Artist Biography
Tony Furtado grew up in Pleasanton, CA and took up the banjo at age 12. At age 19, he entered himself in the banjo playing competition at the venerable bluegrass festival in Winfield, Kansas (Walnut Valley Festival) and won the Grand National Championship. Hailed as a banjo prodigy, he got his first record deal in 1992 and has been making music and releasing records ever since. As he was cementing his reputation as banjoist extraordinaire, Furtado was also developing himself into an equally virtuosic slide guitarist. And now, with his latest release, Thirteen (Funzalo Records, 2007), this restless artist makes an exponential leap into the wide-open spaces of mythopoetic America, a terrain inhabited by such personal heroes as Cooder, the Band, Creedence, Petty and Waits. No two ways about it - this heartfelt, multileveled work completes Tony Furtado's ascent from the folk circuit to the big leagues.
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Current Release: Deep Water
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acoustic bluesman, slide guitarist, banjo wizard songwriter with an emotionally riveting voice
"He mixes bluegrass roots with a mainstream pop streak, easily holding the spotlight, thanks to his restrained virtuosity on acoustic and slide guitar and a warmly engaging voice reminiscent of T Bone Burnett, sans preachiness."
- PASTE Magazine
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