from slack key masters Raymond Kane, Sonny Chillingworth, Dennis Kamakahi, and George Kuo. Although a slack key artist for more than a decade, ki ho’alu was more of a passion than a profession for Patrick, a former middle school vice-principal. He now tours the country teaching and performing ki ho’alu and when at home, continues weekly slack key lessons in Berkeley, CA. Patrick has also released a slack key instructional DVD and has published slack key lessons in Acoustic Guitar magazine as well as other publications. He currently runs Addison Street Records which records slack key and other major Hawaiian artists, and released his fourth CD last August. www.patricklandeza.com

MICHAEL CHAPDELAINE
Michael Chapdelaine’s teachers included the great Spanish maestro Andres Segovia, and he is the only guitarist ever to win First Prize in the world’s top competitions in both the classical and fingerstyle genres: the Guitar Foundation of America’s International Classical Guitar Competition and the National Fingerstyle Championships at the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival at Winfield. He has garnered numerous other awards and titles including two NEA Solo Recitalist Grants, a First Prize at the Music Teachers National Association’s Guitar Competition, and a Silver Medal in Venezuela’s VIII Concurso International de Guitarra “Alirio Diaz”. Many critics and connoisseurs consider his 1992 recording, Sonata Romantica, to be one of the definitive recordings for the instrument. Acoustic Guitar magazine wrote, “... if I were marooned on a desert island with a limited selection of recordings, this one would be among my choices... Chapdelaine’s beautiful tone is the nearest to Segovia’s that I can recall.” In 1994, Chapdelaine turned his attention to pop music, arranging, producing and recording Time-Life Music’s Guitar by Moonlight collection, which sold 250,000 copies in its first two years. Michael is Professor of Music and Head of Guitar Studies at the University of New Mexico, and has been on the faculties of the University of Colorado at Denver and Metropolitan State University. He has given master classes throughout the world, including China, Thailand, Malaysia, Peru, Venezuela, Taiwan, Indonesia and at institutions such as University of Miami, Mannes School of Music, University of Texas, and California State University.
www.michaelchapdelaine.com

ED DODSON
Ed is the lead guitarist and singer for Wood & Steel, a bluegrass band based in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Bluegrass Unlimited calls Wood & Steel “a hard-driving bluegrass band….an important spokesperson for bluegrass in the state of North Carolina.” In his liner notes to the 2005 Wood & Steel release, The Old Ones Are the Best Ones, Doyle Lawson wrote, “Wood & Steel have put together a wonderful collection of bluegrass music you’re sure to enjoy.” and Tony Rice calls their music, “Bluegrass, in one of its most pure, unfiltered forms; played by good musicians.” Wood & Steel’s music was featured nationally in Home & Garden Television’s 2002 special, Barns Revisited, and Ed’s 2001 duo release, Feast Here Tonight, with mandolin player Skip Kelley, was the featured CD in the Sept./Oct. 2001 issue of Flatpicking Guitar magazine. Ed is an accomplished rhythm and lead player with a deep abiding love of traditional music. www.woodandsteelband.com

VICKI GENFAN
Award-winning guitarist and singer/songwriter Vicki Genfan defies categorization. A unique and fiercely original musical talent, some have called her the ‘Jimi Hendrix of acoustic guitar.’ Her composition, “Joy,” was recently included on Vanguard Records’ groundbreaking compilation, La Guitara, featuring the music of 14 female guitarists from around the globe. Vicki has become a national and international phenomenon, lighting up stages in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Canada and the U.K., as well as the U.S., playing in venues as diverse as the International Open Strings Guitar Festival in Osnabrueck, Germany, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and New York City’s Bottom Line. Her music can be heard on numerous recordings for radio and television jingles, independent films, the Stephen King book on tape, Wastelands, and on albums by such artists as Donna Summer, Sheena Easton, Melba Moore and Dee Carstensen. When not on the road, Vicki enjoys teaching private lessons and is working on an instructional DVD highlighting her unique tunings and techniques. She recently finished recording her highly-anticipated third CD, released in 2006. www.vickigenfan.com

ROBIN BULLOCK
Called a “Celtic guitar god” by the Baltimore City Paper, Robin Bullock is a prolific composer, highly respected instructor, and virtuoso performer on 6- and 12-string guitars, mandolin, cittern and piano. A founding member of the INDIE Award-winning acoustic world-music trio, Helicon, Robin’s solo career has earned him three Washington Area Music Association WAMMIE Awards, a Governor’s Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, and a featured broadcast on NPR’s Thistle & Shamrock. His recorded work includes seven critically-acclaimed solo CDs and four collaborative projects including Celtic Guitar Summit with fellow Guitar Week staffer Steve Baughman, which was honored by Acoustic Guitar magazine with an “Editor’s Pick” as one of the top CDs of 2003. His new CD, Rosewood Castle, continues his exploration of Celtic music for solo and duo guitar, featuring duets with guitar greats Alex de Grassi, Tony McManus, John Doyle, Steve Baughman and Al Petteway. A native of Washington, DC, Robin now lives in Tripleval, France, and tours and records on both sides of the ocean. This is his thirteenth Gathering. www.robinbullock.com

