Rodney Branigan

Texan-raised, London-based virtuosic guitarist Rodney Branigan has an extraordinary
talent. Sometimes he plays two guitars at once and other times he plays the piano and guitar at the same time, but his vocal skills and lyrical content are so enticing that you soon forget he is creating the sound of an entire ensemble simultaneously.

“The revelation of the year or even the decade” (Crossroads Magazine, France)

“Death-defying, two-guitar performance” (Guitar Techniques, UK)

“Rodney Branigan is one of the most amazing artists you will ever see. Not simply
because he is unique, but rather because he is impossibly talented” (Music Connection Magazine)

Rodney’s distinctive style of acoustic wizardry lies second perhaps only to the music
itself; heartfelt, organic progressive folk with undertones of rock, flamenco, classical,
bluegrass and jazz.

Since his UK debut at Hampton Court Palace in 2007, Rodney has graced the
same stages as such British national treasures as Billy Bragg and Jethro Tull, toured
with double award winning Show of Hands and has been featured on many stages at Glastonbury,
recently collaborating with Seth Lakeman and Steve Knightley. His fast expanding
festival schedule has taken him from the Acoustic Festival of Britain to headlining the Isle of Bute
International Guitar Festival in 2011.

With a snowballing notoriety and dedicated fan base around the world, Rodney has
toured extensively. 2007 hailed a coast-to-coast tour of his native America, followed by
an eagerly anticipated tour of China where he was invited to guest lecture at prestigious
music colleges across the country. Back in Europe he has amazed audiences across
France, Germany and Switzerland, sweeping up an enthralled following.

A vibrant yearly Indian tour now adorns Rodney’s roster, following the success of his
sponsored national tour with The Times of India in 2008. Highlights included opening
for Pentagram (the biggest selling rock band in India), playing the main
stage at the Ladakh Conflunece in the Himalayas and performing at the Indian Council
for Cultural Relations. The Indian connection will be sealed in December
2011 when Rodney collaborates with prominent Indian artists on his upcoming album
as they record together in Asia.

Rodney’s infectious music is a staple on the BBC radio schedule while his technique is
revered by general music and specialist guitar media alike; featuring in titles such as
MI Pro, Music Maker, Acoustic Guitar, and Guitar Techniques. Gathering momentum as a technical guitar icon, Rodney now stars in his own training DVDs as part of the Guitar Techniques ‘Giving something back’ series.

His masterful musicianship tripled with boundless energy and enthusiasm is inspiring.
He regularly hosts workshops around the UK teaching finger style technical courses
to accomplished players and in 2011 hosted the Progressive Fingerstyle Course at the International Guitar
Foundation's Festival and Summer School in Cheltenham, UK.

Encouraging young people is a major driving force for Rodney; he is part of the Access to Music ‘Band
Factory’ team every year - a project encouraging children to learn directly from the
professionals themselves and discover ‘how to be in a band’. He is proud to be patron
of the award winning ‘Re Play Music Project’ as well, with which he helps run workshops
at Glastonbury giving children the opportunity to pick up new instruments and gain
skills. In 2008 he trained the youngest ever band to appear at Glastonbury, leading 35
children to perform on stage.

2010 heralded an exciting collaboration for Rodney as he joined artists such as Tommy
Emmanuel at Mel Bay Music, becoming the first global artist signed by the UK office to this prestigious
publishing company. In keeping with the highest quality of performance and credibility,
Rodney is now the ‘Face of Yamaha’, regularly featuring on the official website and
endorsing the LL guitar series. Rodney plays the LLX16 and is honoured to represent
Yamaha at music industry events across Europe. With brands jostling for Rodney’s
favour, he selects top companies to endorse such as T.C. Electronic, D'addario Strings, Wide Ride Straps, and Logarhythm Stompboxes.