July 29 - July 31, 2011
GARETH PEARSON
Biography
Barely out of his teens, Welsh guitar phenomenon Gareth Pearson is already considered a virtuoso in the field of finger style guitar. Having only played the instrument from recent times, he has already developed a distinctive style to his playing that has earned him the greatest accolades from world renowned players; he has been called a genius by Jan Akkerman, and Tommy Emmanuel was inspired to write a song about him which he named The Welsh Tornado.
It all started just before Christmas 2002, in Cwmbran, South Wales in the UK. Gareth put on one of his Dad’s videos of Tommy Emmanuel performing. Gareth recalls, “Tommy was playing Classical Gas, and from that very moment, I knew exactly what I wanted to be in life. Tommy changed my life”.
In 2004, the teenage guitar prodigy opened for Tommy Emmanuel and Johnny Dickinson in Cardiff. It was at this concert, Tommy in front of a stunned audience invited Gareth to the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society(CAAS) held in Nashville. The next night in Swansea, Tommy had Gareth play for Mark Pritcher, President of the CAAS, over his mobile phone in the dressing room.
But it was at The TommyFest held in Windsor, UK that will always stay in Gareth’s memory. He impressed so much during the open mic, that he was officially booked for the 2006 TommyFest. Also, it was at the Festival that Gareth was given his Maton Guitar as a gift by a fan and friend of Tommy’s, who was so impressed with Gareth’s playing, he thought it right that Gareth should have it.
With influences such as Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel and Merle Travis, Gareth’s repertoire of techniques is extremely wide and even includes his own arrangements of several Michael Jackson hits. That and his own compositions serve in showcasing an enthusiasm and musical intuition well beyond his years.
Gareth is also an extremely entertaining performer; straying from the traditional style of the seated and motionless guitar virtuoso, this dynamo clearly loves the music he performs and his exuberant style denotes a mastery of the instrument very few possess, as he jumps, dances, moonwalks and smiles at his audience, while executing incredibly complex finger works.
Discography
- Urban Echoes Vol 1 (2010)
- Adrenaline Rush (2007)
Performance Highlights
In addition to two major tours with Tommy Emmanuel and several with Jan Akkerman, Gareth has performed with Jennifer Batten, Andy McKee, John Renbourn, Southside Johnny and the Ashbury Jukes, and Ray Davies to name but a few. He has appeared at countless events including the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Canadian Guitar Festival, the Ullapool Guitar Festival (Scotland), the Acoustic Strings Festival (Holland), International Guitar Night (Germany), Festival de Guitare de Nice (France), Cambridge Folk Festival (England), Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland), Ards Guitar Festival (Ireland), Ely Folk Festival (England), Six Bars Jail (Italy), and the list goes on.
Gareth Pearson's web site
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