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September 2026 marks the three-year anniversary of the passing of Grammy Award-winning guitarist/composer and longtime WNC resident Al Petteway. To mark the occasion and celebrate Petteway’s musical legacy, his close friend and frequent collaborator Robin Bullock has created an annual concert tradition at White Horse, “Robin Plays Al,” an evening of Petteway’s transcendent guitar music.
Petteway’s recordings, music books, instructional videos, and compositions for acoustic fingerstyle guitar, strongly influenced by his love of Celtic music and his own roots in folk, rock and blues, won him international acclaim. His music was featured in numerous soundtracks for Ken Burns’ documentaries, including Mark Twain, Baseball – The Tenth Inning, The Dust Bowl, The Roosevelts, and the Emmy Award-winning The National Parks – America’s Greatest Idea. In 2005, he was voted one of the Top Fifty Acoustic Guitarists of All Time by the readers of Acoustic Guitar Magazine and in 2008 he won Silver and Bronze medals in the magazine’s Player’s Choice Awards. His CD Caledon Wood was voted one of the “Essential Albums of the Past Twenty Years” in Acoustic Guitar’s 20th anniversary issue and his 2012 release It’s Only the Blues was included on two of the Acoustic Guitar Editor’s “Top Ten Essential Albums of 2012” lists. Petteway also served as Coordinator of the Swannanoa Gathering’s Guitar Week for 25 years and was the resident guitar demo performer for Weaverville’s legendary guitar shop Dream Guitars.

Indie Award-winning multi-instrumentalist Robin Bullock’s personal and professional friendship with Petteway dates back to the 1980’s, when both were active in the Washington DC music scene. Both there and in the Asheville area, where both would eventually relocate, the two along with Petteway’s wife and performing partner Amy White played many concerts together and collaborated on numerous recording projects through the years. Bullock, the founder and host of White Horse Black Mountain’s monthly Carolina Celtic concert series, is delighted to have this opportunity to honor his departed friend and let his music be heard live again.