robin kessinger
Footbridge award concert
25 january 2014
8 pm
National flat pick champion Robin Kessinger performs
and also receives FOOTMAD’s FOOTbridge Award
for his years of work to preserve traditional Appalachian music.
Also performing in honor of Robin will be longtime friends, family and fellow musicians.
and also receives FOOTMAD’s FOOTbridge Award
for his years of work to preserve traditional Appalachian music.
Also performing in honor of Robin will be longtime friends, family and fellow musicians.
To say that Robin Kessinger is one of the country's leading flatpick guitarists would be quite an understatement.
He won the National Flatpicking Championship, in Winfield Kansas, but few know of all his State Flatpicking Championship honors; and most of them awarded multiple times! He holds titles in Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia, along with Best of Tri State (OH, KY & WV) and other contests that are too numerous to mention. A writer for the Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine wrote: "When Robin Kessinger performs, you can hear the ghosts of generations past joining in to help blend the notes from his guitar into the familiar strains of old-time-tunes." If you haven't heard Robin perform, you are in for a real treat. |
Robin Kessinger
Robin grew up with a rich Appalachian heritage surrounded by generations of musicians. His Father, Bob Kessinger was an accomplished mandolin player who taught Robin many tunes. World-renowned fiddler and recording artist, Clark Kessinger, (his uncle) and family friend Robert Rutland (Georgia Slim) both contributed to Robin's formative years as a musician. But it has always been the music of Appalachia itself that Robin found irresistible. So much so, that he has dedicated much of his life to passing on his heritage to others and preserving the music that is so much a part of our American history. Robin continues to headline many festivals and judges up-and coming flat-pick artists in contests around the country. He has been featured on PBS and BBC television specials and NPR radio shows. In addition to his performance schedule Robin is on staff at several events including Steve Kaufman's Flatpicking Camp since 1996, Augusta Heritage Workshops in Elkins, WV since 1983, and at the Allegheny Echoes Workshop near Marlinton, WV since 1997. Robert Shafer
On both acoustic and electric guitar, Robert Shafer possesses the uncommon ability to play with lightning velocity, infectious swing, or subtle emotion - whatever the music calls for. One of only a few guitar players to have won the prestigious Walnut Valley National Flat Picking Championship more than once, Robert has released seven recordings, many in partnership with other champion pickers, including Robin Kessinger, Steve Kaufman, and Johnny Staats. Robert was most influenced by Doc Watson's acoustic flatpicking, but over the past few decades he has spent at least as much time playing his Telecaster with country music bands Southern Mix and the Pourhouse Crew, mastering techniques learned from such standouts as Merle Travis, Danny Gatton, and Les Paul as well as others of Nashville's hottest sidemen. Dan Kessinger
Dan, a traditional West Virginia artist and state champion, plays a variety of musical styles on the fiddle and the guitar: bluegrass, country, blues, rock, jazz, and swing. He provides an opportunity for students to experience firsthand the musical heritage of Appalachia and its reverberations in contemporary music performed by an award-winning, Mountain Stage artist. Dan has won numerous awards in a variety of competitions, including the West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania State Fiddle Contests, and the Ohio State Guitar Contest. He has consistently placed in the National Flatpicking Championship on both the fiddle and the guitar. Dan's many appearances include the Mountain Stage and the Wheeling Jamboree. Joe Adkins
West Virginian, Joe Adkins is a well respected guitarist and often appears with Robin Kessinger as an accompanist |
This concert series is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
Update: 2014-01-25