Heartwood Presents: Thom Bresh

An Entertainer – Who Happens To Play the Guitar…

From a Southern California stage at the age of three, with a loosely strung ukulele, to one of the many great concert halls in the world today, armed with just a guitar (he refers to it as “My Band”), Thom Bresh, the 2001 inductee into the “Thumbpickers Hall of Fame” and his six string friends have been entertaining people for a lifetime. Whether he is leaning against a wall telling you how his day went or shaking the walls of a concert hall with that famous hard driving thumb, first and foremost, you will be entertained. He is equally at home on stage in a stadium or on a couch in someone’s living room. Add to this scenario a deep, witty and gritty singing voice set in the middle of that relentless, powerful groove and you have a genuine force to deal with.

The Breshman was born in Hollywood, California and raised in the middle of guitar royalty. His father, Merle Travis, was the most influential American guitarist of the 20th Century. With this sort of heritage and upbringing, what do you have? As Chet Atkins put it, “Thom Bresh is a “World Class” guitarist that deserves to be heard.” On every performance Bresh pays tribute to his father. When he lays into his father’s thumbpickin’ classics, he and that guitar will leave the Travis style pickers hungry and the rest of us breathless. Buster B. Jones summed it up like this.. “Bresh is a drop-top version of his daddy with a souped up engine and a whole lot more chrome.”

But there is even more in the Bresh arsenal than singing and playing a guitar. Bresh started writing songs at the age of 13. He has written theme songs for two major motion pictures and had numerous cuts in his career. His quick comedic timing and sharp ear has made him an incredible impressionist. That led to two HBO Specials with Rich Little. Thom hosted his own TV show and has guest starred on numerous others. Behind the scenes, as a producer, he has received two Grammy nominations and one for an Academy Award.