Elk Mountain Rag

A Grammy Award winning recording artist and performer, Al Petteway has played nearly every type of popular, folk and classical music. Though his primary instrument has always been the guitar, he has also studied lute, string bass, percussion and music composition. His compositions for acoustic fingerstyle guitar are strongly influenced by his love of Celtic music and his own roots in folk, rock and blues. His recordings, music books, and instructional videos have helped to win him international acclaim and appearances on National Radio and Television Programs. Al's music has also been used in soundtracks for independent films including Ken Burns' documentaries on "Mark Twain" , the Emmy Award winning "The National Parks - America's Greatest Idea" , "Baseball - The Tenth Inning," "The Dust Bowl," and "The Roosevelts." Al has been awarded FORTY FIVE"Wammies" by the Washington Area Music Association including the top honors of "ARTIST OF THE YEAR" and "MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR". He was the recipient of two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for Music Composition and has performed at the Vice President's House and The White House. His playing is featured on more than sixty recordings by some of the World's best known Folk and Celtic musicians. 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 Magazine's 20th anniversary issue and his 2012 release "It's Only the Blues" was included on two of the Acoustic Guitar Magazine's Editor's "Top Ten Essential Albums of 2012" lists. He performs exclusively with his wife, Amy White. In addition to his concerts and workshops, Al records and teaches private lessons in their home studio in Fairview, NC and is the Guitar Week coordinator for the world famous "Swannanoa Gathering" music camp at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C.

"Al Petteway is quickly building a catalogue of some of the most beautiful instrumental guitar work ever recorded."
- DIRTY LINEN MAGAZINE

"An innovative instrumentalist known for his open tunings, Petteway offers a rich, dulcet sound that features a fusion of old and new."
- THE BOSTON GLOBE

"His articulate flawless fingering and lyrical phrasing do not just engage the heart, but they invite the consciousness to open."
- NAPRA TRADE JOURNAL