Walnut Valley Festival, Winfield, Kansas
September 15—19, 2010
Stephen has also been a multiple Winfield winner.
Stephen Bennett was born in Oregon, grew up in New York and has lived in Virginia for the last three decades. Since his 1987 win at the National Flatpicking Championship in Winfield, Kansas (The Walnut Valley Festival), he has become known as a versatile and original guitarist who consistently garners critical praise and audience enthusiasm for his recordings and live performances.
With his stellar musicianship, a relaxed stage presence and quick wit, Stephen has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, France, England, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, and Japan. With fifteen self-produced CD recordings to his credit at this writing, a new Stephen Bennett recording is always in progress.
Aside from his work on the six-string guitar, Stephen is also one of the world's premiere performers on the Harp Guitar, an instrument he inherited from his great-grandfather. As a composer and arranger, he has created an enduring repertoire and a significant body of recorded work for this instrument. He organized and hosted the world’s first harp guitar convention – the Harp Guitar Gathering – held November 2003 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Slide work on his1930 National resophonic steel guitar is also an important part of Stephen's instrumental diversity.
The image of Stephen Bennett embracing his harp guitar is the one that tends to linger. The fact that Stephen is only too happy to champion the cause of the harp guitar may inadvertently obscure his abilities on the six-string instrument. In what is becoming known as the Golden Age of Guitar Luthiery (guitar-making), it's easy to overlook the fact that this is also the Golden Age of Guitar Playing. With six strings or more, as one of the most original and prolific composers and arrangers for the guitar on the current scene, Stephen Bennett is clearly a part of the latter heritage.
at hq@wvfest.com for festival info| jump to the top of this page | Walnut Valley Festival Post Office Box 245, 918 Main Winfield, Kansas 67156 (620) 221-3250 |
WV office hours are: Monday — Friday 9 am — Noon; 1 — 5 pm Central time |