There's a sense of energized peace in Ken Bonfield's instrumental guitar artistry. What distinguishes Ken's music in this genre are his melodies -- inspired by significant events in his life and his love of nature. The stories behind the songs only hint at the "leap of faith" in his talent that Ken took when he walked away from a lucrative business career and into a career making music: a career that now spans a decade, has yielded numerous CD's, and has taken him to 49 states and two countries to perform in the finest acoustic venues and festivals. Bonfield's music has been featured on NPR and PBS; his first two albums, Mystic Morning and Homecoming, stayed on NAV's top 20 list for over six months; and his song "Floating" was included on one of the best-selling compilations of 1999, Lights Out Volume VI.

Bonfield's musical inspirations range from Bach to rock. For Ken, one of the toughest questions he ever has to answer is 'What type of music do you play?' "I play all kinds of music. Different styles of music help me express a wide range of feelings that in turn allow me to tell different stories with the guitar. I use Celtic ideas to express awe; I use bluegrass forms to express joy; rock and blues to create a sense of tension or humor; and classical structure to create depth and a sense of melancholy." The only common denominator is the guitar itself. "It's such an amazing instrument, and is suitable for so many styles of music that I couldn't ask for a better partner in my composing." Ken's strength is his ability to bring this array of musical styles to melodies that evoke strong emotions and imagery. "I'm a big believer in life changing moments. There have been moments in my life, moments measured in seconds, that have changed my life forever." There are three in particular Ken says that have had a significant impact on his music. "When I was about 5 years old living in Wausau, WI, I was sitting in John Schofield's lap while he played 5-string Scruggs-style banjo. I was amazed that one person could make so much music. It would be 14 years later until I got my first guitar, but that moment stayed with me, and influenced my approach to guitar." Ken also remembers the first time he heard Leo Kottke's 6 & 12-String Guitar (the "Armadillo" album), and "was similarly taken aback. I realized then that the guitar has the capacity to be a portable, mini-orchestra in and of itself." Another of these moments came almost 15 years later when Ken first listened to David Wilcox' album Language of the Heart. "I had always wanted to play in alternate tunings, but I never really understood them. After I heard David's playing I studied chord theory. It was this study that afforded me an understanding and appreciation of how I could use alternate tunings to create luscious, textural harmonies to accompany strong melodic lines. If even one of these moments in my life hadn't occurred, I wouldn't be who I am today; and none of the songs I've written would exist."

Luckily for the rest of us, Bonfield has had his guitar in his hands for many of these revelatory moments, and the result has yielded such memorable pieces as "Farewell", "Dreamin'", "Wiseman's View", "Mystic Morning", and, more recently, "Renaissance" and "Nocturne (For Brendan)". Bonfield explains, "There are times when I am almost able to "download" a song directly from my head to the guitar. It's an amazing experience, and I think some of my best compositions have been written this way; the music comes in its entirety and all I have to do is learn how to play it." You can hear all of these influences on his newest album, American Baroque: Steel String Surprise, his most stylistically diverse CD to date.

In concert Bonfield is both contemplative and amusing; sharing anecdotes from family life and current events. And it's the audience that Bonfield finds the most important ingredient in any concert. Early on in his career, when Ken describes himself as a total unknown, he was playing in Taos, NM, during a blizzard. "One person showed up," says Bonfield, "paid for a ticket and wanted and expected a concert; so I played. It was one of the best shows I've ever played; I couldn't believe the energy in the room. I'd never been so focused on stage in my life. When it was over, I realized that it isn't the size of an audience that makes a concert special; it's the energy shared between me and the audience that creates the magic". Ken describes his concerts as "Leo Kottke meets Ed Gerhard on the way to a Bill Cosby show." Or, as one concertgoer observed, "a Ken Bonfield concert is an acoustic buffet for the soul!"

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