Australian’s guitar virtuoso Joe Robinson — deemed Senior Grand Champion Performer of the World at the 2009 World Championships of Performing Arts in Los Angeles — was featured at the 2010 Bonnaroo Festival (June 10-12) in Manchester, Tenn.
Robinson performed solo at the Troo Music Lounge and then later took the stage with Nashville jam band Elmwood.
Fans of the 2008 winner of Australia’s Got Talent can watch him pitching in for Elmwood’s song “Woodduck” in the You Tube video over to the right, which interestingly, is how Robinson mastered his chops on the guitar.
“I grew up in the country in Australia, out in the sticks, it was like 45 minutes to drive to a supermarket so the only way I could learn the music I wanted to learn was from the internet,” says Robinson in an online video shot at Bonnaroo. “I can remember sitting there and putting on a You Tube video and letting it load, and it would take like an hour for a You Tube video to load because I had really slow internet.But it just taught me so much and it was a really great way of getting new information, even when living in quite a remote area. It was really invaluable for me.”
Robinson has been working with acclaimed music industry executive Reen Nalli (INXS, India.Arie, Blue October) and is expected to release his first vocal recording release later this year.