Chris Powers

Guitar

Chris Powers, a native of Philadelphia, PA, picked up the guitar at the age of 14, and within a few years knew the chords to every Beatles song. After graduating from Beloit College, he settled in Madison and began organizing a series of successful string bands, including the string-jazz trio Nobody’s Bizness (featuring Mary Gaines plucking bass lines on her cello) and the long-lived Bluegrass Survivors. He toured Wisconsin for many years with the UW-Extension’s Heritage Ensemble – mixing folk music with American History, and played guitar in the orchestra of several Madison Theater productions. He developed and teaches group adult guitar courses with themes like “Jazz Chords and Swing”, “Fingerstyle Blues” and  “Bill Monroe Bluegrass Ensemble”, and teaches private lessons too. On Friday mornings you can hear him on WORT-FM radio hosting the “MudAcres Bluegrass Special.”  He and fiddler Shauncey Ali regularly moonlight with the Old Tin Can String Band.