Your cart is currently empty!
Robin pays tribute to his dear friend, who was a Grammy & Indie Award Winner, best known for his lyrical and powerful finger style acoustic guitar playing.
Out of stock
Al Petteway was a Grammy-Winning guitarist who played nearly every type of popular, folk and classical music – as a soloist, as part of anย ensemble, and as an onstage accompanist. He established a reputation as a world-class sideman by playing and recording with Jethro Burns, Peter Rowan, Tom Paxton, Jonathan Edwards, Cheryl Wheeler, Debi Smith, David Wilcox, Maggie Sansone, Bonnie Rideout and many more. Though his primary instrument has always been the guitar, he also studied lute, string bass, percussion and music composition. His compositions for acoustic fingerstyle guitar were strongly influenced by his love of Celtic music and his own roots in folk, rock and blues.ย He performed as a solo guitarist and with his wife Amy White as a duo, playing original and traditional music on acoustic instruments including guitar, banjo, mandolin, harp, piano, and percussion.
While living in the Washington, D.C. area, Al was awardedย forty five “Wammies” by the Washington Area Music Association including the top honors ofย “ARTIST OF THE YEAR”ย andย “MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR”.ย He was also the recipient of two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for Music Composition.ย Al performed at the Vice President’s House and The White House during the Clinton administration. He and his wife, Amy White were Artists in Residence at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and Warren Wilson College where he has been theย Guitar Week coordinator for the world famous “Swannanoa Gathering” music camp for over twenty years.ย In 2005, he was votedย one of the Top Fifty Acoustic Guitarists of all Timeย byย the readers of Acoustic Guitar Magazine and in 2008 he wonย Silver and Bronze medalsย in the magazine’sย Player’s Choice Awards.ย Al’s CD “Caledon Wood” was included as one of theย “Essential Albums of the past Twenty Years”ย in Acoustic Guitar’s 20th Anniversary issue and his album “It’s Only the Blues” was selected as one of the top ten “Essential Acoustic Albums of 2012.”ย His newest albums are “Mountain Guitar” and “Dream Guitars, Vol II.”
Al’s Dream Guitars videos, his numerous recordings, music books, and instructional videos, have helped win him international acclaim and appearances on National Radio and Television Programs. His music has been featured in a number of films and documentaries includingย six documentaries by Ken Burns.ย His original composition “Sligo Creek” was used as the theme for theย Emmy-Winning PBS series “The National Parks-America’s Best Idea.”ย In 2013 he was given the title of “Master Music Maker” by The Swannanoa Gathering and Warren Wilson College.ย In 2018, he was voted among the top ten guitar campย instructors by the readers of Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
Hailed as a โCeltic guitar godโ by Baltimoreย City Paperย and โone of the best folk instrumentalists in the businessโ byย Sing Out! Magazine, Robin Bullock is one of the preeminent acoustic music masters of our time. His virtuosity on guitar, cittern and mandolin blends the ancient melodies of the Celtic lands, their vigorous American descendants, and the masterworks of the Baroque and Renaissance eras into one powerful musical vision. The 17th-century harp tunes of legendary Irish bard Turlough OโCarolan, the spirited jigs and reels of rural Ireland, the haunting ballads of the southern Appalachians and the timeless compositions of Bach, Dowland and Francesco da Milano all find a musical common ground in Robinโs music, where lightning-fast fingerwork one moment is perfectly balanced with tender, quiet intimacy the next. A warm, friendly presence onstage, Robin effortlessly creates a magical world for the audience with his multi-instrumental wizardry, taking them on an unforgettable journey into the deep heartโs core and through the music of the spheres.