Edgar Cruz, an extraordinary fingerstyle guitarist will perform 1:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at Museum

These fingerstyle guitarists leave the pick at home.

They prefer to play by plucking the strings with the off hand, rather than with a pick and are called fingerstyle guitarists.

They cover all genres of music and many will be coming to Salado this weekend for the Texas Fingerstyle Guitar Association (TFGA) quarterly gathering.

The TFGA is relocating to Salado in 2017.

Edgar Cruz, an extraordinary fingerstyle guitarist who performs 200 concerts per year, will exemplify the broad range of the playing style during at concert 1:30-3 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Central Texas Area Museum, 421 S. Main St. in Salado, as part of the two-day gathering.

Among the collection of songs that you may hear during Edgar Cruz performance are La Bamba, Tequila, Girl from Impanema, In the Hall of Mountian King, William Tell Overture, Moonlight Sonata, Greensleeves, Live and Let Die, Wipeout, Sleepwalk, Light My Fire, Pride and Joy, Dueling Banjos, Hotel California and Over the Rainbow among others.

The TFGA is asking for donations of $15 for adults and $10 for students for the concert Jan. 21.

Edgar CRuz has played throughout American, Europe and South America.

He has been a headliner at the prestigious Chet Atkins Guitar Festival every July in Nashville since 1995 and is a strong icon at major festivals in Oklahoma.

Those who have witnessed Cruz’s performance immediately become entranced at the precision, speed and complexity with which his fingers strike the strings of his guitar to create a symphony of sound unusual to just one instrument.

Cruz offers an incredible live repertoire of the greatest hits of the guitar, such as “Malagueña,” “Classical Gas,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “In the Mood,” “Dueling Banjos,” “Hotel California,” a classical medley, Latin favorites, originals and medleys on the fly.

Audience interaction, participation, clapping, singing, dancing, snapping, “olés” and “yee-haws” are all encouraged. Seventeen CDs and two DVDs are currently available. Country, Western, Beatles, Inspirational, Celtic and Broadway are just a few more in the works.

Edgar has been named the Oklahoma’s Top Performing Artist and/or Acoustic Guitarist for more than 15 years by the Oklahoma Gazette. He has received numerous civic acknowledgments for his contributions to various charitable events.

He also performs a wide variety of bookings including concerts, festivals, weddings, receptions, banquets, schools, churches, conventions, fiestas, memorials or any special occasion.

Edgar holds a bachelor’s of music degree in guitar performance from Oklahoma City University.  He was recently added to the Hispanic exhibit at The Oklahoma History Center and was also honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Oklahoma City University in 2010.

His You Tube video of “Bohemian Rhapsody” has more than 14,000,000 hits worldwide.

The TFGA will be at the Museum 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 21 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Jan. 22. The sessions are open and you can drop in to listen as you please.

TFGA meetings might be better described as a musical ‘gathering’ since the format is very informal. Members take turns playing for one another, teaching new licks, sharing musical arrangements, and discussing happenings in the fingerstyle guitar world.

Fingerstyle guitar playing, also sometimes called fingerpicking or thumbpicking has its roots in the western Kentucky coal country.  It was first made famous by Merle Travis and then refined by Chet Atkins.  Although there are many variations, the basic technique is for the guitarist to play a bass line with the thumb, while simultaneously playing the melody, chords and harmony with the fingers. It is a very versatile technique that can be and is used for gospel tunes and jazz standards, traditional songs and show tunes, rock ballads, blues, and country songs.  It is primarily a solo presentation and is very challenging.  Youtube has many examples of the new generation of fingerstyle players such as Tommy Emmanuel, Richard Smith, Doyle Dykes and others.

The concert is presented by the TFGA, the Museum and the Salado Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau.