Bio

Two Pacific Northwest acoustic guitarists unite to create a new improvisational landscape.

Jamie Stillway and Eric Skye are both widely regarded in the world of fingerstyle guitar as masters of their craft, have teamed up to make an album of original flatpicking tunes set to be released on October 15. One listen will change how you think about guitar.

“Home on the Midrange” showcases not only their guitar prowess, but also the depths of their work as composers. They start each tune with a traditional approach, that allows the listener to ground into the melody and essence of the song. They then take the tune into a territory they affectionately call an “all skate,” deconstructing it into a landscape of improvisation that can only be achieved by two masters of guitar. These works of guitar art are made possible only by the kind of deep listening and presence of mind that creates moments of magic.

At its core, this album is a conversation between two guitars. Eric was bestowed the honor of having a Santa Cruz Guitar Company model named after him, built to his specifications, and it is this OO Skye signature model that he plays for his side of the discussion. The answer to his melodic questioning is a OOO also made by Santa Cruz that Jamie Stillway had commissioned specifically for this project. To hear these two guitars in conversation is a nothing short of a master class in the nuance of guitar tone. Eric’s present, laser-like guitar meets the languid, spacious beauty of Jamie’s. What this creates is a musical experience that highlights the distinct voices of these two extraordinary guitars. Both Jamie Stillway and Eric Skye utilize their mastery in service to the song, the melody, and the fleeting moment. What we are left with is an album that shines a light on the beauty of the voice of guitar.

Eric Skye

Pacific Northwest acoustic guitarist, Eric Skye, occupies a unique niche between folk, jazz and blues. A lifetime of electric interests and adventuresome exploration culminating in a simple, fully realized and identifiable sound and style. Whether it’s the June Apple album of traditional flatpicking old-time tunes with mandolinist, Tim Connell, or the recent duo work with guitarist, Jamie Stillway, performing original reels, waltzes and jigs. Or Skye’s acclaimed album, A Different Kind of Blue -a solo guitar reimagining of the entire seminal Miles Davis album, Kind Of Blue. Or the improvisational duo album, Artifact, with longtime Jackson Browne guitarist, Mark Goldenberg, or the solo album of standards and original jazz/blues tunes, Ballads and Blues.. It’s a wide-ranging body of work, all threaded together with an uncluttered minimalist’s aesthetic, a passion for in-the-moment music making, and a love of pure acoustic tone.

“A fabulous ‘seminar’ on quietly building drama” –Guitar Player 

“A perfect synthesis of eclectic influences”  –Acoustic Guitar

“An uncanny ability to make the familiar sound new, and the new sound familiar” –Fretboard Journal

Jamie Stillway

Jamie Stillway has been quietly establishing herself as one of the top acoustic fingerstyle guitarists of her generation. Since 2005, she has self-released 3 full length albums of original compositions, garnering accolades from the likes of Fretboard Journal (“one of the best fingerstyle guitarists around today”) and Jazz Times (“Mixing up genres without pretension, the nimble Stillway moves freely with wit and creative restlessness”). With her first electric guitar recordings, the City Static EP, Jamie demonstrates the broadening of her compositional palette and her versatility as a musician, seamlessly incorporating ambient, jazz, classical, and pop elements. As she created space for silence in her life, the constant background noise of the city became more and more noticeable—a droning static hum that inspired Stillway’s most experimental and compelling work to date.

Bio

When the late, great Vassar Clements heard Mike Dowling play guitar back in 1975 he did the sensible thing. He hired him. Mike was the guitarist in Vassar’s first touring band and can be heard on his Grammy-nominated “Nashville Jam”. Clements called him simply, “One of the finest guitarists there is, anywhere.”Echoing that sentiment is an ever-growing chorus of music critics, guitar students, and acoustic music fans from throughout the world.

Mike digs deep into the musical bag of American roots guitar, favoring the melodic Piedmont style of acoustic blues masters like Mississippi John Hurt and slide great Tampa Red. But Mike can’t be pigeonholed as a blues player, or even as a fingerstylist. He’s far too versatile for that. From bottleneck blues to vintage jazz and much more in between, Mike’s musicality, depth, and mastery of the instrument translates fluently to flattop, archtop, and resonator guitars alike.

Mike grew up in central Wisconsin and early in his career in the midwest caught the ear of jazz violin great Joe Venuti and mandolinist Jethro Burns. In the 1970’s, in addition to touring with Clements, he worked and recorded with Burns and Venuti in Chicago and in between jobs took time off to move to California when he had the opportunity to study with the late, great George Barnes. Barnes had been “the” session guy for many years, recording with everyone from Big Bill Broonzy to Tony Bennett. “I was very fortunate to be able to spend some time with him”, Mike says. ” He was so tasteful, so rhythmic. He set the bar very high for me and he continues to be an inspiration.”

