Beppe Gambetta, known as the “Italian King of the flatpick guitar” will perform at the Kentucky Repertory Theatre in Horse Cave, Kentucky on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.   The show will be a benefit concert to support the American Cave Museum and the Kentucky Repertory Theatre.  Tickets in advance are $10.00 and at the door will be $15.00.  The performance is being sponsored by Snappy’s Pizza on  Hwy. 31 W in Horse Cave.  Tickets can be reserved by calling the Theatre at 1-800-342-2177. 

Beppe Gambetta lives in Genoa, Italy.  He travels to North America several times a year and has performed in prestigious festivals such as the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas and Merlefest in North Carolina.  He’s appeared on radio shows such as All Things Considered and E-Town.

Gambetta has also performed in prestigious rooms such as the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  In his career he has worked with some of the greatest heroes of the folk scene including David Grisman, Gene Parsons, Doc Watson, Norman Blake and with the band Men of Steel; an international guitar summit which also included Dan Crary, Tony McManus and Don Ross.

According to Flat Picking Guitar Magazine, Gambetta‘s world view sets him apart from the crowd of “merely great pickers.  He has the skills with a flatpick to articulate and bring to us the thoughts and feelings of his soul”.  Gambetta’s influences range from his own compositions, Gipsy and Celtic folk tunes, to American Bluegrass standards and a mix of polkas, mazurkas, tangos and arias that made up the musical environment in his hometown of Genoa.  He is a remarkable musician and singer who has almost single-handedly popularized flatpicking throughout Europe, while forging his own unique approach to the guitar along the way and he has been a bi-directional ambassador, representing Americana to Europeans and introducing Mediterranean music to the States.

Gambetta’s playing and singing stand out for their intimate emotions, communication,  precise tone, and humor.  An inspired music reveals the innermost feelings of a brilliant, playful mind that is always firmly exploring and innovation while staying firmly rooted in tradition.