Tommy Harkenrider

Blues & Roots Guitarist • Educator • Historian

For over 25 years, I have dedicated myself to performing, teaching, and studying traditional Blues and American Roots music. My passion is exploring the musicians and musical traditions that shaped the Blues—from well-known masters to the overlooked players whose ideas continue to influence the music today.

As a performer and educator, I believe that understanding where the music came from is an important part of learning how to play it. My teaching combines the study of original recordings, guitar vocabulary, chord tones, phrasing, rhythm, and improvisation with the history and culture surrounding the musicians who created this music.

My particular areas of interest include traditional Blues, West Coast Blues, Jump Blues, Jazz, and Western Swing, with an emphasis on tracing the connections between these styles and the musicians who helped develop them.

Through private lessons, online courses, monthly clinics, live performances, and university lectures and masterclasses, my goal is to keep this music alive—not simply by recreating the past, but by helping musicians understand its language and use it to develop their own voice.

Come explore the music with me.