Loren & LJ Barrigar with Special Guest Joe Davoli

CNY favorites!

Loren Barrigar started playing guitar when he was only four years old, and by the time he was six, he played the Chet Atkins hit “Yackety Axe” in front of thousands of country music fans at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. He went on to study with Jimmy Atkins (Chet’s brother) which led to a touring career with his family band from Nashville to Las Vegas. Since settling down in Central New York, he has been in constant demand as a studio musician.

Loren's finely-honed songwriting skills have launched his melodies on TV shows ER and The Young and The Restless, and on a Christmas CD with BB King and Patti Labelle. He has performed with some of the best acoustic players in the world including Stephen Bennett, Richard Smith, John Knowles, Muriel Anderson, and Loren’s friend and mentor Tommy  Emmanuel, the Australian guitar sensation. He has also recorded with Multiple Grammy winner and legendary producer Lloyd Maines.

In 2010, Loren made a guest appearance at The Chet Atkins Appreciation Society in Nashville with his pickin' pal from New Zealand, Mark Mazengarb. His solo concerts include favorite songs from seven decades, as well as his originals featuring exciting guitar work and memorable vocal stylings.

At age 16, LJ Barrigar picked up his guitar and started to play again. He had learned basic chords as a youngster and had been around his father’s playing and performing his entire life. LJ paid attention, watched, and listened. However, as a teen, he focused on school and athletics and left the guitar for quite a while. Finally, he decided to see if he could learn to play songs like his dad.

LJ began to play in earnest by listening to his dad’s CDs, he learned by ear, effort, and practice. A willingness to seek advice meant he asked his dad as well as his dad’s performing partner, Mark Mazengarb to teach him how to improve his play. He also watched videos of his guitar hero and mentor, his dad’s friend, famed Australian guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel.

Self-taught musician, LJ is now playing with his dad as part of their finger-picking style duo and performing all over Central New York and beyond. They have been on the road doing shows and appearing on the radio in Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Arkansas. Audiences are enthusiastic and many fans return frequently to local shows.

Joe Davoli is the 2017 NY State inductee into the North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame. He’s a graduate of DePaul University and attended the Berklee School of Music. He is a consummate performer of several styles of music including Celtic, rock, jazz, bluegrass, and classical. He has won two Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMYs). Joe has been a passionate teacher for 25 years, sharing his knowledge and expertise with students of all ages and levels. He has published a successful method book for fiddle/mandolin that is currently in its second edition. His solo CDs Game Plan and Golden Rule have received international acclaim. In demand as a studio musician, he lives in Syracuse with his wife, Darbie.

https://joedavoli.com/

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts.

This project is made possible with funds from the Tier Three Project Support program, a regrant program of the County of Onondaga with the support of the County Executive and administered by CNY Arts.

  ~ This project is also made possible through the support and generosity of our Folkus members. ~