Fingerstyle Guitarist Ken Bonfield has performed throughout the United States for over 25 years. Based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Bonfield is a regular at guitar festivals, concert series, and acoustic venues across North America, and has released eight albums. His latest, Parting Gifts, is an ensemble effort that features Bonfield on standard guitar, baritone guitar, and reentrant tuned guitar along with the otherworldly talents of Raymond Gonzalez on piano, nylon string guitar, percussion and synths, and Bluegrass multi-instrumentalist, Tim Crouch on mandolin, violin, cello and upright bass.

 

Although he came out of the 1960’s folk tradition, Bonfield was closely associated with new-age music in the mid 90's. Today his sophisticated Americana compositions feature a solid dose of Celtic, jazz, and traditional folk influences that might best be described as American Baroque.

 

Bonfield's work and calling is inspired by a deep love for the beauty, the sound, and the craft of the acoustic guitar. When Bonfield takes the stage the concert hall is transformed into a family room. His music and demeanor are both welcoming and heartfelt, but presented with humor and a twinkle in his eye.

 

Due to a vicious bout of tendinitis Bonfield can no longer play steel string guitar, and now performs on his unique baritone nylon string guitar and standard nylon string guitar in an array of alternate tunings.



Bonfield has been a featured performer at some of the finest acoustic venues, coffee houses, music festivals, and guitar festivals in North America such as Club Passim, Eddie's Attic, Uncle Calvin's, Be Here Now, Acoustic Sounds Cafe, Kent State Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Montreal Guitar Festival, Newport Guitar Festival, and Healdsburg Guitar Festival, appearing with a wide range of icons and contemporary artists ranging from Arlo Guthrie to John Mayer, and includes songsmiths Garnet Rogers, Pierce Pettis, Dee Carstensen, Cosy Sheridan, and guitar legends Larry Corryell, Adrian Legg, Adam Miller, Ed Gerhard, Muriel Anderson, Stephen Bennett, Tim Sparks, Dakota Dave Hull, and countless others.

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