Timberline Artists
🥇Best Italian Emerging Guitarist 2019 A.D.G.P.A. 🏅Acoustic Guitarist Of The Year 2020 FINALIST
Danny Trent was born in 1984, in Bari on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. His story with the guitar started when he was nine, with a classical guitar under the family Christmas tree. The boy was spellbound by the wooden box with six strings.
Danny started his journey by trying to emulate Mike Knopfler’s Dire Straits solos, (with a classical guitar!). Three years later he enrolled in music school and began serious study of the classical guitar. Yet he continued exploring all styles including electric and acoustic steel string blues. Study and following the strict rules that classical music imposed shaped him with a discipline that would lead him to be elected Best Emerging Guitarist 2019 followed by the honor of FINALIST Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2020.
Danny’s real acoustic career started when he attended master classes with world famous musicians Don Ross, Preston Reed, Doyle Dykes, and Tommy Emmanuel – the first acoustic guitarist Danny had seen live and who became his model.
Danny completely dedicated himself to studying fingerpicking and fingerstyle techniques, of the style’s greatest pioneers: Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Merle Travis, and many more.
Danny Trent joined Timberline® Guitars as an official Timberline Artist in 2022.
The last fifteen years have seen Danny teaching guitar in several music schools and academies, and played in tribute bands of artists like Claudio Baglioni, Bon Jovi, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Michael Jackson – still performing – doing concerts all around Europe.
He has also founded the acoustic duo Cheek2Cheek with the extraordinary singer, his friend and colleague Lorella Falcone, with whom he has revived ‘50s classics in a fingerstyle way.
In February 2018, “Two Homes”, my debut album was released and 2019, I was awarded the “2019 Emerging Guitarist” Prize at the XXVI Convention ADGPA and XIV Guitar International Rendez-vous.
Eric Fowler is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer and producer. A featured musician on many popular recordings Eric has played on tracks for Sting, UB40, Rosanne Cash, Taylor Dayne, General Public, Clint Black, Kelly Price, the Boxing Ghandis and the Greenhorn Brothers.
Fowler continues to compose and produce music for film and television as well as for new artists. With Boxing Gandhis bandmate Ernie Perez Eric started a production company with Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Leroi Moore. The three collaborated on recordings at the famed Dave Matthews Band recording studio "Haunted Hollow" culminating in the release of new albums by several artists including (Samantha Farrell, Melodrome & Art Decade). In 2014 Fowler with Boxing Gandhis performed at WitZend in Venice, CA and announced that the group was planning to reform and release a new album with original members Dave Darling, Brie Darling, Ernie Perez, Alfredo Ballesteros, Ted Zig Zag Andreadis.
Currently Eric and wife Colette run a non profit www.huethemuse.org facilitating K-12 music, sound energy healing and mindfulness enrichment programs aimed at raising awareness for planet issues, combatting youth Eco anxiety and promoting collective consciousness concepts around global change initiatives.
Fowler continues to perform, compose and produce music for projects most recently contributing guitar for a Roger Daltry benefit project featuring The Specials. Collaborated with Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty; Duran Duran, Chaka Kahn) on new original music for the debut Hue the Muse commercial music release.
25 year old Sophie Chassée is a versatile guitarist, bassist and gifted singer/songwriter from Germany. Sophie plays a modern figerstyle influenced by virtuosos like Andy McKee and Ben Howard. Sophie’s beautiful, original and lyrical romanticism combined with her dynamic rhythmic and percussive Splaying leaves audiences stunned by her skill, craft and artistic intelligence.
Sophie has shared the stage with world famous guitarists such as Jon Gomm, Joscho Stephan, Mike Dawes and Don Alder who introduced Sophie to Timberline® harp guitars.
In February 2021 Sophie released her fourth studio album which was produced by fingerstyle legend Peter Finger and released on Acoustic Music Records label.
In addition to her solo projects, Sophie is in 2022 touring live across Europe with the famous band AnnenMayKanterit as their new full time permanent electric bass player. Sophie will also appear on new releases from AnnenMayKanterit as well as under her own name. Sophie owns and plays a Timberline® T60HGpc-e 12-string harp guitar.
AT 19, JANET NOGUERA WON THE INTERNATIONAL LOWDEN YOUNG GUITARIST OF THE YEAR COMPETITION. FOR PERFORMERS AND COMPOSERS UNDER 25.
