GEOFF ACHISON OPENER Steve Gray'

Geoff Achison has a reputation as a guitarist?s guitarist. Equally adept at acoustic or electric styles, either choice can be beautifully intricate or feature high energy explosiveness. He has developed his own sound that is exquisitely tasteful. Fans say you can recognize an Achison riff when you hear it. As a vocalist, Geoff possesses a soulful voice that evokes comparisons to Joe Cocker or Paul Weller. Add to this his award winning songwriting skills and you have the whole package. He has been a musical force on three continents and won honors on all of them. Twenty years of touring and playing with scores of artists such as Tommy Emmanuel, ?Dutch? Tilders, Phil Manning, Jeff Lang, Jorma Kaukonen & Hot Tuna, John Mayall, John Mayer, Levon Helm of ?The Band?, Hubert Sumlin and Clarence ?Gatemouth? Brown to name a few, have challenged him to play as passionately and skillfully as they do. Growing up in rural Australia , Geoff somehow developed a passion for American blues music and taught himself to play on his mother?s beat up acoustic guitar.