Who is Adam?
Adam Granger has played the guitar since 1961, having taught himself in his native Oklahoma. He started teaching and performing professionally in 1962. After playing in the obligatory folk and rock and roll groups around the state of Oklahoma, he took up 5-string banjo, which he learned from world-class banjoist Alan Munde in 1967. He played banjo and electric lead guitar in Arkansas, Oklahoma and on the road out of Nashville through 1972. Adam then moved back to Oklahoma, where he played guitar in the infamous bluegrass band The Upper Middle Grass.
In 1974, Granger moved to Minnesota, where he became a charter member of the Powdermilk Biscuit Band, the first house band for Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. During that time, he also wrote for the show and, on several occasions, substitute-hosted for Keillor.
Upon leaving the Companion, Adam played for eight years in The Eclectic Brothers, an acoustic swing trio. Following that, he cohosted, with Pop Wagner, the award-winning television show The Cedar Social, which featured local folk, bluegrass, ethnic and jazz performers, for eight seasons.
Adam has done lots of emcee work, primarily at folk and bluegrass festivals and fiddle contests, but including concerts, talent contests and variety shows. In 2001, he toured Great Britain with mandolinist/banjoist Dick Kimmel.
Adam’s focus is on writing and performing original material, and on writing books and articles on music in general and the flatpick guitar technique in particular. His company, Granger Publications, publishes his work. He has written hundreds of scripts, articles and comedic sketches for, among others, A Prairie Home Companion, National Lampoon magazine, The Park Bugle, Recycled Greeting Cards and Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. He has been a columnist for Flatpick Guitar Magazine since its start in 1996. His book and CD set, Granger’s Fiddle Tunes for Guitar, is the largest collection of fiddle tunes in guitar tablature in the world.
Adam Granger has taught rhythm and lead guitar, stage presence, songwriting and ear training for thirty-five years. He teaches at music camps around the country, including the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop; Camp Bluegrass in Levelland, Texas; Steve Kaufman’s Flatpick Guitar Camp in Maryville, Tennessee; the Stringalong Weekend in Milwaukee; The British Columbia Bluegrass Camp; and the Peace Gardens International Music Camp. He has offered private instruction at Minneapolis’ Homestead Pickin’ Parlor since it opened in 1979 and also teaches at his St Paul home.
Adam has recorded sixteen albums, including seven of original material, and has composed scores for over a dozen television documentaries and several films, including the recently released feature-length animation “My Art School Summer”. He has composed and performed scores for a number of stage productions, including Kevin Kling’s Lloyd’s Prayer and The Laramie Project, at Minneapolis’ Illusion Theater.
Adam Granger is a Minnesota Bluegrass Guitarist of the Year and has served as a judge at the International Flatpick Guitar Contest in Winfield, Kansas. He currently serves as head judge for the Minnesota Flatpick Guitar Contest.
Adam appeared as a musical extra in the 2006 Robert Altman movie A Prairie Home Companion and continues regular appearances on the show.
Adam is married, has two sons and a dog and a cat. He is afraid of water.
Adam Granger has played the guitar since 1961, having taught himself in his native Oklahoma. He started teaching and performing professionally in 1962. After playing in the obligatory folk and rock and roll groups around the state of Oklahoma, he took up 5-string banjo, which he learned from world-class banjoist Alan Munde in 1967. He played banjo and electric lead guitar in Arkansas, Oklahoma and on the road out of Nashville through 1972. Adam then moved back to Oklahoma, where he played guitar in the infamous bluegrass band The Upper Middle Grass.
In 1974, Granger moved to Minnesota, where he became a charter member of the Powdermilk Biscuit Band, the first house band for Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. During that time, he also wrote for the show and, on several occasions, substitute-hosted for Keillor.
Upon leaving the Companion, Adam played for eight years in The Eclectic Brothers, an acoustic swing trio. Following that, he cohosted, with Pop Wagner, the award-winning television show The Cedar Social, which featured local folk, bluegrass, ethnic and jazz performers, for eight seasons.
Adam has done lots of emcee work, primarily at folk and bluegrass festivals and fiddle contests, but including concerts, talent contests and variety shows. In 2001, he toured Great Britain with mandolinist/banjoist Dick Kimmel.
Adam’s focus is on writing and performing original material, and on writing books and articles on music in general and the flatpick guitar technique in particular. His company, Granger Publications, publishes his work. He has written hundreds of scripts, articles and comedic sketches for, among others, A Prairie Home Companion, National Lampoon magazine, The Park Bugle, Recycled Greeting Cards and Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. He has been a columnist for Flatpick Guitar Magazine since its start in 1996. His book and CD set, Granger’s Fiddle Tunes for Guitar, is the largest collection of fiddle tunes in guitar tablature in the world.
Adam Granger has taught rhythm and lead guitar, stage presence, songwriting and ear training for thirty-five years. He teaches at music camps around the country, including the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop; Camp Bluegrass in Levelland, Texas; Steve Kaufman’s Flatpick Guitar Camp in Maryville, Tennessee; the Stringalong Weekend in Milwaukee; The British Columbia Bluegrass Camp; and the Peace Gardens International Music Camp. He has offered private instruction at Minneapolis’ Homestead Pickin’ Parlor since it opened in 1979 and also teaches at his St Paul home.
Adam has recorded sixteen albums, including seven of original material, and has composed scores for over a dozen television documentaries and several films, including the recently released feature-length animation “My Art School Summer”. He has composed and performed scores for a number of stage productions, including Kevin Kling’s Lloyd’s Prayer and The Laramie Project, at Minneapolis’ Illusion Theater.
Adam Granger is a Minnesota Bluegrass Guitarist of the Year and has served as a judge at the International Flatpick Guitar Contest in Winfield, Kansas. He currently serves as head judge for the Minnesota Flatpick Guitar Contest.
Adam appeared as a musical extra in the 2006 Robert Altman movie A Prairie Home Companion and continues regular appearances on the show.
Adam is married, has two sons and a dog and a cat. He is afraid of water.
