I’ve been lurking here a while and haven’t seen any mention of Keaggy and was wondering if anyone else here had ever seen him play live? I caught his show (my 23rd) about three weeks ago and was totally blown away again. This guy could make a shoebox sound good!

While I was there, I picked up his instructional videos, which were recently re-released on DVD. They were a ways above my current skill level, but I thoroughly enjoyed them nonetheless. The electric video shows more of it’s age (1989) as far as musical trends go, and Keaggy does appear a bit nervous, but there’s some great gear info, lots of lightning fast runs and techniques and a killer improvisation with an eBow and combination of other tricks at the end. The acoustic video is mellower, but ages much better. Lots of alternate tunings and other techniques, better production value and Keaggy is more at ease. I’d definitely recommend both for serious guitarists.

He does both vocal and instrumental projects, but his vocal stuff isn’t for everyone–lots of McCartney-esque vocals with family and faith-centered lyrics. But he does plenty of each so take your pick. Style-wise, there’s not much he hasn’t at least dabbled in, either as primary performer or studio musician. Tho I’d be a bit scared if I heard he was doing a gangsta-rap album….

Anyway, I just wanted to see if anyone else had heard of this guy. If not, you can check him out at PhilKeaggy.com, GlassHarp.net and PKfans.com.

— Steph