British-born guitarist Richard Smith is swinging through Vermont on his current tour, playing the Champlain Valley Union High School Theater this Friday night.
Smith began his career as a child prodigy, joining his idol, guitar legend Chet Atkins, on stage when he was only 11 years old. Atkins was quoted as saying that Smith “can play anything I know, only better.”
Smith relocated to Nashville, Tenn., in 2000 and won the prestigious National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship the following year. In 2008 and 2021, he was named Thumbpicker of the Year by the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame.
Channeling fingerstyle guitar greats such as Atkins and Merle Travis, Smith has a song catalog full of bluegrass, ragtime, jazz, pop and even John Philip Sousa marches. He hits the stage for an intimate solo set on Friday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m. at the Champlain Valley Union High School Theater in Hinesburg. Tickets ($20) are available at sevendaystickets.com.
This article appears in The Cannabis Issue 2022.
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