Bryan Bowers and Ron Wall

Bryan Bowers Saturday, 2:00 adult Autoharp Intermediate: "Proper Tuning for Success" - Bryan will teach his renowned system of autoharp tuning. Sunday, 11:45 adult Autoharp Beginner/Intermediate: "Inspiring Gospel Songs" - Lyrics & chords of treasured gospel songs will be taught and shared. Web: http://bryanbowers.com/ Audio Sample Battle Hymn of the Republic Pick A Bale of Cotton

With no exaggeration, Bryan Bowers has been called the Earl Scruggs of the Autoharp. Like the five-string banjo legend, Bryan found a new way of playing a humble folk instrument and caught the attention of every other player of that instrument as well as launched a generation of new players. If masterful playing weren’t enough, Bryan is also a fine showman, and a clever, dynamic solo artist who pulls his audiences into his performances. His towering six foot four inch frame can be wild and zany on stage while playing a song like “Dixie” and five minutes later he can have the same audience singing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” in quiet reverence. His persona is enough to get anyone to want to play the autoharp!

Fortunately for us, Bryan found his way into the musical limelight back in his native Virginia in the early 1970's when the Dillards introduced him at bluegrass clubs and festivals. Bryan also retains some of the music he heard in his boyhood in the 1940's in Virginia, as he often tagged along with field workers and railroad hands. The “call-and-response” form of the work song is one of Bryan’s favorite ways to get an audience to sing. Frets Magazine included him in their “Gallery of Greats” after he won several reader polls, and in 1993 he was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame.

Bryan has recently broadened his horizons into the storytelling circles, being accepted as a staff member at story telling festivals. He will be working in our youth program teaching and facilitating a storytelling workshop.

We are delighted to welcome Bryan back for his third visit to the California Autoharp Gathering. Bryan has delighted our students, parents, and staff here at our festival and at Mendota Unified School District with his performances in assemblies and classroom visits. Stay tuned for more of Bryan’s projects in the near future!