Brooks Robertson LIVE at Tangled String Studios

“All guitar players are like Frankensteins. Their music is made out of bits and pieces of other players. In Brooks' case, he's a son of a Frankenchops, the well known monster picker Buster B. Jones. Buster and Brooks are both so scary ... the legend continues.” - Mason Williams

"Brooks Robertson has one of the very best techniques in fingerstyle guitar. You can hear the influences of Buster B. Jones, Jerry Reed, and all the great fingerpickers past ... and he's writing some fabulous new material. An amazing guitar player who's showing the rest of us how it's done! Nobody whops Brooks Robertson!" - Richard Smith

He just doesn't need much more than two thumbs, eight fingers and six strings on a wooden box to carry his listeners away. The protege of Buster B. Jones, Brooks Robertson wowed guitar fans around the world even as a child. At age 14 he appeared on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion", where he won first place in a talent competition for 12-20 year olds. In 2010 he won 1st place in the country category and 2nd place overall in the "Yamaha Six String Theory Guitar Competition" in Los Angeles. In 2012 Brooks received the Horizon Award for young, up and coming guitarists by The National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame, and was recently voted Portland, Oregon's "Best Emerging Artist" by Deli Magazine. Still in his early 20s, Brooks continues perfecting his craft learning new tunes, styles and techniques, as well as composing his own groovy and soulful original music. Hailed by prominent exponents of his instrument like Nokie Edwards, Thom Bresh, John Jorgenson and Mason Williams, the young fingerstyle guitarist embodies the creative vision of a postmodern world: It's the music that counts. Brooks utilizes his superb technical abilities to play bass, rhythm and melody simultaneously and surpass the borders of conventional genres. He merges hauntingly beautiful compositions, country rhythms and jazzy harmonies with funky licks into his very own art form – sometimes delivered with a punch, sometimes with a smile. Brooks was born in Eugene, Oregon in 1989. Seeing Buster B. Jones perform at a festival near his home town became a life-changing experience for the kid from the sticks. Just eleven years old, he was immediately inclined to pick up the guitar. Soon, the world renowned fingerstyle virtuoso and instructor dedicated his spare time to introducing his new fan into the secrets of the fretboard, and after six months of lessons the natural talent performed his first show with his mentor. When Buster B. Jones took him under his wings, Brooks began playing high-profile gigs such as the Nokie Edwards Festival, the NAMM Show in Anaheim, the Montreal Jazz Festival or the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield among others. By the time he was a teenager he had become the youngest endorsee of Godin Guitars and traveled to several states and foreign countries to perform. Brooks went on to play on Garrison Keillor's National Public Radio classic "A Prairie Home Companion" in 2004, where he won first place in a talent competition for 12 to 20 year old participants. In recent years, while still appearing regularly at prestigious events like the Annual Chet Atkins Tribute Concert and Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS) Convention in Nashville, Brooks focused on perfecting his craft, soaking up new tunes and styles and techniques as well as blending them into his own groovy and soulful original music. He entered the "Yamaha Six String Theory Guitar Competition", which drew participants from more than 40 countries all over the world. Brooks was invited to perform in the finals at the Broad Stage in Los Angeles in March 2010. A star-studded jury, including Steve Lukather and Lee Ritenour, eventually chose him as winner of the country category and second place winner overall. In 2013 Brooks began working in a duo with fingerstyle guitar champ John Standefer. The Brooks and John duo has since been impressing audiences around the country with a unique brand of guitar artistry. Their album “We Came To Play” is in high regards with some of the worlds top fingerstyle guitarists.

Host or Publisher Josh Taylor