One show, two guitar virtuosos

Black Fly Jam and Algoma Conservatory Concerts will host fingerstyle guitarists Don Ross and Kent Nishimura at The Loft on Saturday, April 6.

Doors open at 7 p.m. with an 8 p.m. showtime.

Tickets are $35 and may be purchased online or by phone at 705-971-4197.

A news release about this performance follows:

We still talk about the incredible show Don Ross brought us last time – with his collaborative quartet Men of Steel – all the best styles and abilities in four incredible artists, all steel string guitar slingers!

Stand by for a blistering hot presentation this time as well! Don is an incredible finger style guitar player, a strong vocalist and certainly enjoys connecting with his audiences.

This time Don welcomes Japanese YouTube sensation, guitarist Kent Nishimura, as special guest for Canadian dates on this tour. Only 21 years old, Kent is a highly praised and gifted guitarist and already a seasoned performer. He’s been performing professionally since the age of 10, released his debut album at 12 years of age, and at 14 won Grand Champion at Japan’s premiere fingerstyle guitar competition. Many more recordings and accolades have followed.

Sounds like he and Don are very compatible! Don Ross's music borrows from blues, jazz, folk and classical music creating a style that he describes as "heavy wood". Ross's advanced technique and his sure feeling for rhythm combine with uncommon ideas to make his style instantly recognizable. He often uses percussive techniques and plays intricate down and upstroke patterns with his thumb. These techniques have found their way into the toolboxes of many competitive fingerstyle guitarists, and when listening to Kent’s YouTube recordings I am aware of the influence Don has had on this young man’s abilities.

One of today's true innovators of guitar composition and technique, Don Ross has emerged as one of the most respected musicians in Canada and a top guitarist of the world. In September 1996, he managed to do what no other player has done: win the prestigious U.S. National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship for the second time (he first won in 1988). The competition, held yearly in Winfield, Kansas, cannot be won only with immaculate technique, but the player's music must also display a high degree of emotion and intensity — hallmarks of Don's style.

Ross names Bruce Cockburn, John Renbourn, Pierre Bensusan, Keith Jarrett, Egberto Gismonti and Pat Metheny as his main sources of inspiration. In 2021, Don won the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

In the liner notes to Ross' 2003 album Robot Monster, Bruce Cockburn writes, "Nobody does what Don Ross does with an acoustic guitar. He takes the corners so fast you think he's going to roll, but he never loses control."

To read more about Don's recordings, and many accolades and professional activities, please visit his website ...and here is a link to Kent – what a talent!