Siskiyou Music Project, Britt Education and Hilltop Music present an exciting evening of acoustic guitar music on Friday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Hilltop Music in Phoenix. This concert is the kickoff to the Britt Guitar Weekend which will take place June 22-24 and will feature workshops with seven guitarists of different styles. This performance will feature Portland blues master Terry Robb and virtuoso guitarist, composer and vocalist Vicki Genfan. Advance reservation are recommended and can be made on our ticket page.
Details on the Britt Guitar Weekend can be found on the Britt Website
Every now and then an artist comes along whose music reaches out and touches the soul of all who hear them…virtuoso guitarist, singer and composer Vicki Genfan is among those artists… Drawing from folk, jazz, pop, soul and world music, Vicki is redefining ‘singer/songwriter culture.’ With a mastery of the acoustic guitar that borders on pure alchemy, audiences are mesmerized by the waves of sound Vicki creates with just two hands and her voice. Using 29 alternate tunings and the percussive technique she calls ‘slap-tap’, you’ll find the addition of her pure, expressive vocals that dig deep and stir the heart to be the perfect accompaniment on many of her songs. Vicki writes and beautifully sings her own brand of music and lyrics while putting her unmistakable imprint on familiar tunes like the Beatles’ Norweigian Wood. An evening with Vicki is far more than a concert; stories, warmth and humor come gift wrapped in an unforgettable evening of music that leaves the audience always wanting more.
Vicki has been recognized among the world’s greatest guitarists and musicians at festivals such as The International Montreal Jazz Festival, Germany’s Open Strings Guitar Festival, Italy’s Soave Guitar Festival, as well as at venues and Performing Arts Centers across the US and abroad. In 2005 she was one of the featured artists on ‘La Guitara’, the first compilation CD featuring female guitarists from around the globe, released by Vanguard Records. With several additional ground-breaking recordings behind her, recent acquisitions of the 6 string banjo, 12 string and baritone guitars, high demand at clinics and music camps and an ongoing European presence, Vicki continues to reach beyond musical borders and into new territory. Find out more about Vicki.
“I understand completely why the audience applauds and whistles so wildly…this is fiery, living music.”
– IndieMusic.com“I have to open my eyes to make sure that only one guitar is playing and that Vicki Genfan – so the name of this fascinating woman – only owns two hands.”
– Spurren Magazine, Switzerland
Terry Robb is one of the top acoustic blues guitarists of our time. His signature fingerpicking style has earned him international acclaim from worldwide audiences, music critics and his distinguished peers. Incorporating elements from the Mississippi Delta music tradition, ragtime, country, swing and free jazz, Robb has built a unique blues sound that has made him a legend in his prolific music career spanning more than four decades.
The multitude of awards Terry Robb has received speak to his seminal talent as a blues guitarist. Robb has been inducted into both the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and the Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame. He single-handedly defined the Muddy Award for Best Acoustic Guitar, winning the honor 19 consecutive years from 1992 until 2011. Upon his retirement from the competition in 2011, the award was renamed the “Terry Robb” Acoustic Guitar Muddy Award to honor his landmark contributions to blues music. In 2017, he received the Muddy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Robb was born in British Columbia, raised in the United States and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. He achieved greatness at an early age, performing with Ramblin’ Rex of Frank Zappa / Captain Beefheart fame, Canned Heat’s Henry Vestine, and steel string guitar icon John Fahey. At age twenty-four, Robb’s collaboration with Fahey led to producing several of his critically-acclaimed recordings, including “Let Go” which earned Fahey a four-star review by Rolling Stone.
As an acclaimed producer and session guitarist, Robb has contributed to many award-winning projects, including Alice Stuart’s Grammy- and W.C. Handy-nominated album, “Can’t Find No Heaven.” With more than 15 albums under his name, he has collaborated with Eddy Clearwater, Maria Muldaur, Ike Willis, Curtis Salgado, and Glen Moore, toured with Buddy Guy and Steve Miller, and shared the stage with B.B. King, Albert Lee, Joe Cocker, Bo Diddley, George Thorogood, Leo Kottke, Johnny Winter and many more all-stars.
Steeped in Americana ethnomusicology, Robb has been featured in numerous documentary films, books and articles profiling American roots and blues music and the luminaries with whom he has worked. These include the films “Touch Me Someplace I Can Feel” about the late cartoonist John Callahan and “Portland Mojo: How Stumptown Got the Blues,” and the book Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist.
“One of the best players, on acoustic and electric, embracing a range of blues styles and then some.” – Dan Forte, Vintage Guitar Magazine
“Unquestionably, Robb ranks right up there with the heavy hitters, a player of dazzling skill and technique. He could go to any guitar festival and show them a few chords.” – Frank Matheis, Living Blues Magazine
