Artistry of the Guitar

is a concert music experience featuring performances by founder Ken Bonfield, Steve Davison, and quite often special guests. (click here to see what they play!)

Bonfield got to know Steve Davison during one of his frequent tours to Little Rock AR. Sharing the stage at the Arkansas' Governor's Mansion for Steve's Finger Food project, an annual guitar concert whose proceeds benefit Safe Places - a Little Rock refuge for mothers and children dealing with domestic abuse - they formed a strong friendship and developed an admiration of each other's music.

Ken and Steve took very different routes to their place as two of today's finest American fingerstyle guitarists: Bonfield grew up in an entirely un-musical family and is an entirely self-taught guitarist while Davison is a multi-instrumentalist who started out on drumset. Ken has spent most of his professional career using exotic alternate tunings or odd custom instruments like high-string or baritone guitars while Steve has taken a bit more traditional route using standard six and twelve string acoustics. But both guitarists developed a similar approach to composition and playing the guitar: melody is king. Their music is accessible and hummable. While they have the chops necessary to command the stage, they're more interested in telling a story with their playing and moving people emotionally than wowing them with their technique; or as Bonfield says, "let the guitar do the heavy lifting".

They are also heavily invested in sharing their knowledge and experience with other guitarists: clinics and workshops are a staple at most Artistry of the Guitar concerts with Bonfield and Davison sharing many years of combined experience as players and performers. And both have a strong desire to give back to their communities by performing benefit concerts for organizations such as Safe Places, The American Cancer Society, The American Brain Tumor Society, Habitat For Humanity, The Sierra Club, The Jimmy Fund, Amnesty International, seARTS, and many others large and small.

So, whether you're a certified guitar junky or a casual fan, an Artistry of the Guitar concert is sure to satisfy.