Graham Wardrop

Graham has been acclaimed as New Zealand's finest finger style guitarist. After thirty years in the professional arena, he is regularly called upon to give concert performances, to play on television and studio recording sessions, to hold workshops in advanced fingerstyle techniques for steel string guitar, along with providing atmospheric music in sophisticated dining situations.

Graham has performed solo and alongside some of the world's finest musicians, dazzling audiences at countless festivals, concerts and corporate functions.

He has toured with Australia's Slim Dusty and Anne Kirkpatrick and New Zealand's Billy T. James. He's opened shows for Manhattan Transfer, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Vanessa-Mae, Michael Crawford and Joshua Kadison. He's played alongside Tommy Emmanuel and Gray Bartlett, and played on shows with Martin Taylor, Leo Kottke and Michael Fix. His warm stage manner puts an audience at ease while he enthralls them with his mastery of a huge range of guitar styles.

Not only does Graham maintain a busy performance schedule, but he also handcrafts the instruments on which he performs.

His ambition 'to play music I have written on instruments I have built' reached fruition with the recording of his CD 'Signature'. Steel string guitar, electric and bass guitars, lap-steel, 12-string soprano guitar and mountain dulcimer all feature on this album.

The past few years have been busy with travel to many destinations around New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Asia, especially Hong Kong, to play to a wide range of audiences. Most of the time he plays solo, but occasionally Graham works with different artists in various combinations - he's even featured as a soloist with orchestras from time to time.

"I don't use backing tracks, midi files, sequencers or karaoke backings in my solo shows - I leave that to everyone else. Every note that you hear, I have played. I think it's important to state this fact these days. A comment I get time and again, always in a very relieved tone, is 'It's so good to hear an instrument actually being played!'".
Graham is a musician of great versatility. His love of beauty, harmony and precision culminates in his richness of sound and a unique style of performance

Ideal for: background for wedding, birthday, business function, garden party, and concert.