Artist description Tony's music is centered around traditionally styled acoustic music on guitar and banjo, often played fingerstyle or bottleneck. Tony adds to the mix a strong voice and striking lyrics. These are New Blues with Deep Roots.

Music Style Blues, Acoustic, Folk, Americana, American Primative

Musical Influences acoustic country blues, old-timey country

Similar Artists Mississippi John Hurt, Mance Lipscomb, Blind Blake, Tampa Red, Lonnie Johnson, Bo Carter, Frank Hutchison, John Fahey, Taj Mahal, Alvin Hart, Guy Davis

Artist History For Tony Whetstone traditional music runs in the family. "My great grandfather played the fiddle, Granddad fingerpicked the blues, and Dad was a flatpicker and best country singer I've ever heard." It was natural he would fall in love with the sound of the acoustic guitar, and early on Tony zeroed in on acoustic blues as his sound of choice. At the same time, Tony was afflicted with the songwriter bug-that peculiar need to express oneself uniquely with the marriage of words and music. In Tony's songs you'll hear the traditional influence, and yet his individual voice is reflected in especially strong lyrics. A finalist in Durham’s 2001 Triangle Blues Society Talent Contest, Tony favors the Piedmont blues, that happy, ragtimey sound that was so popular in North Carolina, Virginia, and parts of Georgia and Florida during the 1920's and '30s. His live performances often begin with a few words in tribute to the Piedmont sound and those artists who made it famous. Whether he's picking the banjo, 12-string dreadnaught or one of his parlour sized Martins, you'll be sure to hear among Tony's original songs several with a Carolina flavor, such as "Bull City Blues" and "Tar River Does Not Roll". Children in the audience are often treated to a few songs from Tony’s “Young Folk’s Piedmont Blues”, a CD of traditional and original songs for children. A final highlight of Tony's shows occurs when he picks up the National Steel and rounds out the set with several rousing slide guitar numbers…

Group Members Tony Whetstone: thumbstyle and bottleneck guitar and banjo, harmonica and percussion. Roger J. Swordfish: altered-ego and lyrics.

Instruments guitars: resonator guitar, 6 and 12 string acoustics; banjo; harmonica; various percussion.

Location Greenville, NC - USA

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