News

Isle Of Bute To Host Rodney Branigan

• 1st Aug 2011

Guitar virtuoso Rodney Branigan will be performing at the 1st International Guitar Festival on the Isle of Bute, playing on both 17 and 18 September.

Branigan calls his music “progressive folk fusion,” but that doesn’t do it justice. He blends rock, folk, flamenco, madrigal, classical, bluegrass and jazz –– and it all works. Most of his songs are instrumentals that are driving, thumping monsters. The vocal pieces are just as strong with Branigan playing music so compelling that you have to listen to it.

Watching Branigan play can be a mind-boggling experience. You look for the hard drive, because no musician could do what he’s doing. When no assistance is apparent, you wonder if he’s possessed. Playing three instruments at once, two guitars (a 12-string and 6-string) and a tambourine. His musical facility is so awe-inspiring that he kicks the “novelty” tag right to the curb. This is a real musician with extraordinary talent.

Branigan starts the show with one guitar across his knee, another resting vertically against his other leg, and a tambourine under his foot. He not only plays these instruments at the same time, Branigan also uses the guitar bodies for percussion.

Further details on the Bute International Guitar Festival can be found at link