Santa Barbara Acoustic Music Association

Guitar phenomenon Clive Carroll’s masterful compositions, coupled with his versatility and unparalleled technical virtuosity, have rendered him one of today’s most admired and respected guitarists. When I asked Tommy Emmanuel who was the next great guitar player, he immediately said “Clive Carroll”; Clive will be leaving directly from this show to accompany Tommy on his European tour.

Born in England, Clive’s breadth of musical curiosity was to become one of his strengths; even as a child Clive was as comfortable accompanying a group of folk singers as he was jamming along to Nirvana or performing standards with the Essex Youth Orchestra. He earned his 1st Class Honours Degree in Composition and Guitar from the famed Trinity College of Music in London, balancing his classical work with forays into the world of the steel string guitar with an album’s worth of solo acoustic music. A chance meeting with English guitar legend John Renbourn proved the catalyst for Clive’s debut album, “Sixth Sense”, which Renbourn deemed “a milestone in the journey of the steel-string guitar”.

Clive has established himself as one of the world’s premier acoustic guitar players. He has toured across Europe, Australia, the Middle East and North America, garnering praise for his sublime performances of everything from 16th and 17th century lute music to Jazz standards, Blues, Irish reels and his own groundbreaking compositions.

Drawing from diverse stylistic approaches and his Chilean roots, Dani Vargas brings a unique take to the acoustic sound. His seasoned artistry and technical proficiency, canorous melodies, and harmonic maturity has an introspective yet uplifting feeling by virtue of the beauty and honesty that so naturally accompany the acoustic guitar.

With his on stage collaboration of the multi talented violinist Jenna Colombet, Dani’s live performances create a beautiful, lyrical and colorful blend of modern acoustic instrumental music.

Ukulele Blues Party with Del Rey

Join Del for jugband and blues songs orchestrated for the ukulele, with playing and singing parts for several levels of player. We’ll work on getting that old-timey sound on your uke, with the right rhythm, chord positions and where to find the melody. Plus we’ll try and listen to each other and play together. We’ll add parts of varying difficulty for basic chords, strumming, picking and singing. Basic level: be comfortable and confident with first position chords and able to keep time while changing between them. By ear, no TAB.

Come to both the Party and Concert, and save $5.

Mike Dowling 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.

One of those rare artists who teaches as well as he plays, Mike is a popular guitar instructor at music camps around the world as well as his own Greater Yellowstone Music camp in the beautiful Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming. His instructional material is available from Homespun Tapes and Acoustic Music Resource and his original compositions have been featured in the pages of Fingerstyle Guitar and Acoustic Guitar magazines.

Don Alder plays with a passion rarely seen and is one of those acoustic guitar magicians that leaves you wondering “How is he making that wall of sound. Ray Danials, Mgr of Rush says “Alder’s performances are jaw dropping and he is one of those guitarists that should be famous around the world”. Guitar Player Magazine Senior Editor, Michael Molenda says “Alder, is a Guitar Star in the making and can hold an audience with the best of the seasoned pros”. As winner of the 2015 Dominic Troiano Award, 2011 Worldwide Guitar Idol, 2010 Guitar Superstar North America, and 2007 International Finger style Champion, Alder’s long list of accolades put him alongside the top players in the acoustic genre. His music combines deeply textured melody and rhythm with haunting lyrics and his guitar fireworks, soulful singing and fabulous storytelling makes his shows highly entertaining and talked about for days and Don’s heart is as big as his talent. His current CD “Armed & Dangerous” has him nominated at the 2016 WCMA’s for “Instrumental Artist of the Year”. Alder continues to perform around the world entertaining audiences and inspiring people and guitarists wherever he goes.

Simply put, “The Idiomatiques” are a unique listening experience. The band draws mainly from Gypsy Jazz, but the accomplished musicians of many genres bring their own flair. They recently became the first Gypsy Jazz band in history to place in Billboard’s contemporary jazz top 30 chart, spending eleven weeks there. “The Idiomatiques” combine virtuosic instrumental abilities with some vocals and comedy, using a mixture of Gypsy Jazz, Latin, mainstream jazz and even some R’nB. Members of the band have worked with Michael Jackson, BoyzIIMen, Michael McDonald & Larry Carlton among a host of other world renowned recording artists.

Sam ‘n Ash are an innovative duo in the world of folk music. Each well-versed in their instrument, the combination of accordion and mandolin is unique and beautiful. The duo performs mostly original material which blurs lines between multiple genres. Together, they create a unique blend of harmonic sound, rhythm, and energy.