Bio

Fula Brothers are a burst of unbridled, creative musicianship and happy-making. A high-spirited meeting of veteran performers from West Africa and America, each with a history of innovation and collaboration. Together they weave West African hunter’s harp, fingerstyle guitar, drums, vocals, and a bounty of improvisation into an ecstatic groove-based dialogue, which the heart – and the feet – cannot resist.

Master kamale ngoni player, Mamadou Sidibe, is from the Wassoulou region of Mali, West Africa. Twenty-five years ago, Mamadou played a groundbreaking role in the transformation of this region’s music from its origins in hunters’ sacred melodies – played on six string donso ngoni (hunter’s harps) – to a music of philosophical observations, politics, and daily life. Mamadou was one of the first to expand the instrument’s range with two extra strings, creating the popular kamale ngoni. He has recently enhanced the kamale ngoni even further by devising 10 and 12-stringed instruments. “At the center of his music is the same sensibility that you’ll find in Muddy Waters: a sense of music as a tool for the re-creation of everyday life into something special, even magical.” -Stylus.
Fingerstyle guitarist Walter Strauss’s multi-layered style draws on American roots, jazz, classical, and cultural guitar traditions. But what makes his playing utterly unique is how it is informed by other global stringed instruments. He has delved deep into the harp traditions of West Africa, integrating elements of their richly layered styles and rhythmic sensibilities with his own and rendering traditional pieces on the guitar. In addition to his solo CDs and performances across the US and UK, Walter’s collaborations have spanned an impressive range of musicians, from maverick multi-instrumentalist, Joe Craven, and Grammy-winning Malian kora player, Mamadou Diabate, to Scottish fiddler, Johnny Hardie, and Grammy-nominated guitar maestro, Alex de Grassi. “A many-layered, multi-textured, one-man folk festival.” -Maverick Magazine.

Dustin Furlow

Dustin Furlow is an award-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist whose playing and songwriting reflect a clear influence of today’s contemporary-folk artists. With comparisons to songwriters such as Ray LaMontagne and virtuoso guitar-players like Tommy Emmanuel, Furlow eventually carved out a sound that became easily distinguishable by it’s marriage of complex guitar work and warm, home-spun lyrics. From the haunting melodies in “Evergreen” to the foot-tapping groove of “Cherokee Lake” Dustin is an ambassador of dynamic control on stage. In 2019 he played over 200 shows, many with Harp-guitarist and International Fingerstyle-Guitar Champion Matt Thomas.

In April 2021 Dustin was announced as the winner of Scottish luthier Taran Guitars’ “Young Player Bursary” award.

In February 2017, he received the Veer Magazine Music Award for “Best Acoustic/Folk Artist” in the Southeastern Virginia area. That year he also recieved nominations for “Song of the Year” (The Garden), and “Album of the Year” (The Sound That You Call Home).

In 2016, Furlow released the full-length “The Sound That You Call Home”, which has enjoyed airplay on NPR radio’s “Acoustic Highway”, “Hunter at Sunrise”, and “Out of the Box” and recieved the title of “Album of the Year” by Barry Graham of NPR’s “Acoustic Highway”.

A year later Furlow went on to release the EP “Solo”, which was a live-in-studio project recorded by Rob Ulsh at Master Sound Studios (Justin Timberlake, Depeche Mode, Gwen Stefani) in Virginia Beach. (2017)

Playing just over 244 shows in 2017, he is almost always engaged in recording, writing, or performing and is currently producing his third album, “Woodscapes” with Kim Person (Tommy Emmanuel, Stephen Bennett, Matt Thomas). – November 2018

“Dustin Furlow is developing a reputation as one of the best acoustic guitarists in Hampton Roads, and his disc “The Sound That You Call Home” does nothing to dissuade that notion.”

— Mike Holtzclaw – The Daily Press

“Incredible talent – playing every venue there is from NorVa to the smallest local cafes – the emerging acoustic talent in the area.”

— Veer Magazine 2014

Bio

Al Petteway has played music professionally since he was twelve years old, performing nearly every type of popular, folk and classical music. Though his primary instrument has always been the guitar, he has also studied lute, string bass, percussion and music composition. His compositions for acoustic fingerstyle guitar are strongly influenced by his love of Celtic music and his own roots in folk, rock and blues. His recordings, music books, and instructional videotapes have helped to win him international acclaim and appearances on National Radio and Television Programs. Al has won a GRAMMY and was awarded FORTY FIVE “Wammies” by the Washington Area Music Association including the top honors of “ARTIST OF THE YEAR” and “MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR”. He was the recipient of two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for Music Composition and has performed at the Vice President’s House and The White House. His playing is featured on more than sixty recordings by some of the World’s best known Folk and Celtic musicians. He has been Artist In Residence at The Kennedy Center and at Warren Wilson College. He performs both solo and with his wife, Amy White, records and teaches private lessons in their home studio in Weaverville, NC and is the Guitar Week coordinator for the world famous “Swannanoa Gathering” music camp at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C.

Bio

“It was the mid-1950s when I first saw Elvis on TV. Although I was only three or four years old, I realized I had just witnessed something incredibly powerful, and for me music was what it was going to be all about.”

