CROSSVILLE – PAART brings Australian blues guitarist Geoff Achison back to the Palace Theatre on Friday, June 3rd for a special guitar clinic at 3 p.m. to be followed by an evening performance at 7 p.m. (central).
For the evening performance, he will be joined by the American version of his band, The Souldiggers, made up of Grammy-award winning drummer Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band) and Grammy nominated bassist Ted Pecchio (Susan Tedeschi Band.)
“We are thrilled and honored to bring these talented blues artists back to the Palace Theatre,” says PAART President, Debbie Mendenhall. “They brought the audience to their feet in ovation after ovation during their incredible performance last September. And to be able to offer a guitar clinic with Geoff Achison is an exciting way for PAART to fulfill our mission of tying educational opportunities with great performances.”
Geoff Achison has been a musical force on three continents, and now has well over twenty years of touring under his belt. Equal parts New Orleans Funk, driving Blues, jazzy Soul and Outback Mojo, this is southern blues music from the very deepest South. Having taught himself to play in the isolation of rural Australia, he has developed a blues/funk style all his own.
Unaware of how the sounds he was hearing on his limited record collection were produced, he invented some of his own techniques – without the aid of pedals or gadgets. As a result, watching him wrench sounds from his simple set-up can be something of a spectacle. He has played with scores of artists like Jorma Kaukonen and Hot Tuna, John Mayall, John Mayer, Levon Helm, Tommy Emmanuel and Hubert Sumlin.
Kaukonen is a particularly vocal fan of Achison, and Geoff has been teaching at his prestigious Fur Peace Guitar Ranch for over ten years. Guitar Player Magazine readers voted Achison one of the “Top Ten Hottest New Guitarists” in the world. He also won the coveted Albert King Award 1995 in Memphis and continues to enjoy an endorsement deal with Gibson Guitars USA.
The guitar clinic with Geoff Achison is an opportunity to participate in a guitar playing workshop with one of the top guitarists of our time. This clinic will be two hours of tips and instruction in a small group setting. The fee for the clinic is $40 and includes a coupon for one ticket to the evening performance. Registration forms can be found on PAART’s website www.performingartsalliance.org or at the Palace Theatre.
Tickets for Geoff Achison & the Souldiggers evening performance are available by phone at the Cumberland County Playhouse 931-484-5000 or online at www.ccplayhouse.com. Prices are $8 for students and $15 for adults plus any ticketing service charges that may apply. As always, tickets are also available at the beautiful, historic Palace Theatre, 72 S. Main Street, Crossville, phone 931-484-6133.