Ashley Broder is an in-demand mandolinist, violinist, and cellist living in Santa Barbara, California. She tours with folk dance band, The Syncopaths, performs concerts with Fire and Grace and Ash, as well as her own trio. When she isn’t traveling, Ashley teaches music and continues work on her chamber orchestra suite.

Samantha Harvey is an award-winning accordionist, pianist, and stepdancer. Steeped in the folk and Celtic traditions, her musical mastery, impeccable timing, and driving percussive steps appeal to audiences of all ages. Sam is a TCRG with the world-renowned Claddagh School of Irish Dance, and when not performing, teaches music and dance.

BICULTURAL MUSIC SAMURAI… a guitarist armed with fresh original songs, electrifying soundscapes, and stunning arrangements of familiar global melodies.

“Even though this young lady is from Sweden, I’d place her at the forefront of the American vanguard. One listen will tell you why and how.” wrote PopDose’s Rob Ross about Sofia Talvik’s new album. And it’s no wonder since this Swedish singer/songwriter now toured through 47 states in her little 1989 tour RV otherwise known as Lil’Chief. She’s seen more states, and more places in the USA than the average American, and she seems to love it. Her latest album ”Big Sky Country” (named one of the 5 best Americana albums of the year by British newspaper The Telegraph) celebrates her love for the vast plains, big mountains and sandy coastlines in the states that she toured through, as well as the warm and quirky people she met on the road.

She’s played the big festivals like Lollapalooza and SxSW, but the intimate setting of a smaller stage where she can casually joke and communicate with the audience is really where her strength as a performer shines the most. After all she’s in it for the music, not the fame and fortune.

“A singer/songwriter who is able to evoke the essence of Laurel Canyon circa the ’60s.” writes Lee Zimmerman on NoDepression, and continues to compare her to giants like Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins. ”In many ways, Talvik seems destined to become their heir apparent, given that her songs are striking in an effervescent and incandescent sort of way.”

Joe Robinson is considered uniquely gifted as a virtuoso guitarist and singer/songwriter. He walks a tightrope between the instrumental music that has put him in the spotlight and a unique fusion of vocally based rock, blues, jazz, and R&B that is entirely his own.

Joe was born in the backwoods of Temagog, on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia. At just 13 years old, he won the Australian National Songwriting Competition. His six-string ability and compositional insight have already earned him a worldwide following, and he tours and teaches regularly with Tommy Emmanuel.

“Australian guitarist Joe Robinson has accomplished what most musicians can only dream of.” – NPR
“Robinson’s technique is dazzling — his bluesy licks go by in a blur, and his harmonic savvy is apparent in every chord he plays.” – Nashville Scene
“It’s not hard to imagine him rivaling the popularity of, say, John Mayer in coming years.” – Washington Post

What can I say? This concert will floor you and blow the roof off the Alhecama with the force of the talent of three of the most incredible musicians on the road today.

Brit Richard Smith has been with us several times, leading the Hot Club of Nashville, teaching at the Guitar Celebration, dueting with Tim Sparks at SOhO, opening for and playing with Tommy Emmanuel, and solo at the Wooden Hall Concerts, he always entertains and thrills us.

German Joscho Stephan is known as one the top Gypsy Jazz guitarists on the planet, and Rory Hoffman is an incredible musical savant on any instrument.

I’ll let their music speak for them – check out the videos. This concert is worth the whole year all by itself. Guaranteed.

Boston-based acoustic double-neck guitarist and composer Ian Ethan Case is quickly becoming recognized as “one of the most creative and engaging fingerstyle guitarists in the world” (International Center for Creativity.) Growing up in rural area of New Hampshire with few musicians around to collaborate with, Case developed an extremely unique approach to the 18-string instrument which allows him to achieve an unmistakably rich, multi-layered sound reminiscent of a full band. In addition to giving several hundred concerts throughout the United States and Europe over the past three years, his groundbreaking original music has reached an online audience of over 12 million listeners worldwide. Fingerstyle guitar legend Don Ross described his live performance as “some of the most massively inventive musicianship I’ve ever heard/seen.” Other listeners have described his music as a cross between Michael Hedges and Pat Metheny.

His newest album Earth Suite combines this signature sound with the specialized talents of a dozen musicians from all over the globe, including four-time Grammy-winning cellist Eugene Friesen and internationally acclaimed percussionist Jamey Haddad. While the studio album features a large group and dense orchestration, Case brings much of that expansive sound to his 2019 concert performances thanks to live looping and sound specialist Stephanie Case who records, layers, and manipulates Ian’s playing on the spot for a dynamic, truly symphonic effect that defies the typical “solo musician with a loop pedal” stereotype. As one first-time listener in California exclaimed, “Ian’s music is phenomenal – watching him play is not ‘listening to music’; it’s a full mind experience. Transporting.”