As the winner of Lowden's Young Guitarist of the Year competition, Janet traveled to Lowdens Northern Ireland workshop to pick out a guitar (choosing a Richard Thompson signature model) and performed alongside Lowden signature artists, Jon Gomm and Thomas Leeb, at the Lowden 40th Anniversary Concert. Also at 19, she was featured in the Acoustic Guitar Magazine May 2014 issue, as one of the "30 Great Acoustic Guitarists under the age of 30."
Noguera studied classical guitar performance with Bill Coulter at the University of California, Santa Cruz. There, she also received masterclasses with classical guitarists, Andrew York, Benjamin Verderi, and Grisha Goryachev. Janet has also studied with acclaimed fingerstyle players such as Alex de Grassi and Thomas Leeb at their summer workshops. In 2015, she was a recipient of the Plantronics Creativity & Innovation Scholars Award 2015 (presented annually by the UCSC Arts Division,) and in 2017, she was awarded both the UCSC Chancellor’s Award and the Dean’s Award for her Senior Recital and composition project for the UCSC Guitar Ensemble, "Endless Journey."
Later in 2017, she won the international Fretmonkey Guitar Solo Contest, an online contest organized by Fretmonkey Records, a record label of Progressive Fingerstyle guitar.
Janet has opened shows for players like Andy McKee, Andrew York, and Laurance Juber. She recently shared the stage with the Women of Fingerstyle Guitar in Anaheim CA at the House of Blues, with players such as Kaki King, Vicky Genfan, Muriel Anderson, Christie Lenee, and others. She is actively performing and participating in acoustic guitar festivals in USA, Mexico, and Europe, and collaborating with other notable players. She also collaborated with music companies such as Elite Acoustics, Lowden Guitars, Baton Rouge Guitars, etc. at the NAMM show in Anaheim CA and at the Musikmesse in Germany. She currently performs and teaches around Northern California.
With a love of all things music, performance and entertainment, Janet Noguera seeks to continually develop, create, and share her musical artistry with the world.
“PERHAPS NOT SINCE THE ARRIVAL OF MICHAEL HEDGES HAS THERE BEEN SUCH A BOLD ACOUSTIC INNOVATOR. REMEMBER HER NAME: YASMIN WILLIAMS HAS ARRIVED.” - PETE PROWN, VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE
"Williams's music transcends the standard idea of what a guitarist should do." - NPR Music
Yasmin Williams grew up in northern Virginia where various genres of music from smooth jazz to hip-hop were played in her household. She was introduced to the guitar after playing the video game Guitar Hero 2 and became interested in playing the guitar in 2009. She begged her parents to buy her a real electric guitar and once she received her first guitar and amplifier, she taught herself how to play the guitar by ear. After a few years of playing the electric guitar, she taught herself how to play the bass guitar, 12 string guitar, and classical guitar before eventually deciding to switch her focus to the acoustic guitar because of the instrument's versatility. While in high school, she released her first EP Serendipity in 2012, which she recorded and mixed herself.
Growing up in in northern Virginia where various genres of music from smooth jazz to hip-hop were played in her household, Yasmin was introduced to the guitar after playing the video game Guitar Hero 2. She became interested in playing the guitar in 2009. She begged her parents to buy her a real electric guitar and once she received her first guitar and amplifier, she taught herself how to play the guitar by ear. After a few years of playing the electric guitar, she taught herself how to play the bass guitar, 12 string guitar, and classical guitar before eventually deciding to switch her focus to the acoustic guitar because of the instrument's versatility. While in high school, she released her first EP Serendipity in 2012, which she recorded and mixed herself.
Yasmin graduated from New York University with a BM in Music Theory and Composition in December 2017. Her first album, Unwind, was released on May 4, 2018 and is available on all major streaming services and Bandcamp. The album has charted highly on several Amazon and iTunes charts including top paid albums, including charting at #7 on Amazon’s top paid albums and #1 on iTunes‘s Folk chart, and charted at #15 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. She is currently working on her second album, Urban Driftwood, which is slated to be released in the Fall.
Yasmin joined Timberline® Guitars as an endorsed artist in January 2020. She plays a T60HGpc Parlor harp guitar.
Maiah Wynne: Born December 22, 1996, Wynne started performing at the age of fifteen and honed her craft at the Break Espresso while she was a junior at Loyola Sacred Heart.
