Who do you think are the most important acoustic players today?

[fpuhan]

Originally Posted by oxygenman

Julian Lage, Tommy Emmanuel, Bryan Sutton, Mollie Tuttle, Grant Gordy, Martin Taylor, Bireli Lagrene, Sylvan Luc, Courtney Hartman, and Chris Eldridge would be on my list. It's a long list. I love them all.

With a name like Martin Taylor, he'd better be good!

[6L6]

Tommy Emmanuel, Paul Simon, Ed Simon (Paul's brother), Neil Young, Jorma Kaukonan, Joan Baez, Paul Stookey, Peter Yarrow, Julian Lage, Victoria Lloyd, and Larkin Poe.

[pegleghowell]

So much great stuff to look back on,I don`t even think about forward.All I know is that if a 1931 Skip James turned up today he`d still be extraordinary.

[Emil]

John Mayer
They way he managed to reach out to a broad audience with guitar driven music 15 years ago (and still going strong) must have had a massive impact on the younger generation.
Suddenly acoustic folk and blues was on the lips of people that would never approach it otherwise.

He gave the acoustic another peak just like Clapton did in the 90’s with his unplugged session.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Molly Tuttle seems to garner a lot of respect. Nice to see younger acoustic players come up through the ranks.

scott memmer

[EZYPIKINS]

At my house. The most important acoustic player/
Is me.

[Garlic Breath]

There’s this guy in Massachusetts, really low key and under the radar...Alan Cangemi...amazing. I think his family is mafioso, and he might be in a witness protection program by now

[beachbum205]

Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings are influencing guitar playing in a very significant way with their amazing skill and dexterity. So much so, that even though I almost never used to listen to their genre, I find myself doing so more and more these days.

I believe I'm not the only one.

[bfm612]

Originally Posted by beachbum205

Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings are influencing guitar playing in a very significant way with their amazing skill and dexterity. So much so, that even though I almost never used to listen to their genre, I find myself doing so more and more these days.

I believe I'm not the only one.

I'm with you. For years I listened to some of the godparents of country and bluegrass, and more current bluegrass and bluegrass-adjacent acts like Sara and Sean Watkins's projects, but seeing Tuttle and Strings play drove me to get a better dreadnaught, play more, and dig deeper into the genre. I just needed a gateway drug, and these two did it for me.

[beachbum205]

Originally Posted by bfm612

I'm with you. For years I listened to some of the godparents of country and bluegrass, and more current bluegrass and bluegrass-adjacent acts like Sara and Sean Watkins's projects, but seeing Tuttle and Strings play drove me to get a better dreadnaught, play more, and dig deeper into the genre. I just needed a gateway drug, and these two did it for me.

Very cool! For me, they both make playing look so effortless that I delude myself into thinking that one day maybe I could play like that too. It ain't gonna happen, but it's a pleasant delusion anyhow.

[bfm612]

Originally Posted by beachbum205

Very cool! For me, they both make playing look so effortless that I delude myself into thinking that one day maybe I could play like that too. It ain't gonna happen, but it's a pleasant delusion anyhow.

A brag/hairflip disguised as encouragement: I've taken a couple of workshops with Molly Tuttle, and I once mentioned how there's no way I can play at whatever bpm most seasoned bluegrass players including her play at, but she tsk-tsked it and said, "oh, you can definitely learn to play fast." I do not play fast, but hearing that made me think, "well, dangnabbit, I sure can try!" It has nothing to do with achieving Tuttle's musicality, but at least she made me feel like I had room to grow.

[PhilFish]

I'll be 70 in four months, I think I'm becoming a Billy Strings groupie.
The young artist playing acoustic music now make me want to be around for 40 more years so I can listen to what they come up with
Dam good songs and picking being done by these folks

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

At my house. The most important acoustic player/
Is me.

Same at my house. He's very very good.

[Scotso]

for my music...in the alive today category
Kenny Smith
David Grier
Bryan Sutton
Critter Eldridge
Mike Dawes
Molly Tuttle
Sully Tuttle
Alan Shadd
Courtney Hartman
Billy Strings
Tony Wray
Pat Flynn

on and on.