Richard Smith & Brooks Robertson

Join us for an evening of world class acoustic guitar featuring National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion Richard Smith and Brooks Robertson, the winner of the National Talent Show Contest as presented by Garrison Keillor and The Prairie Home Companion.
In 2001, Richard Smith became the National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion in Winfield, Kansas. Richard was elected Thumbpicker of the Year in 2008 and inducted into the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame in Kentucky in 2009. He is also a recipient of the Golden Thumbpick Award by the Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists in California. Richard first met his hero, the "Godfather" of fingerstyle guitar, Chet Atkins, when he was only eleven. He was invited by Chet to share the stage with him in London in front of an audience of 1,000. By the time Richard reached his early twenties, both Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed began to refer to him as their "Hero". Today, Richard is widely regarded as one of the premier fingerstyle guitarists of our time. He has tou¬red the world as a solo artist and fellow gui¬tar wizard Tommy Emmanuel prefers Richard as one of his favourite duet partners.
“The most amazing guy I know on the guitar. He can play anything I know, only better.”
Chet Aktins, CGP.
“If you like my playing, you should hear Richard Smith.”
Tommy Emmanuel, CGP.
Richard Smith owns may instruments, but his most prized is a guitar which has written on it, “To my hero, Richard – Signed Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins.
Opening the show is Brooks Robertson, who’s been called the “future of finger picking.” At a very early age, Brooks began playing high-profile gigs such as the Nokie Edwards Festival, the NAMM Show in Anaheim, the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield among others. By the time he was a teenager he had become the youngest endorsee of Godin Guitars and traveled the U. S. and foreign countries to perform. Brooks went on to play on Garrison Keillor's National Public Radio classic "A Prairie Home Companion" in 2004, where he won first place in their national talent contest.
"Brooks Robertson is well-equipped to carry on the legacy of Buster B Jones' powerful and funky guitar style. Any player would be very proud to have such an accomplished guitarist as a protégé. Brooks' personal playing and composing style is equally compelling, as audiences around the world are finding out. The solo guitar's future is in good hands with players like Brooks out there!" John Jorgenson (Elton John, Desert Rose Band, Hellecasters)
Join us for a special evening featuring two of the world's best acoustic guitarists.