Today is Sunday, April 16th, 2023 and I’m probably more excited about releasing this episode than almost any other I’ve ever been able to record up to this point in my journey as a podcaster.    This episode marks a full-circle moment in my life of music so indulge me for just a second while I take you down memory lane a bit.  On July 4th, 1999 I was a twenty year-old wannabe musician.  Several college friends and I had made the trek from North Central Kansas all the way to Luckenbach, TX for Willie Nelson’s 4th of July picnic.    That day I got to see many well-known and legendary musicians, and most of them for the first time in my life.    But about 4pm on that hot hill-country Texas day, an absolute freak of a guitar player took the stage.  What I witnessed over the next 20 minutes or so left me with my mouth gaping wide open.  That was the first time I’d even heard the name Monte Montgomery, but I knew what I was witnessing was other-worldly; it was almost like seeing something from a different dimension.  What Monte could do on an acoustic guitar seemed unhuman.  His ability was incredible but the sounds he could get out of that guitar we’re unlike any I’ve ever heard.  I’ve been a big fan of Monte’s ever since then and today, nearly 25 years after seeing him play that first time, Monte Montgomery is our guest today on The Troubadour.   As you’ll hear in the interview, Monte has an interesting backstory from picking up a guitar for the first time when he was about 13 years old, to now, being known throughout the world as one of the best acoustic guitar players alive today.  Guitar Player Magazine named him as one their “Top 50 All-Time Greatest Guitar Players” and he can often be seen sharing a stage with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel or playing All-Star Guitar Player showcases at NAMM.  Fact is, he’ll be playing on May 5th at the Dallas International Guitar Festival.  He can often be seen at the legendary Saxon Pub in Austin and for our Oklahoma listeners, Monte will be doing a two night stand at The Blue Door in Oklahoma City on May 12th and 13th.   Links for everything and some embedded YouTube videos of Monte shredding his Alvarez can be found in the show notes for this episode at thetroubadourpodcast.