Tom Feldmann

FOR FESTIVALS/WORKSHOPS

Over that past two years I have taught a number of guitar instructional DVD's for Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop, distributed worldwide by Mel Bay (http://www.guitarvideos.com/products/instructors/tom-feldmann).

Titles include:
-The Guitar of Charlie Patton
-Delta Blues Anthology
-The Guitar of Bukka White
-The Guitar of Son House
-The Guitar of Fred McDowell
-The Guitar of Blind Willie Johnson
-Bottleneck Slide Guitar for Beginners
-Masters of Bottleneck Slide Guitar
-Bottleneck Gospel Guitar
-The Gospel Guitar of Mississippi John Hurt

I could teach a class on any of the above artists or touch on a few for a general course.

BIOGRAPHY

Folklorist, ethnomusicologist and musician Alan Lomax once said, "You can't kill off a culture until you kill the last person who carries it." That statement resonates deep within Tom Feldmann as for nearly half his life he has carried on the traditions of the acoustic country blues and gospel music recorded in the 1920's and 30's.

Minnesota native Tom Feldmann taught himself to play guitar at age 17 after hearing the recordings of the pioneers of acoustic country blues and states, "Mississippi John Hurt taught me to pick, Fred McDowell taught me to play slide and the mighty Son House taught me to sing." His debut solo album was released in 1999 and Tom has since spent the years writing, touring and recording his own original gospel compositions as well as carrying on the tradition of solo acoustic country blues.

Over the last few years, Tom has shifted the focus of his attention from his own writing to the music of the many legendary bluesmen who inspired him to pick up the guitar all those years ago. This journey has resulted in a series of CD's, starting with Tribute (2010) and now continues with Lone Wolf Blues (2012). It also resulted in a string of instructional DVD's for Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop that have received rave reviews and distribution around the world.

In 2013, Feldmann is excited to be back on the road following a 2 year hiatus due to his wife suffering a spontaneous dissection of the left main artery. Tom will be at Merlefest in April and at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch in May, and look for new DVD lessons, "The Guitar of Charlie Patton" and "Delta Blues Anthology" in the spring and "The Guitar Robert Johnson" in the fall/winter. Feldmann will also begin recording his next CD in the summer/fall.

TESTIMONIALS

Vintage Guitar Magazine, Pete Prown says:
Tom Feldmann is a gifted country bluesman, slippin' and slidin' on his resonator guitars with the soul of a Delta master. Beyond his powerful fingerpicking and deadly bottleneck work, Feldmann is also a fine singer, his gravelly voice reaching through the decades to evoke the hard-scrabble days of the Depression and life in the Deep South between World Wars I and II. In addition to creating numerous instructional videos for Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop (www.guitarvideos.com/products/instructors/tom-feldmann), Feldmann's latest album, Lone Wolf Blues is a master-class of country blues and gospel guitar from the 1920's through '40's.

Stefan Grossman says:
I first discovered Tom Feldmann via YouTube. His clips had that extra magic and talent that one rarely finds on the internet. I decided to contact Tom and one thing led to another and we started to work together on a series of Country Blues guitar DVD lessons.

Tom is and was AMAZING in the studio. He focuses on the music and themes of each lesson with laser like intensity. All the old guys behind the cameras and consoles find it difficult at times to keep up with his well prepared lesson plans. He has that rare talent of being able to accurately transcribe the amazing playing of such great legendary bluesmen as Charlie Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson, Fred McDowell, Blind Willie Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt and many others. The results have been a string of highly acclaimed lessons that have found an international audience.

Tom can play this music but he can also sing it with intensity. I see a bright future ahead for this blues and gospel master.

Living Blues Magazine says:
"He sounds like he caught the midnight train, found the Lord, and caught the blues at the same time."

Blues Revue Magazine:
"Feldmann's supple fingerpickin' and lilting tenor gives immediacy to the plea for sense in today's confusing, 24/7 domineering world."

Dirty Linen Magazine says:
"Tom Feldmann is a master of the no-excuses, no-holdsbarred, folk-blues-roots Americana music."

www.tomfeldmann.com