About Kyle Reeder

Kyle Reeder began playing the guitar at the age of fourteen. His great aunt introduced him to the instrument and after a few short hours he realized his passion for the guitar. For a while, Kyle taught himself to play. Then at the age of fifteen, he began private lessons with Rod Stephenson, a musician from the prestigious Berkley School of Music in Boston. Rod trained Kyle for several years in various styles and helped him form the foundation for his musicianship.

At the age of sixteen, Kyle began working as a guitar instructor in his hometown of Mayfield, Kentucky. He began performing in local churches, bluegrass groups, and country bands. Soon after, Kyle was exposed to a new sound that soon became his favorite genre of music...fingerstyle and solo guitar. A friend of Kyle’s invited him to attend a guitar contest in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Kyle had never competed in a guitar contest before that day, but he came home with the second place award in the Home of the Legends Open Style guitar contest. Muhlenberg County is the heart of thumb picking-style music and home to many great guitar legends including: Merle Travis, Mose Rager and The Everley Brothers. The music he heard at this first contest inspired him to expand his techniques and style.

Kyle’s love for fingerstyle guitar and contest-style playing led him to compete and win numerous competitions at the State, National and International levels. Some of his wins include multiple awards at the Home of the Legends contests in Muhlenberg County including: first place open-style guitar contest champion in 2003; first place contemporary thumbpicking contest champion in 2005; first place traditional thumbpicking contest champion in 2007; and first place Overall International thumbpicking contest champion in 2007. Kyle has also competed and placed in several state guitar championships, but one of his most prestigious awards came when he was inducted into the International Thumbpicking Hall of Fame. He was given the Horizon Award, which recognizes up and coming musicians who contribute to the advancement of fingerstyle and thumbpicking guitar. Kyle has also competed in the world famous Walnut Valley International Fingerstyle Championships in Winfield, Kansas, where in 2004 he won third place. In 2008, he returned to Winfield and placed second in the famous contest.

Throughout the years, Kyle has played with multiple bands and artists including National Flat Picking Champion, Joe Smart; award-winning Christian artist, Andrew Peterson; National Clawhammer Banjo Champion, Dan Knowles; internationally-known thumbpicking artist, Eddie Pennington; and country music fiddler, Mark Evitts. Kyle is currently endorsed through Wallace Guitars, which are handcrafted by David Wallace from Niota, Tennessee. Kyle is featured through Wallace Guitars at events throughout the United States, including the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Currently, Kyle performs as a solo artist, and he continues to share his love of music through teaching people how to embrace their musical talents.

Kyle also excels at song writing, especially in the area of fingerstyle instrumentals. To date, Kyle has released three albums with Mark Evitts, Nashville musician and current fiddle player for country-superstar Rodney Adkins. In 2006, Kyle recorded his first solo guitar album entitled Acoustic Portraits. His follow-up CD, Out Of the Barrel, was released in 2009 and is a combination of fingerstyle arrangements and original compositions. Kyle’s newest CD, Woodchopper, also released in 2009 is a NEW collection of twelve original fingerstyle guitar instrumentals. It’s his third solo acoustic album and one you don’t want to miss. Kyle also works as a studio musician for the Ohanna Music Group owned and operated by Kirk Willie, sound engineer for country recording artist John Michael Montgomery.

Kyle is a fan of all styles of music including country, rock, jazz, folk, and bluegrass. He often listens to and is influenced by some of his heroes, including: Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel, Doyle Dykes, Pat Kirtley, Eddie Pennington, Wesley Crider, Brent Mason, Joe Smart, Bryan Sutton, Ricky Skaggs, Brad Paisley, Johnny Highland…just to name a few.

Ultimately, Kyle’s goal as a guitarist is to honor Christ through his music, to inspire others to feel the wonderful emotions that come from the unique sound of the guitar, and to bring people together through the common threads of the God-given gift of music. Matthew 5:16. Kyle lives in Almo, Kentucky with his wife, Bethany. In addition to music, Kyle has a passion for reading, writing, spending time with family, and fishing.