Appearing on the Main Stage at 12:30 p.m.

In a remarkably short period of time, Pat Wictor has become the name that is being chatted about on the acoustic, blues, folk and Americana circuits. Steeped in American “roots” music, Pat is a contemporary songwriter and interpreter drawing on the rural country, gospel, and blues traditions of our nation.

An American by birth, Pat was raised outside of the U.S. until his teenage years, living in Venezuela, Holland, Norway, and England. This time abroad gave him an unusually deep awareness of being a resident of a country while also a world citizen. Pat began with guitar, shifted to bass, moved to sax, then after a brief hiatus, began composing songs. By 2001, he left a teaching career to pursue music full time.

An adept improviser and accompanist, Pat Wictor is sought after as a collaborator, sideman and session musician. He is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on writing, interpreting, and rearranging songs, on slide guitar and other guitar technique, and various topics of music history. His performances—part fireside chat, part meditation on matters earthly and transcendent—feature his originals. He also does fresh arrangements of traditional songs, delighting in introducing his audience to innovative material. With five CDs to his credit, he has been a Finalist in the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival.

Pat is currently performing with Joe Jencks and Greg Greenway (who performed at last year’s festival) as part of the trio Brother Sun.

Gene Shay of WXPN/Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Folk Festival said, “Pat Wictor’s songs, his blues-tinged slide guitar and mellow performance style impress the hell out of me. Watch out for this guy. He’s a terrific new talent.” And Jim Motavalli of WPKN/Bridgeport, Connecticut, said, “If you can make it to only one concert this year, let it be a show by Brooklyn’s own Pat Wictor, who plays heart-felt blues-based roots music like the only begotten son of Bonnie Rait (same red hair!) and Chris Smither. And unlike blues interpreters who have seen too many stormy Mondays with hellhounds on their trail, Pat is also an excellent songwriter whose new/old compositions will send you on a journey through the old Dock Boggs and Son House 78s. But these aren’t old songs, they’re originals that, to paraphrase Mr. Smither, are ‘still flopping around on the deck.’”

Visit Pat Wictor at PatWictor.com.