Tony Furtado

Very few musicians personify a musical genre as completely as Tony Furtado embodies Americana roots music. Furtado is an evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter, and a virtuoso on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar, and baritone ukulele who mixes and matches sounds and styles with the flair of a master chef.

Inspired by the television show The Beverly Hillbillies, Furtado first picked up a banjo at age 12. He went on to win the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in 1987 and 1991 and signed with Rounder Records in 1990. He recorded six critically acclaimed albums for the label, collaborating with such master musicians as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps, and Mike Marshall. 

In the late 1990s, he added slide guitar, singing, and songwriting to his musical toolbox and began leading his own band. He is a tireless road musician who performs in a dizzying variety of formats: solo, in a duo or trio or with his full five-person band. He’s performed throughout the world at top venues and appeared at such prestigious music festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Jazz Aspen, Kerrville Folk Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, and countless others. 

“…true talent doesn’t need categories.”
– Relix Magazine

“…a major musical force without doubt. He has his black belt in voice, bottleneck guitar and his banjo playing scares the crap out of me.”
– David Lindley