Talkin' Blues // Cameron Knowler

About this episode

Nicholas Edward Williams interviews guitarist and scholar Cameron Knowler about early American guitar styles and his new album.

Today, I'm sharing a conversation I had with guitarist, writer, archivist, teacher and scholar Cameron Knowler, who has lovingly absorbed an archive's worth of early American guitar styles, and it shows. His self-illustrated book Guitars Have Feelings Too views flat picking as a continuation of the dance music that became bluegrass, not just virtuosic instrumental music. ⁠ ⁠ Cameron is a writer for Fretboard Journal magazine, and his new record CRK, released in April of this 2025, was heralded by Acoustic Guitar magazine, who said: "The dynamic performances, which evoke words like sensitive, nuanced, restrained, and understated, hint at a disinterest in flash for its own sake." We talked about Norman Blake quite a bit, learned about his fascinating background, and as always, geek out on some music history. Enjoy! ⁠ Official Website CRK Album Instagram ___ Support Educational Programming: Join the Patreon Community One-time donation via Venmo or PayPal Follow American Songcatcher Credits: Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, editing, recording and distribution

People in this episode

Host: Nicholas Edward Williams

Guest: Cameron Knowler

Topics covered

• blues
• guitar styles
• music history
• bluegrass
• interview

Keywords

• Cameron Knowler
• guitar
• bluegrass
• music history
• Guitars Have Feelings Too
• CRK
• Norman Blake

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fretboard Journal, Acoustic Guitar

Products: CRK

Books & works: Guitars Have Feelings Too