The Ragtime Blues was a popular guitar style in the Southeast during the 1920′s and 1930′s. Influenced by classic ragtime piano, minstrel shows, Tin Pan Alley and other sources, this authentic American roots music blended black and white, rural and urban, spiritual and secular elements. Though a form of blues, this music was anything but sad. It featured syncopated rhythms, quick tempos, bouncy melodies, and humorous lyrics.

Playing in a robust fingerpicking style to mimic the sound of a piano, seminal guitarists such as Blind Blake, Reverend Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy and Blind Boy Fuller paved the way for the future generations who followed in this tradition. Their recordings and those of more contemporary guitar notables such as Doc Watson, Stefan Grossman, Jorma Kaukonen, Jim Kweskin and Roy Book Binder have provided the inspiration and compass for my own musical journey.

Through public performance and this web site, I hope to help keep this authentic American musical tradition alive.