Hiroya Tsukamoto is a guitarist and composer originally from Kyoto,
Japan. In 2000, he received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music
and came to the US. Since then, he has been performing internationally
including several appearances with his group at Blue Note in New York
and released six albums as a leader. And he also performed and
appeared on major televisions internationally such as NHK (Japanese
National Television) and EBS in Korea.

Hiroya Tsukamoto takes us on an innovative, impressionistic journey
filled with earthy, organic soundscapes that impart a mood of peace
and tranquility.

Quotes:
“…chops, passion and warmth. Zealously recommended!” -Jazz Review.com

“HiroyaTsukamoto plays with fluid mastery, pristine tone, and great
warmth. ” -Celine Keating (author / Acoustic Guitar Magazine /
minor7th)

“HiroyaTsukamoto takes us to an impressionistic journey ” -Boston Herald

Kai Narezo is a flamenco guitarist who has always had one foot planted in the Old World and the other in the New. His sound reflects a deep reverence for the roots and the soul of traditional flamenco, a love for the modern flamenco landscape, and an American sensibility rooted in jazz-fusion and contemporary production techniques. His first album, Vueltas, was released in 2006, and his latest album, Contra Tiempo, in 2015. His co-authored textbook, Flamenco Explained: The Guitarist’s Survival Guide, will be the first text ever to be used to teach flamenco at Berklee College of Music, where he also studied as a recipient of the BEST Scholarship. He started playing at the age of 12 and has studied and performed with some of the most prolific names in the world of flamenco. His work has also appeared in various film and television projects. Narezo is a brilliant soloist in high demand as an accompanist and is a dedicated and proven teacher.

Internationally-acclaimed guitar virtuoso Trace Bundy must be seen, not just heard. His music is poetry in motion, using harmonics, looping, multiple capos, and his unique banter and stage presence to deliver an unforgettable live concert experience. Listening to his intricate arrangements is one thing, but seeing the fan-dubbed “Acoustic Ninja” play live confounds even the most accomplished music lovers as to how one person can do all that with just two hands and ten fingers.

Bundy’s unique career has brought him across the world, with sold-out concerts in 28 countries and counting – from high-tech performance halls in South Korea and Italy, to remote villages in Zimbabwe and Guatemala. His viral video clips circulate at astonishing speed, with over 40 million YouTube views to date.

Trace was named “Most Promising New Talent” of 2008 by Acoustic Guitar Magazine, as well as winning third place in the magazine’s “Best Fingerstyle Guitarist” category the same year. Over his many years of touring, Trace has shared the stage with Brandi Carlile, Olivia Newton-John, Neko Case, Judy Collins, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Phil Keaggy, David Wilcox, David Knopfler (Dire Straits), Bill Nershi (String Cheese), Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney & Wings), Chris Hillman (the Byrds), and Stanley Jordan, among others.

Jimmy Leslie at Guitar Player Magazine blogs “It was easy to see why Bundy plays bigger venues on each tour. In his hands, the acoustic guitar is an imagination station, and there was no telling where he is going take the audience at any given turn. Thrilling stuff.”

Dave Kirby from the Boulder Weekly says “Possessing a staggering acoustic technique, on both right and left sides, Bundy has made his reputation as a next generation solo guitarist of serious repute.”

Audiocast Magazine from Austin, TX agrees: “Bundy’s live show is without a doubt an event that needs to be witnessed rather than told about. With such a jaw-dropping performance, Bundy’s live concert is a slap in the face that would leave a palm print on the memory of everyone in the audience.”

Take a minute to check him out and you’ll agree that Trace Bundy must be seen, not just heard.

Music Education
& Entertainment

Listen Deeply

2018 Concert Series

Clive Carroll is considered by many including Tommy Emmanuel to be the next great Guitarist. Don't miss his only area appearance before he flies back to Europe to rejoin Tommy's tour!

Upcoming Workshops

2019 Concert Series

1/19/19

Mike Dowling
Available only
via Season Tix
or $10 at the door
at the New Vic.

Featured Concert
of the
Year!

Holy Smokes!
Guaranteed to knock your socks off!

2020 Concert Series

Past Concerts

Music Education & Entertainment

​Listen Deeply

2018 Concert Series ​

​​​ ​Clive Carroll is considered by many including Tommy Emmanuel to be the next great Guitarist. Don't miss his only​ area appearance before he flies back to Europe to rejoin Tommy's tour!

Upcoming Workshops ​