Maiah performs with her signature butterfly wings, which were bought from Carlo's One Night Stand. After participated in the coffee shop and contest circuit, in Missoula, she won the Zoo Music Awards in 2015 and placed first at Badlander's Top of the Mic Competition the following year. At the age of twenty-one, she won second place for Seattle's Sound Off competition at the Museum of Pop Culture. After placing second for Sound Off, she earned slots at the Upstream Music Fest, Timber Music Festival, Northwest Folklife and a spot at the KEXP public radio station. Her acting career brought her an invitation to perform at the Sundance Music Festival. In 2019 Wynne was featured in NPR's 2019 Tiny Desk Contest as the first entry and toured as a featured artist with the Portland Cello Project.
Maiah collaborated with Portland Cello Project and Alex Lifeson of Rush for her song, "Fearless Girl." Wynne, Lifeson, and Canadian singer Andy Curran worked together on a four-track EP, tentatively titled Middle of Nowhere. She won the Music from the Moon songwriting contest and her prize involved a release of her single under FAME Studios, a cash prize and a performance for the Apollo 11's 50th anniversary homecoming dinner.
Maiah is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress based in Portland, on currently residing in Gresham, Oregon. Her single, "The Ballad of Lefty Brown," is featured in the end credits of the movie with the same name. She placed second as a finalist in Seattle's Sound Off competition at the Museum of Pop Culture. She won the 2019 International Music from the Moon songwriting contest and performed for the Apollo 11's 50th anniversary homecoming dinner at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center
“Calming, sensitive, beautifully composed music, Michelle Qureshi’s work provokes my imagination, and touches my soul. Absolutely brilliant!" ~Lee Bice-Matheson, Coauthor of the Paige Maddison Series @leebicematheson
Michelle's Discography includes 12 Albums, 2 EPs and these recent Singles: Of the Harvest (2019) As It Once Was (2019) Because We Knew (2019) Hope Floats (2019 with Paul Landry) Snapdragons (2018) An Offering (2018 with Tommy Berre) Floating (2018) Inside the Lightbox (2018) @paul_landry_music @tommyberremusic
Award-winning Artist Michelle Qureshi is a composer, multi‐instrumentalist, and classically-trained guitarist who brings a contemporary yet timeless aesthetic to her music, which includes fifteen albums and nine singles. Along with her music being streamed millions of times all around the world, she performs solo concerts at festivals, for yoga studios, and at special events. Michelle graduated with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, and she has built on this formal training to access intuitive and improvisational aspects of her work, bringing a mindful spirituality to her music. The Harmonic Sound Immersion™ she presents nationally is a transformative sound meditation created by the healing vibrations of ancient and modern instruments, which she describes as a kind of horizontal concert. In 2020 she became a myndstream artist releasing the highly-acclaimed solo guitar album Within, and she continues to create music in a wellness modality.
"Michelle’s music encompasses the beauty life holds...her complex melodic arrangements hang masterfully woven together, creating the soundscapes of life." ~Derek Lefholz @embarkmusic
“She seems more of a sonic sorceress using a wide range of instruments and technology in her artistic alchemy." ~Michael Diamond
Jimmy Hewitt joined the Timberline® Guitars artist roster in late summer 2019.
Jimmy is a multi-faceted performer, studio and session guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, band leader, Musical Director, producer and arranger originally hailing from Long Beach, California.
A veteran of over 500 recording sessions, Jimmy's Live and session credits include Patti LaBelle, Bobby Bland, Thelma Houston, The Coasters, The Box Tops, Brenton Wood, Ellis Hall, Gerald Allbright, Barbara Morrison, Big Joe Houston, Guitar Shorty, Little Caesar and the Romans, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, Tower of Power Horns and Oleta Adams.
Jimmy has a Masters in Music from California State University at Long Beach and has studied with industry luminaries in various disciplines in the field of music:
• Studied guitar in private lesson sessions with Laurindo Almeida, John Collins, Ted Greene, Pat Martino and Joe Diorio.
• Studied Music Theory and Arranging with Mac McKernan, Conducting with Joseph Valenti and Improvisation with Charlie Shoemaker and Sonny Fortune.
