GARETH PEARSON

Gareth Pearson in concert

Biography

It all started just before Christmas 2002, in Cwmbran, South Wales in the UK. Gareth put on one of his Dad’s videos of Tommy Emmanuel performing. Gareth recalls, “Tommy was playing Classical Gas, and from that very moment, I knew exactly what I wanted to be in life. Tommy changed my life”.

In 2004, the teenage guitar prodigy opened for Tommy Emmanuel and Johnny Dickinson in Cardiff. It was at this concert, Tommy in front of a stunned audience invited Gareth to the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society(CAAS) held in Nashville. The next night in Swansea, Tommy had Gareth play for Mark Pritcher, President of the CAAS, over his mobile phone in the dressing room.

But it was at The TommyFest held in Windsor, UK that will always stay in Gareth’s memory. He impressed so much during the open mic, that he was officially booked for the 2006 TommyFest. Also, it was at the Festival that Gareth was given his Maton Guitar as a gift by a fan and friend of Tommy’s, who was so impressed with Gareth’s playing, he thought it right that Gareth should have it.

Gareth’s influences are wide, ranging from guitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Jerry Reed and others but his own distinctive voice is clearly audible in his own compositions. He clearly loves the music he performs and receives a rapturous response from audiences all over the world.

Discography

  • Adrenaline Rush (2007)

Performance Highlights

Gareth has just signed with CandyRat Records and we can anticipate a new release soon. Meanwhile, he has been building an huge following on MySpace.com. Gareth’s arrangement of the MGMT track Time To Pretend (featured on our home page) is taking over the blog-o-sphere. It is currently sitting at number 14 in the most “loved” chart on the Hype Machine and number 30 in the most listened to category.

Gareth Pearson's web site
(opens in a new window)