bio
Kevin Townson - Born in 1962 is a formally trained classical guitarist who specializes in flamenco and Latin jazz styles. He began his studies in 1983 and later he continued to his studies at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX where he received both his Bachelors and Master’s degree in Classical guitar performance. During which time he began attending and performing in various master classes while also starting to perform at various private and public venues around town as a classical guitarist. At this point he started to develop interest in other genres such as Jazz and especially Flamenco music.
Inspiration: Initially starting with the electric guitar playing Rock and Roll as a teenager, he performed throughout the North Texas area from 1978-1984. In the late 1970's he was inspired by a video of Andrea Segovia performing at the White House concert series. This inspired and motivated him to further his classical studies. He says “I was so taken back by the fact that this guy must be 80 years old and he’s playing guitar (very well) to people that were absolutely spell bound.” At that point he knew he wanted to be like that when he grew up.
Flamenco: after hearing a recording of legendary flamenco guitarist Paco De Lucia, he became highly inspired to pursue his flamenco studies on the side. Kevin says “this genre of music shows the full range of what the guitar is capable of achieving.” He adds “Discovering music of other cultures and how that music connects with ours is something that’s very interesting and intriguing to me.”
Currently: Kevin is currently performing extensively as a soloist and with his Latin-Jazz group, The Kevin Townson Band, for a variety of events throughout the DFW Metroplex area. He has released three CD’s to date featuring his unique blend of flamenco, jazz and pop sounds. Pictures from Spain (2002), Between the Lines (2005) and On the Rocks (2019).
Teaching: Kevin has taught at the college level since 1992-2015 before committing his full-time teaching classical guitar to younger students as the Director of The Childbloom Guitar Program in Parker County TX which introduces music through the guitar to young people 5-12 years of age.