Bob Evans

This Bob Evans IS NOT a well known American fast-food restaurant chain. This Bob Evans IS an award winning, Canadian finger-style guitarist. He combines an eclectic mix of contemporary finger-style guitar and traditional roots music, along with a warm vocal style, tilted sense of humour and down to earth stage presence, to provide a refreshing performance experience.

In September, 2003, Bob won the prestigious National Fingerpicking Champion title in Winfield, Kansas, having placed 3rd in the same competition the year before. He became only the second Canadian to have won the title in the 25 years of the competition, the other being the well known guitarist Don Ross.

His most recent CD, The Voice in the Grain, on Acoustic Tonic Music, was nominated for Best Instrumental Recording - Solo at the 2005 Canadian Folk Music Awards and was also nomintated for Outstanding Instrumental Recording at the 2004 Western Canadian Music Awards. This CD is the long anticipated follow up to his award winning CD, Caffeinated Coffee, which was awarded Outstanding Instrumental Recording at the 2000 Prairie Music Awards.

The Voice in the Grain features a combination of original compositions and the distinctive style of guitar arrangements that Bob has become known for. The Voice in the Grain continues his focus on composing and arranging instrumental music for solo acoustic guitar.

A performer in the Canadian music scene for over 30 years, Bob originally pursued a musical career in the mid-70's. From a diverse mix of traditional ballads, classic piano rags arranged for guitar, bluegrass, jug band and swing music, he performed at festivals and folk clubs across the country and appeared on national radio and television. He recorded extensively during this period, including two solo albums (featuring a similar eclectic mix of musical styles) and was featured on two compilations of international ragtime guitarists on the guitar-based label Kicking Mule Records. He also wrote and performed music for theatre and dance companies.

In the mid 1990's, as his children grew up and began to move out on their own, Bob began to get the beginnings of an urge to pick up the guitar again. But it wasn't until 1999 that he seriously returned to playing and recorded Caffeinated Coffee. Originally conceived of as a demo to send to folk clubs, Caffeinated Coffee went on to garner exceptional reviews and, as previously mentioned, was awarded Outstanding Instrumental Recording at the 2000 Prairie Music Awards (Western Canada). Since then he has gone on to perform concerts and at guitar festivals throughout North America, Taiwan and Great Britain.

While his recent recordings have been of instrumental music, his live performances continue to encompass a wide range of material. Blaming it, in part, on his love of the diverse and unusual radio programming over the years of CBC hosts like Jeurgen Gothe, Max Ferguson and Allan McFee, Bob is not afraid to present a traditional ballad alongside the Theme From Peter Gunn. He's developed a reputation for well-paced shows reinforced with a healthy dose of his own off-kilter sense of humour.

His music has also been featured on a number of compilation recordings. His composition That Infernal Optimist was featured on Borealis Records' "Six Strings North of the Border- Vol. 1". A compilation of Canadian acoustic guitar music, it features the works of 15 Canadian artists, including Don Ross, Dave Essig, Stephen Fearing, Bruce Cockburn, J.P. Cormier and many others.

Besides composing and performing guitar music, Bob also hosted a weekly radio program for five years, Six Strings & A Million Possibilities, which focused on music from the world of the guitar music, as well as a series for CBC radio called Six Strings in the Summer.