Dan Crary

Dan Crary is a musical legend, a pioneer of one of the most intricate, yet powerful, forms of American music, and a master of the guitar. Crary is a flatpicking stylist with an international reputation for innovation, taste and brilliance. He is one of the few artists whose work can be said to transcend boundaries of style and genre. A native of Kansas, his childhood interest in the guitar turned serious during his early years in the late 1950s. His first musical performances in Midwestern churches established and enduring connection that continues to infuse his music with a spiritual dimension. Building on this essential insight, he pursued the development of an approach to the steel string, flat-top guitar that explored new dimensions, transforming what has always been and instrument of accompaniment into one with a leading role, capable of fluent, expressive melodies and a variety of textures. In his travels around the U.S., Crary learned and integrated traditional American styles and tunes, transforming them into strongly personal and creative works that are at once deeply rooted and freshly new. A long and distinguished recording career, featuring solo projects and group efforts plus many guest appearances, have brought Dan Crary acclaim as a versatile performer able to range from Mozart to Anglo-American fiddle tunes to moody evocative original compositions. All this is woven together with stories and observations that share his experience and insights with the audience. And if consistency, creativity and longevity are hallmarks of artistic achievement, then Dan Crary must be recognized as one of the greatest traditional artists of our day.