Jimmy's exciting and fluid playing dynamics range from Brazilian to country to Jazz and rock with colorful flourishes of all these styles informing his mesmerizing live performances. Jimmy is pictured with his Timberline® T90Ac solid Silkwood Auditorium cutaway with L.R. Baggs AnthemSL electronics.
In 2007 Don Alder became International Fingerstyle Champion. In 2010 he was the Guitar Superstar contest winner. In 2011 he won the World Wide Guitar Idol contest. In 2013 he won Brand Laureate Award (Malaysia) for his contributions using his guitar and music to help and inspire others around the world. In 2015 he was awarded the "Domenic Troiano Guitar Award" in the category "multi-genre".
Today, Alder continues to play to Canadian, American, European and Asian audiences. In 2016 he was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award and a Western Canadian Music Award.
In 2017 Don won "Artist of the Year" at the Vancouver Island Music Awards. He has been performing at venues around the world, including Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night (five times). He writes and performs all of his own music, and has released seven albums. His CD, Not a Planet earned him a nomination for Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2009.
Don became a Timberline® endorsee and performing artist/clinician in 2016
Scot Wolfgang Ryder started into his musical career as a classically trained pianist. At a young age, he took an interest in guitar as an experimental stand in for violin with the school orchestra, and it quickly became second nature to him.
Walking the path of an artistic journeyman, learning, experimenting, creating and performing, his guitar work evolved and grew, making him a much sought after performing and recording guitarist.
With virtuosic skill on piano, guitar and harpguitar, He creates compositions combining the classical, medieval, symphonic rock and gypsy styles that had been an integral part of his musical influence.
From solo instrumentalist to his symphonic European folklore group Enchanted Realms, his compositions will resonate with the listener long after the last note has faded from memory.
Tim Bertsch has been a disciple of the guitar and its since the age of 10. Tim is equally proficient on electric guitar and acoustic guitar/harp guitar. Heavily rooted in jazz, fusion, flamenco, rock, classical, blues and gypsy music, Tim's versatility and competence on guitar, harp guitar, bass, mandolin, ukulele and sitar have made him an in demand studio musician as well as a sought after live performer.
Tim has shared the headliner billing with many national acts including Halestorm, Buckcherry, Sevendust, Skid Row, Puddle of Mudd, Saving Abel, Filter, Helmet, The Tea Party, Tantric, Duff Mckagan's Loaded, Jason Bonham, Adelitas Way, Red, Rehab, Local H, The Presidents of the United States of America, Powerman 5000, 10 Miles and many more.
He has performed as a featured soloist at many festivals including Folklife, The Reno International Jazz Festival, The NAMM Show and Muriel Anderson's All Star Harp Guitar Night to name a few. Tim has also been featured by Acoustic Guitar Magazine and Classical Guitar Magazine for multiple AG Video Sessions. His writing has been published by Acoustic Guitar Magazine, most recently "Tips on Tone", “Transposition for Musicians” and “Modes Demystified” released February 2019.
Tim has studied with: Larry Coryell, Emily Remeler, Beppe Gambetta, Joshua Breakstone and John Stowell as well as many other masters of the guitar". His lifelong goal: "To live a life of expression, to leave a lengthy, meaningful catalog of my soul's finest resonances".
Jim Earp is an accomplished finger-style guitarist based in San Diego, California who represents his playing style as noveau-celtic-classical-folk.
Jim plays a Timberline® T20Ac Auditorium Cutaway with customized Sunrise electronics. He has been playing guitar since 1973, and,cutting straight to the chase, reveals his career aspiration, "To be an established guitarist in the professional finger-style guitar community."
A Solid Air Records recording artist for many years,Earp has shared recordings with such luminaries as Davey Johnstone of the Elton John Band, the Hellecaster’s John Jorgenson and former Wings guitarist Laurance Juber.
Canadian Guitarist and composer Jamie Dupuis is an incredible new talent from Sudbury, Ontario.
Born in May 1990 in New Liskeard, Ontario, Jamie recorded his first studio album Inspired by a Dream in 2011.
His influences include Tommy Emmanuel, Buster B. Jones, Roland Dyens, Joe Pass, Ella Fitzgerald and Jason Becker. Jamie is a graduate of the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles.
Josh Ryan is part of a new breed of acoustic guitarist. Percussive and melodic, lightning fast and smoothly soulful, Josh employs multiple musical disciplines and styles.