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Grammy-winning guitarist Bill Mize is a son of Tennessee, and a fitting representative of his state’s rich musical heritage. His critically lauded fingerstyle compositions are fluid and intricate, and their delivery masterful. One suspects an influential teacher, and one would be right. “I received most of my musical education from a cheap Zenith radio,” says Mize, who as a child drifted off to sleep to the decidedly non-sleepy lullabyes emanating from Nashville’s WLAC and WSM and Knoxville’s WNOX.

Maybe that’s why critics speak of his ability to “transport” the listener; the music itself has been transported. The links to his Tennessee roots are unmistakable, but so are the elements of the far wider musical realm he inhabits, and the mixture is as intoxicating as Tennessee moonshine. With a twist.

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Bill is a past winner of the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition at The Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. Guitar Player Magazine has labeled this event the “U.S. Open of guitar competitions.” Bill received a GRAMMY Award for his collaboration with musician and storyteller David Holt on the recording Stellaluna, and has been featured on the popular guitar compilations “Windham Hill Guitar Sampler” by Windham Hill Records and “Masters of the Acoustic Guitar” by Narada Records. In 2009, Bill’s music appeared in the Ken Burns documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” Mel Bay Productions transcribed Mize’s second CD, “Tender Explorations,” into a songbook, and his original compositions have been transcribed for Fingerstyle Guitar and Acoustic Guitar magazines.

Brooks Robertson just doesn’t need much more than two thumbs, eight fingers and six strings on a wooden box to carry his listeners away.

Hailed by prominent exponents of his instrument like Nokie Edwards, Thom Bresh, John Jorgenson and Mason Williams, the young fingerstyle guitarist embodies the creative vision of a postmodern world: It’s the music that counts. Brooks utilizes his superb technical abilities to play bass, rhythm and melody simultaneously and surpass the borders of conventional genres. He merges hauntingly beautiful compositions, country rhythms and jazzy harmonies with funky licks into his very own art form – sometimes delivered with a punch, sometimes with a smile.

Brooks was born in Eugene, Oregon in 1989. Seeing Buster B. Jones perform at a festival near his home town became a life-changing experience for the kid from the sticks. Just eleven years old, he was immediately inclined to pick up the guitar. Soon, the world renowned fingerstyle virtuoso and instructor dedicated his spare time to introducing his new fan into the secrets of the fretboard, and after six months of lessons the natural talent performed his first show with his mentor.

When Buster B. Jones took him under his wings, Brooks began playing high-profile gigs such as the Nokie Edwards Festival, the NAMM Show in Anaheim, the Montreal Jazz Festival or 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 to several states 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 a talent competition for 12 to 20 year old participants.

In recent years, while still appearing regularly at prestigious events like the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS) Convention in Nashville, Brooks focussed on perfecting his craft, soaking up new tunes and styles and techniques as well as blending them into his own groovy and soulful original music. He entered the “Yamaha Six String Theory Guitar Competition”, which drew participants from more than 40 countries all over the world. Brooks was invited to perform in the finals at the Broad Stage in Los Angeles in March 2010. A star-studded jury, including Steve Lukather and Lee Ritenour, eventually chose him as winner of the country category and second place winner overall.

Although he is deeply rooted in the powerful tradition of the genre, founded by the likes of Merle Travis, Jerry Reed, Thom Bresh and Buster B. Jones, Brooks also draws inspiration from the elegant mastery of the legendary Chet Atkins and other phenomenal players. His own compositions and arrangements have even been compared to fingerstyle jazz champions Lenny Breau and Earl Klugh. Now, as energy and maturity come together, this young man is ready to step out of his mentors’ shadows and electrify the world with the sheer acoustic beauty his fingers create, when touching a set of strings.

“The Future of American fingerstyle guitar” – Buster B. Jones
“I’ve always loved playing with Brooks, he’s a joy to be around!” – Tommy Emmanuel CGP

“I was completely knocked out with the acoustic guitar virtuosity of Brooks Robertson! Brooks has a very original touch and sound plus monster chops. He’s always making great music with his guitar. I’m sure Brooks will be sharing his music with the entire world and have an incredible career.” – Lee Ritenour

“Brooks Robertson plays like the house is on fire.”  – Thom Bresh

“All guitar players are like Frankensteins. Their music is made out of bits and pieces of other players. In Brooks’ case, he’s a son of a Frankenchops, the well known monster picker Buster B. Jones. Buster and Brooks are both so scary … the legend continues.” – Mason Williams

“Brooks Robertson has one of the very best techniques in fingerstyle guitar. You can hear the influences of Buster B. Jones, Jerry Reed, and all the great fingerpickers past … and he’s writing some fabulous new material. An amazing guitar player who’s showing the rest of us how it’s done! Nobody whops Brooks Robertson!”  – Richard Smith
“Brooks Robertson is a superb and exciting guitarist. I love his playing!”  – Pat Bergeson