My name is Tanner Duckworth.
I come from a very tiny town in Georgia called Appling, which is just minutes away from Augusta. This area is not only the home of the Master's Golf Tournament, but is also home to several American icons and music legends; such as James Brown, Terri Gibbs, Steve Morse, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, Sheri Easter, the Lewis Family bluegrass band, Nashville songwriter Ben Hayslip, and comedy legend Oliver Hardy.
I have been surrounded by music since day one. To this day, I still own old VHS tapes of me as a tiny baby crawling around and grabbing my dad’s guitar and muting the strings while he played. I was captured by the instrument before I even knew what it was. However, it wasn’t until I turned 11 years old that I was inspired to first pick up the guitar and begin learning how to play. We went to a music store in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and my dad bought a CD titled “The Essential Chet Atkins”. After just a few seconds of listening to this album, my life was changed forever! Just a short time prior to discovering this newfound interest, I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I believe that the Lord placed a desire in my heart to begin learning the instrument, and that’s just what I did! As soon as we came home from the mountains, dad placed a thumb pick on my right thumb, showed me a few chords and the basic “thumb-pattern” for the Chet Atkins style, and over the years I have taught myself how to play the guitar utilizing the tools of teaching videos, YouTube, and listening to records and CDs. In the summer of 2011, just before I began high school, I took a trip to Nashville, Tennessee with my family and I became re-inspired and began to really start cutting my teeth as a musician and finding a style of my own.
My playing style ranges from many musical genres and styles. The guitarists that have had the greatest influence on me include Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel, Doyle Dykes, Buster B. Jones, Richard Kiser, Wesley Crider, Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio, Brad Paisley, Glen Campbell, and Thom Bresh just to name a few. I became the lead guitar player of the praise and worship band at my church, and then became interested not only in the praise and worship style of guitar, but I also began taking influence from a lot of classic rock guitar players as well. I also love listening to vocalists and other instruments like piano and banjo and try to emulate the sounds they make through my own interpretation on the guitar. As I have learned from these people and stored these many styles and genres into my mental catalog, or “licktionary” as I like to call it (musicians will get that joke), I have always tried to be “me” and not be a carbon copy of any one person. You can hear hints and snippets of things I have learned from my musical influences in my own playing, but they all come together to make a style that is unique to me.
In 2013 when I was 16 years old, I attended my first Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention in Nashville, Tennessee, At this annual event over 1,500 guitar players and people who love Chet Atkins and appreciate the impact he made in music all come from all over the world and gather for 4 days of nonstop concerts, workshops, jam sessions, guitar vendors, and fellowship with world-class musicians and making new friends and catching up with old pals in the “extended family” of Chet. It is through this convention that I was blessed to meet many of my musical heroes and make some of the greatest friends I’ve ever had, and will have for the rest of my life! Richard Kiser is one of these dear friends. At my very first CAAS, he invited me onto the main stage with him, and has even given me a spot in the “Gospel Showcase” every year at the convention!
Another special event happened to me at that first CAAS convention. Chet traded one of his guitars, being a vintage Gibson Country Gentleman, to Scotty Moore, one of Elvis Pressley’s guitar players, in exchange for a microphone that Chet adored the sound of. Scotty played on iconic Elvis recordings such as” Jailhouse Rock”, “That’s All Right”, “Mystery Train”, Hound Dog”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, and several others. Scotty toured all around the globe with that guitar, and eventually donated the instrument to the CAAS convention. He requested that the president of CAAS, Dr. Mark Pritcher and his wife Carol, find a young guitar player that seems to have a bright future with the instrument, and allow him or her to play the guitar at the big finale concert on the final night. That year, I was chosen to play that guitar. Upon coming home from this event, I knew in my heart that God was calling me to use the guitar to glorify Him and to bring people joy through music.
In 2017, I competed in the Home of the Legends International Thumbpicking Competition located in Muhlenburg County, Kentucky which is the birthplace of Merle Travis. I competed in both the traditional and contemporary categories and much to my pleasant surprise I placed 2nd place in the traditional category and 1st place in the contemporary category, and I was then awarded Grand Champion of the competition. As they called my name, I simply couldn't hold back the tears. The following year of 2018, I was inducted into the Thumbpickers Hall of Fame as the 2018 Horizon Award Recipient. WOW!!
I have had so many thrills in my musical journey and accomplished many things even at a young age, but this journey is only beginning! I am still learning and trying to progress not only on my instrument, but I am also trying to improve myself as a person and get closer to my Heavenly Father. As you can tell, I am very open about my faith. I have seen God work in my life in ways I never thought possible! My number one goal with my music is to bring honor and glory to the Lord, and to touch the lives of many people and bring them joy through music. Any awards or honors that may come or have already come my way are greatly appreciated and I am very humbled to receive them! However, all the credit goes to the One that placed that desire in my heart at 11 years old to start playing the guitar. Ever since I accepted Him, my life has never been the same.
