Biography

The Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar Association calls Stephen Bennett “the Jedi Master of Fingerstyle Guitar”…

Stephen has traveled the world and performed with the best. All across the US, as well as around Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan, Stephen has played all sorts of venues and events and has released 25 cds to date.

The testimony of those who hear Stephen is that his work is the product of both mind and heart, intellectually challenging and emotionally satisfying - - and it is deeply personal, even as it is universal. Listeners have a feeling that they have stepped into the world of the musician, and for a short moment in time, there are only the two of them there. The producer of a Texas music Festival writes, “Stephen’s music draws the listener in. He has the ability to make you feel as though you are a part of the music he is making. In France, a producer writes: “Stephen’s compositions are so beautiful, filled with great emotion and great sensitivity. He is one of those musicians who serve the music, and only the music.”

“When I first heard him playing a few years ago in Issoudun (France), I felt like I had been pushed into a different world, where the lost emotions come back to your heart and make it beat in a different way. What Stephen can do, and few artists have this gift, is to speak directly to your heart and to move your best feelings!” Pierpaolo Adda, Music Journalist and festival promoter, Italy

“The image of Stephen Bennett embracing his harp guitar is the one that tends to linger. The fact that Stephen is only too happy to champion the cause of the harp guitar may inadvertently obscure his abilities on the six-string instrument. In what is becoming known as the Golden Age of Guitar Luthiery, it's easy to overlook the fact that this is also the Golden Age of Guitar Playing. With six strings or more, as one of the most original and prolific composers and arrangers for the guitar on the current scene, Stephen Bennett is clearly a part of the latter heritage.” S. Rekas - Mel Bay Publications

Stephen is also is the founder of the Harp Guitar Gathering, an event that celebrates its tenth annual event in November, 2012).