The story of Scott Ainslie's life
is nearly synonymous with his deep love and talent for
playing Delta Blues and especially the music of Blues
legend, Robert Johnson. A community-based artist,
Ainslie comes to the stage or classroom part
storyteller, part historian, part educator, and all
musician. Armed with a lion-hearted voice and no fewer
than three or four instruments – acoustic guitar,
National slide guitar, fretless gourd banjo, diddley bow
(one-string slide instrument), Scott also shares
carefully chosen historical anecdotes and his personal
experiences with scores of elder Blues musicians across
the US South. Ainslie's audiences of all ages learn
about the African roots of this very American music and
how the Southern and African-American cultures have--
and continue to-- influence the genre.
A resident of Brattleboro, VT, Scott is the author of
"Robert Johnson at the Crossroads." Ainslie literally
'wrote the book' on Mississippi Delta Bluesman Johnson,
and has an instructional DVD on Johnson's guitar
techniques and songs, as well as five compact disc
recordings available. His most recent album, "Thunder's
Mouth," spent over five weeks on the XM Radio Bluesville
"B.B. King's Picks To Click" and six weeks in the
Americana Top 40 chart. Scott has been a VA and NC
Visiting Artist, and has performed with many music
greats such as Phil Wiggins and Branford Marsalis. He is
a sought-after traditional blues teacher, spending many
months each year working and playing in music camps,
colleges and blues festivals all over the US.