I come from a very tiny town in Georgia called Appling, which is just minutes away from Augusta. This area is not only the home of the Master's Golf Tournament, but is also home to several American icons and music legends; such as James Brown, Terri Gibbs, Steve Morse, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, Sheri Easter, the Lewis Family bluegrass band, Nashville songwriter Ben Hayslip, and comedy legend Oliver Hardy.
I have been surrounded by music since day one. To this day, I still own old VHS tapes of me as a tiny baby crawling around and grabbing my dad’s guitar and muting the strings while he played. I was captured by the instrument before I even knew what it was. However, it wasn’t until I turned 11 years old that I was inspired to first pick up the guitar and begin learning how to play. We went to a music store in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and my dad bought a CD titled “The Essential Chet Atkins”. After just a few seconds of listening to this album, my life was changed forever! Just a short time prior to discovering this newfound interest, I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I believe that the Lord placed a desire in my heart to begin learning the instrument, and that’s just what I did! As soon as we came home from the mountains, dad placed a thumb pick on my right thumb, showed me a few chords and the basic “thumb-pattern” for the Chet Atkins style, and over the years I have taught myself how to play the guitar utilizing the tools of teaching videos, YouTube, and listening to records and CDs. In the summer of 2011, just before I began high school, I took a trip to Nashville, Tennessee with my family and I became re-inspired and began to really start cutting my teeth as a musician and finding a style of my own.
My playing style ranges from many musical genres and styles. The guitarists that have had the greatest influence on me include Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel, Doyle Dykes, Buster B. Jones, Richard Kiser, Wesley Crider, Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio, Brad Paisley, Glen Campbell, and Thom Bresh just to name a few. I became the lead guitar player of the praise and worship band at my church, and then became interested not only in the praise and worship style of guitar, but I also began taking influence from a lot of classic rock guitar players as well. I also love listening to vocalists and other instruments like piano and banjo and try to emulate the sounds they make through my own interpretation on the guitar. As I have learned from these people and stored these many styles and genres into my mental catalog, or “licktionary” as I like to call it (musicians will get that joke), I have always tried to be “me” and not be a carbon copy of any one person. You can hear hints and snippets of things I have learned from my musical influences in my own playing, but they all come together to make a style that is unique to me.
In 2013 when I was 16 years old, I attended my first Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention in Nashville, Tennessee, At this annual event over 1,500 guitar players and people who love Chet Atkins and appreciate the impact he made in music all come from all over the world and gather for 4 days of nonstop concerts, workshops, jam sessions, guitar vendors, and fellowship with world-class musicians and making new friends and catching up with old pals in the “extended family” of Chet. It is through this convention that I was blessed to meet many of my musical heroes and make some of the greatest friends I’ve ever had, and will have for the rest of my life! Richard Kiser is one of these dear friends. At my very first CAAS, he invited me onto the main stage with him, and has even given me a spot in the “Gospel Showcase” every year at the convention!
Another special event happened to me at that first CAAS convention. Chet traded one of his guitars, being a vintage Gibson Country Gentleman, to Scotty Moore, one of Elvis Pressley’s guitar players, in exchange for a microphone that Chet adored the sound of. Scotty played on iconic Elvis recordings such as” Jailhouse Rock”, “That’s All Right”, “Mystery Train”, Hound Dog”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, and several others. Scotty toured all around the globe with that guitar, and eventually donated the instrument to the CAAS convention. He requested that the president of CAAS, Dr. Mark Pritcher and his wife Carol, find a young guitar player that seems to have a bright future with the instrument, and allow him or her to play the guitar at the big finale concert on the final night. That year, I was chosen to play that guitar. Upon coming home from this event, I knew in my heart that God was calling me to use the guitar to glorify Him and to bring people joy through music.
In 2017, I competed in the Home of the Legends International Thumbpicking Competition located in Muhlenburg County, Kentucky which is the birthplace of Merle Travis. I competed in both the traditional and contemporary categories and much to my pleasant surprise I placed 2nd place in the traditional category and 1st place in the contemporary category, and I was then awarded Grand Champion of the competition. As they called my name, I simply couldn't hold back the tears. The following year of 2018, I was inducted into the Thumbpickers Hall of Fame as the 2018 Horizon Award Recipient. WOW!!
I have had so many thrills in my musical journey and accomplished many things even at a young age, but this journey is only beginning! I am still learning and trying to progress not only on my instrument, but I am also trying to improve myself as a person and get closer to my Heavenly Father. As you can tell, I am very open about my faith. I have seen God work in my life in ways I never thought possible! My number one goal with my music is to bring honor and glory to the Lord, and to touch the lives of many people and bring them joy through music. Any awards or honors that may come or have already come my way are greatly appreciated and I am very humbled to receive them! However, all the credit goes to the One that placed that desire in my heart at 11 years old to start playing the guitar. Ever since I accepted Him, my life has never been the same.
"I rarely say much in the way of promotions about the clients that I do duplication or replication work for.... But, friends, you NEED to hear this kid pick. He is unbelievable. This is one of the most enjoyable CDs to hit my player in a long time. His expert mix of traditional Gospel and Country guitar stylings are nothing short of amazing. Check him out on Facebook and YouTube.... Oh, yeah. He's got a new CD. Buy it...." -Charlie Sexton