I’ve been a Phil Keaggy fan for thirty years. I try to make it to any concert of his I can simply because he’s one of the best, and not just guitarists. He’s one of the best people. Here’s a podcast of an interview a Cleveland station did of him prior to his two shows at Nighttown in Cleveland.
It’s a wonderful interview and he drops a lot of names of folks he had the privilege of playing with throughout the years including Peter Frampton, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Chet Atkins, Ted Nuggent, and on and on. But in classic Keaggy style, he wasn’t dropping names to build himself up. He doesn’t need to do that. He came out of Ohio as part of the seminal rock band Glass Harp, opening for the biggest acts of the country. He left the rock star lifestyle through a dramatic conversion to Christianity after the death of his mother. He has gone on to produce more than 50 albums, winning many awards and accolades for his finger-picking style. He has produced some of my favorite albums of all time including the vocal rocker “Crimson & Blue” and the amazing instrumental albums like “Lights of Madrid” and “Beyond Nature.”
He’s currently doing a Kickstarter project for a new vocal album he’s ready to produce. If you want to waste a lot of time, just Youtube search him for examples of his amazing abilities.
He’s also moved well beyond labels, and as an indie musician, I fully support him. He may not have the wide public acclaim that he could have had if he would have remained a mainstream artist, but inside the industry of serious musicians, it would be hard to find someone who doesn’t know and admire Phil Keaggy.
Check him out! Here’s his Kickstarter campaign. He’s almost at his $30,000 goal.
Author Mark W Sasse 