Preston Reed

You may experience a strange sensation when you watch Preston Reed live for the first time. It starts with a sharp intake of breath. Seconds later, your jaw swings on its hinges, your eyes become dinner plates and your brain fizzes as it computes the musical madness being relayed by your ears. You feel light-headed, because you haven't breathed for two minutes. Don't be alarmed. These are all perfectly normal reactions to witnessing the guitar visionary of the 21^st century.

Preston Reed is a one-man revolution. The 53-year-old New Yorker tweaks the nose of musical convention, pokes the eye of accepted wisdom, and burns the rulebook of the past. His unique style is impossible, unfathomable, unthinkable, as with blurred hands he taps, tickles, slaps and soothes his instrument, fusing polyrhythmic percussion with emotive melody to create a sonic landscape. Each piece is a symphonic tidal wave, yet Reed only needs one acoustic and ten fingers to send it crashing onto audiences across the planet.

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