SALLY VAN METER
Over the last twenty years Sally’s work has included musical collaborations with David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, Taj Mahal, Tony Rice, Chris Hillman, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis, Russ Barenberg, Kathy Kallick, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Maura O’Connell, the Good Ol’ Persons and Leftover Salmon. As a player and teacher, Sally is noted for her rich tone, expressiveness, and her attention to tasteful backup. Her numerous soundtrack credits include the film, Gather at the River, featuring Peter Rowan & the Nashville Bluegrass Band, and nationally-televised features such as TNN’s Texas Connection, CBS’ Northern Exposure and Unsolved Mysteries, and KIA automobile commercials. She has been featured on NPR’s E-Town, and won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Recording in 1994 for her work on The Great Dobro Sessions. She has been an IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) finalist for Dobro Player of the Year eight times, and in 1996 won IBMA awards for Best Instrumental Recording and Recorded Event of the Year for The Great Dobro Sessions. Her solo album, All in Good Time, produced by Jerry Douglas, was also a finalist for the IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year. She currently tours with Jorma Kaukonen and Blue Country. Sally is also a well-known and popular workshop leader and has taught at Augusta, the South Plains College Bluegrass Camp, the Puget Sound Guitar Workshops and many festival workshops throughout North America and Europe. www.sallyvanmeter.com

MARY FLOWER
Mary Flower has been an internationally-known and respected touring artist and teacher for over three decades. She is an award-winning fingerstyle blues and ragtime guitarist, and, with the release of her new CD, Bywater Dance, she now has seven solo CDs and five instructional videos to her credit. Finishing twice in the top three of the National Fingerpicking Championships, she was chosen Colorado’s “Best Folkie” three times and was a recipient of a songwriting fellowship from the Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities. Mary is a 2008 nominee for the Handy Awards Acoustic Artist of the Year. She has performed on A Prairie Home Companion, at Merlefest and with the Ottawa Blues in the Schools program and has taught several years at the Gathering, at Fur Peace Ranch, International Guitar Seminars, the Swallow Hill Music School, Augusta Heritage Workshops, and the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival and Workshops. Also a master of the lap slide guitar, Flower continues to carry on the tradition of roots and original music. www.maryflower.com

SCOTT AINSLIE
Drawing on the musical legacies of Delta Blues legends Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, the East Coast’s Blind Blake, and Durham, NC’s own Reverend Gary Davis and Blind Boy Fuller, Scott Ainslie is a noted performer and scholar with more than two decades of experience teaching elements of African and African-American music to students of all ages, both in the classroom and from the stage. For this work, Scott has received numerous awards including St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College 20th Annual Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award, appointment as a Public Fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill, and grant awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Folklife Section of North Carolina Arts Council. Scott transcribed the recorded works of Mississippi Blues legend Robert Johnson, published as Robert Johnson/At The Crossroads (Hal Leonard, 1992), and has an instructional DVD on Johnson’s guitar techniques entitled, Robert Johnson: Signature Licks (Hal Leonard, 1997). Scott has presented programs for the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching, and been a featured artist at Merlefest, The Kennedy Center, The Old Songs Festival, Louisiana Crossroads, and at the Toronto, Mississippi Valley, and Bull Durham Blues Festivals. He will release his fifth solo recording in early 2008. Coming of age during the Civil Rights era, Scott continues to have a deep reverence and affection for cross-racial exchange, honoring the African and American roots of the tradition while presenting an engaging tour of both the music and the history of the Blues. www.cattailmusic.com

ASHLEY BRODER
Ashley began playing the violin at age 8 with Charl Ann Gastineau, who smartly combined classical and fiddle music, as well as mandolin, into her regime. For the next several years, Ashley competed in local, state, and national fiddle and mandolin competitions, winning many, including the Western Open Master Picker Championship in ’03 and ’04. Throughout high school she performed with local bands, worked as a studio recording musician, and taught violin and mandolin privately and in class settings. Ashley majored in music at Moorpark College, where she studied cello with Stephen Custer of the L.A. Philharmonic and violin with Diane Gilbert. She assisted Mike Marshall with his Mike Marshall’s Mandolin Method books, and in 2005 she served on the faculty of the Mandolin Symposium in Santa Cruz, CA. Ashley now tours full-time throughout the U.S. and Scotland with Celtic violinist Jamie Laval. With Jamie she has forged a new duo style, rendering traditional Scottish, Irish, Bretagne and bluegrass music with innovative hints of classical refinement and ethnic music from around the world. www.ashleybroder.com

RANDY HUGHES
Over the last 25 years Randy Hughes has earned a reputation throughout western North Carolina as the kind of instrument repairman to whom you could entrust your priceless vintage guitar without a second thought. A superb luthier with a thriving repair business, Randy first came to Guitar Week four years ago to inspect and adjust students’ instruments and share his vast store of maintenance tips. He is also an exceptional guitarist and taught fingerstyle jazz at the Gathering for two years.