Al Petteway is an American guitarist known primarily for his acoustic fingerstyle work.[1] He won a Grammy award in 2005 for his rendition of "The Thornbirds".
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Al Petteway is a Grammy-winning American guitarist known primarily for his acoustic fingerstyle work both as a soloist and with well-known folk artists such as Amy White, Tom Paxton, Jethro Burns, Jonathan Edwards, Cheryl Wheeler, Debi Smith, Bonnie Rideout, Maggie Sansone and many others. His own compositions rely heavily on Celtic and Appalachian influences and he is known for his use of DADGAD tuning.
Petteway's music has been featured on NPR and on PBS television specials by Ken Burns, most notably The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009). His recordings, music books, and instructional videotapes have gained him a large following of devoted fans around the globe. His playing is featured on more than sixty recordings by some of the world's best known folk and Celtic musicians. Since 1996, he has performed exclusively with his wife, Amy White. They have been Artists In Residence at The Kennedy Center and at Warren Wilson College. Petteway is also the Guitar Week coordinator for the world famous "Swannanoa Gathering" music camp at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C.
In 2005, Al Petteway won a Grammy award in the "Best Pop Instrumental Album" category for his rendition of "The Thornbirds" that appeared on a compilation of solo guitar renditions of Henry Mancini compositions titled Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar. Before that he and Amy were awarded an Indie award for their duo guitar album Gratitude. Al Petteway has been awarded 45 "Wammies" by the Washington Area Music Association including the top honors of "Artist of the Year" and "Musician of the Year". He was the recipient of two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for Music Composition and performed at the Vice President's House and The White House during the Clinton administration.
Much of Al Petteway's music was used in the Ken Burns documentary on the National Parks which aired on PBS in 2009 and 2010.
Petteway lives with his wife near Asheville, North Carolina.