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"Phil Heywood may be the Midwest's best-kept secret." — Gary Joyner, Acoustic Guitar

 

"...this Minnesota mainstay has long been applauded as standing out from the rest of the pack of pickers." — St. Paul Pioneer Press

 

"Phil is a fantastic player. His playing is beautiful, precise and emotionally deep." — Pat Donohue, Grammy-winning guitarist

 

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul have long been noted as a hotbed for world-class acoustic guitar pickers. Phil Heywood has been a fixture in that scene since the mid-1980s, when he moved to the Cities on the heels of a tour with renowned guitarist Leo Kottke. Over the years he has garnered a National Fingerpicking Championship, top prize at the American Fingerstyle Guitar Festival, and appearances on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion. His playing is at once recognizable for its ear-bending clarity of tone, irresistible sense of the groove, and nuanced right hand dynamics. Known for his lyrical, soul-satisfying guitar instrumentals, he can draw listeners in with his voice as well, singing in a warm, plainspoken baritone that blends seamlessly with his rock-solid guitar work. 

The list of players with whom Phil has performed reads like a Who’s Who of Twin Cities acoustic guitar luminaries, including Pat Donohue, Leo Kottke, Tim Sparks, Dakota Dave Hull, Peter Lang and Dean Magraw, as well as folk icons Claudia Schmidt and Spider John Koerner. He once shared the stage with guitar legend Chet Atkins on A Prairie Home Companion and has been called upon to open shows for such national and international artists as Norman Blake, John Renbourn, Adrian Legg, Chris Smither, Greg Brown and John Hammond.

Phil has released seven solo CDs, reaching fans-in-the-know across the U.S. and abroad. With his original pieces and choice of covers, Heywood takes his audience on a musical pilgrimage through a rich landscape that is both personal and linked to tradition. His rootsy sources bubble to the surface in a way that is thoroughly organic, eminently accessible, and, as one fan put it, bound to “make your ears smile.”