Martin Simpson

'What's it like being the best guitar player in the world...?' Martin Simpson's modesty and grace prevented him from answering this BBC Radio 4 interviewer's question recently, but the facts speak for themselves.

40 years after he recorded his first album, Martin is known as a guitarist of formidable talent. Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues, and his own compositions, he is consistently named as one of the very finest fingerstyle guitar players in the world; he is listed in Gibson Guitars' Top 30 Acoustic Guitarists of all time, and Acoustic Guitar readers voted him number 12 guitarist in the world.

Universally acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, Martin's solo shows bear witness to an artist at the very top of his game. Whether interpreting material from tradition or singing his own potent self-penned songs, Simpson is a remarkable storyteller: captivating and profoundly moving. He has had the most nominations of any performer in the history of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, being shortlisted an astonishing 32 times, including 13 as Musician of the Year, and h has twice won that particular accolade.

A virtuoso player without question, but above all Martin Simpson conveys his diverse treasure trove of material from the heart, performing with rare subtlety, intensity and honesty. A true master of his art.

'One of the virtuoso instrumentalists of the English music scene sounds better than ever' - The Guardian