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Terry Robb is an awarding-winning fingerstyle guitarist, singer, composer, arranger and record producer. His work is featured in Hollywood films, documentaries and biographies, such as Game of Thrones, The Horse Whisperer, and Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist. He is associated with the American Primitive Guitar genre through his collaborations with Fahey, and is regarded as a virtuoso of acoustic blues guitar. In his multi-decade career, Robb has released 17 critically acclaimed solo recordings, and performed at festivals and concert halls across the United States, Canada and Europe. Terry Robb is an award winning artist, and his recordings have been praised by the likes of Charlie Musselwhite to Oprah Winfrey. Robb is a member of the Recording Academy, Oregon Music Hall of Fame and Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame. The Cascade Blues Association “Best Acoustic Guitar” award is named in his honor. For more information, visit www.terryrobb.com.
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Some musicians win awards. Then there are the very few who have awards named after them. Terry Robb – hailed as a blues guitar virtuoso and one of the finest acoustic guitarists on the international scene – is one of the latter. The Vancouver-born, Portland-based bluesman took home the Muddy Award for Best Acoustic Guitar so many times that the Cascade Blues Association (CBA) finally broke down and attached his name to the trophy permanently. Recognition for his artistry doesn't stop there. The Oregon Music Hall of Famer has been praised by The Blues Foundation, Rolling Stone, Acoustic Guitar, Down Beat, Guitar Player, Vintage Guitar, Living Blues and Oprah’s O Magazine, extolling his talents as a finger-picker, singer, songwriter, arranger and producer. He's toured the country with Buddy Guy, Steve Miller, Robin Trower, and John Fahey, appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, dazzled the crowd at Portland Trail Blazers games, and collaborated with the Oregon Symphony. During his multi-decade run in the spotlight he's shown himself to be a master of nearly every blues style and technique imaginable. Robb's recordings have been praised by critics and musicians on the international stage. His
original tunes draw on influences as varied as country blues to Coltrane, ragtime to Hendrix, and Americana to American Primitivism. His recordings are nominated and award winning and place high on prestigious playlists and recording charts. This includes a recognition from The Blues foundation
“Robb demonstrates’ blues expansiveness, and his own versatility, not on a travelogue of covers, but in an album of originals,” mused Dan Forte of Vintage Guitar magazine. “And it’s difficult to think of anyone who could pull that off as well...In Terry Robb’s hands, it not only makes perfect sense, it makes perfect blues sense.” “Simply breathtaking perfection,” exclaimed Frank Matheis of Living Blues magazine. “He’s not just technically sublime; he plays with unrestrained passion you will feel deep down inside.” Greg Johnson from the CBA had said that " Robb leaves us with a sense of awe and joy with every note he plays. It’s a winning formula that continues to lead the pack "
Terry Robb
Fingerstyle Guitarist, Singer, Composer, Producer
Selected Reviews
“The matter is clear: Terry Robb is one of our finest acoustic guitarists today. He’s not just technically sublime; he plays with unrestrained passion that you will feel deep down inside.” Frank Mathis, Living Blues magazine, reviewing Confessin’ My Dues
“It is impossible to overstate the significance and sheer delight of this outstanding, clever and creative album from a true blues legend at the top of his game.” - The Bishop, Blues Matters magazine, reviewing Confessin’ My Dues
"As if to remind us of his virtuosity, he opens with a jaw-dropping instrumental, “Butch Holler Stomp”. He follows that with a very different but equally amazing “Still On 101”...“Now Vestapol” is an instrumental medley, one of whose pieces is the traditional “Prodigal Son” by Rev. Robert Wilkins, which may well be the best played version you’ll ever hear..." - John Valenteyn, Toronto Blues Society, reviewing Confessin’ My Dues
“One of the best players, on acoustic and electric, embracing a range of blues styles and then some.” - Dan Forte, Vintage Guitar magazine, reviewing Cool On The Bloom
“A bonafide blues guitar star.” – Mark Bialczak, The Post-Standard, live at the New York State Blues Festival
“What distinguishes this LP is Robb’s superb production.” - Kurt Loder, Rolling Stone, reviewing Let Go by John Fahey
"It's the rare guitarist who can whip off a killer 12-bar blues solo, then turn around and fingerpick Travis-style with speed and subtlety. Yet Portland, Oregon, guitarist and singer Terry Robb does just that." - Ian Zack, Acoustic Guitar magazine, excerpt from “Roots Player Spotlight”
“Eight Acoustic Blues Masters…from classic masters to current blues wizards, here we’ve rounded up an inspiring assembly of blues masters really laying it down on acoustic guitar…Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Tommy Emmanuel...and Terry Robb. – Acoustic Nation, Guitar World
"Much of the blues press places Robb at the top of the heap of acoustic and electric pickers globally....a force to be reckoned with." - Tee Watts, Blues Blast, reviewing Cool On The Bloom
“From the first listen, Robb's guitar playing can blow you away...he's a favorite player in the Northwest, and a former buddy of John Fahey. Then it all makes sense.” - John Heidt, Vintage Guitar magazine
Whether sliding or fingerpicking, his technique is clean and articulate; no matter how busy the material gets...it never sounds crowded or overblown." - Genevieve Williams, Blues Revue
"Much to the delight of the crowd, [Steve] Miller took the stage halfway through the Curtis Salgado-Terry Robb set and joined in on acoustic guitar. He picked some and grinned a lot but mostly seemed content playing rhythm behind Robb's searing blues finger-picking...Robb is a virtuoso on the acoustic blues guitar." - Don Hamilton, The Oregonian, live at the Chiles Center, Portland, Ore.