Flat picker Mt Rushmore

[catdaddy]

My Mt Rushmore has room for a 5th member: Bryan Sutton.

[Zissou Intern]

In addition to the four icons in the opening post, the list is quite long. I think there are more than a few other iconic names below...
David Grier
Kenny Smith
Robert Bowlin
Chris Eldridge
Jack Lawrence
David Rawlings
Charles Sawtelle
Clay Hess
Cody Kilby
Mark O'Connor
Tim Stafford
Andy Falco
Dan Tyminski
Roy Clark
Jake Stargel
Bob Minner
Carl Miner
Allen Shadd
Billy Strings
Nina Gerber
Jeff White
Molly Tuttle
Tim May
Brad Davis
Bryan Sutton
Beppe Gambetta
Jim Hurst

[jaymarsch]

Zissou - Great list to follow the first four that the OP listed. David Rawlings and Nina Gerber are in my list of personal faves.
Best,
Jayne

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

Zissou - Great list to follow the first four that the OP listed. David Rawlings and Nina Gerber are in my list of personal faves.
Best,
Jayne

I agree, Jayne. I was lucky to see Nina with Mollie O'Brien several years ago. I love all her work with Kate Wolfe. She is a very underrated talent. And David Rawlings, just as Charles Sawtelle was, is incredibly creative and inventive.

[RussellHawaii]

I saw Nina Gerber with Kate Wolf at least 15 times, I think she’s great. I’m a huge Kate Wolf fan.

[Moldstar]

Originally Posted by DebbieE

I'd put Bryan Sutton up there in the first 5 or 6. Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Norman Blake, Clarence White and then Bryan Sutton!

Brian Sutton is (in my opinion) the absolutely most accomplished flat-picking guitar player alive today. He is no joke. Although my two current favorites are Bob Minner and David Grier, somewhat similar styles to each other, and I just love their solo interpretations of old standards, so much great phrasing and musicality, and Grier is my favorite even though he is such a recalcitrant, cranky sonnofab*tch.

[Allen Shadd]

When I think "Mt. Rushmore", I think of the ones that have had the most impact and influence on flatpicking as we know it today. That may or may not be my favorite flatpickers, but the ones that have undeniably have had the most influence on the genre. In no particular order, I would say Tony Rice, Clarence White, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and Dan Crary. Yes, I know that is five, and I know that it leaves off a lot of people's favorites. But these are the five that have shaped the genre into what it has become.