A bass player by trade, Josh started playing professionally at age 9, about the time he got his first 6-string...bass. After picking up the guitar at 12, he has already become a winner of the Paul Reed Smith Race to the Stage competition (at 14) and was a personal guest of Jack Higgenbotham, President of Paul Reed Smith at the PRS Experience.
At 15, while at the NAMM show, Josh had the privilege of becoming a Timberline artist, by personal invitation of Rob Smith. "when I first picked up a Timberine at NAMM, I thought it was one of those crazy, high-dollar, custom boutique guitars because it played and sounded so amazing. When I found out the price I was floored. I am very honored that Rob invited me to be part of the Timberline family."
Born in Queens and raised in NYC, Jonathan Tiersten is a musician and actor well known for his 1983 role as Ricky Thomas in the cult horror film Sleepaway Camp. JT's musical career started in the late 1980's in the acoustic duo Magic Box, progressing with his move to Colorado and his establishment as a solo acoustic act.
Over the years JT has released several powerful albums on his own as a singer-songwriter and with his band Jonathan Tiersten And Ten Tiers, including the EP We’ll See which received a perfect score in its review on Shakefire.com. The review goes on to say, “If you’re into artists like Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, or in some ways Jeff Buckley, you’ll enjoy this album."
For some music is a career, for others it’s a calling. Doricana may be Colin Clyne's debut album, but it’s built on years of touring, years of honing his acoustic guitar based mix of Celtic, folk and pop influences. The songs on Doricana, are a blend of Clyne's Scottish influences and love of American music, recorded and produced by Grammy Award Winning Engineer Alan Sanderson, best known for his work with The Rolling Stones and Burt Bacharach. Doricana also features Matt Hensley (Flogging Molly) and Dennis Caplinger (Eric Clapton).
A native of Stonehaven, Scotland, Clyne now divides his time between his homeland and Southern California, with a sizeable following in each.
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Casey Turner spawned from the Florida based punk trio, Liquid Image. With nearly 15 years of punk rock and electric guitars under his belt, CT has learned an appreciation for playing some of the lighter sides of music and now glides on a mellower vibe. He play around the globe as a solo and also with his acoustic three piece "The Stained Glass Saints". Casey has made numerous television appearances and has a strong following in Australia, the US and around the world.
Sheila Sondergard is a sizzling melting pot of ideas, beliefs and quick one-liners, and it is reflected in her music. This intrepid Korean and Danish singer-songwriter was playing open mics at the age of 16. When performing live, Sondergard’s small stature and larger-than-life vocalization command the room. Her smoky, breathy voice and acoustic folk-rock style guitar tell the story of a life in which lyrical wisdom has been born out of hardship and self-reliance. She embodies a hybrid sound. It makes no promises, it is raw and honest and real. From living on the beach in Maui, to a cattle ranch in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, to the Central American backdrop of Guatemala and then into sunny San Diego, Sondergard has experienced a little more “life” than the average young adult. Because of this, she draws upon the drama of circumstance and everything in between the lines to create her own distinct and haunting sound." Kelly Grace - (Downtown San Diego Magazine)
Jenny Beck is a Swedish singer/songwriter. She relocated to the UK in 2001 to further her music career and has since written, produced and recorded three CDs that have attracted much attention from record labels, the music press, radio stations and internet music sites world-wide. Though her main genres are Folk/Pop and Acoustic music she is often experimenting with various kinds of genres, such as R&B, Pop, Soul and Blues - genres that feature on her latest CD "On The Outside" which is out now and available to order through the official Jenny Beck website, iTunes, tapintomusic.com and uksounds.com, to name but a few online shops. The CD is also distributed by the world's leading digital distributor of music, The Orchard.
Andrew Kasab is a guitarist, harp guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is known for energetic performances, using both traditional and contemporary techniques, on guitar and harp guitar. Andrew is a BMI artist and is endorsed by K&K Sound and Timberline Guitars.
Traveling extensively throughout the United States, Andrew has forged fans and connections from small towns to the larger cities. “The best thing about my chosen profession is the endless stream great people I meet wherever I perform.”
Andrew’s musicianship exhibits a subtle beauty in its harmonic resonance plus his ability to also surprise audiences with blistering works of passion and energy.
Andrew hails from Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Starting on guitar at an early age Andrew embraced classical, blues, jazz, country, rock and more.