My new single from the demos series, ‘Placer Camp Blues,’ is streaming now. Recorded on my couch, straight into an old Nagra tape machine. There’s a story-poem that goes with this piece too (slide 3). 💎
engineer: @grand_oscillator
mastering: @galup_mastering
mixing: @seansullivanaudio
cover drawing: Bill Keiser the Miner
border: @westley.austin
slide 1 photo: @slperlin
#folkmusic #nagra #analog #indie #fieldrecording
📚 Rural Guitar’s ‘Almanac of Things Mostly True (Volume 1)’ is sold out and among the world, upon hearths, tables and countertops (hopefully). Thank you to the many wonderful contributors and @fretboardjournal for partnering up. 👽
#ruralguitar #zine #book #almanac #fretboardjournal
My covers EP, East of the Gilas (Lagniappe Session), is streaming now! Thanks for the support everyone, and to the crew below for making it happen. Much love to @aquariumdrunkard aquariumdrunkard for the invite in the first place.
Artists covered: John Fahey, Norman Blake, Ledward Kaapana, Elizabeth Cotten
Acoustic guitar: Cameron Knowler
Bass/Cello/Mandolin/Strings: @combsmattstrings (tracks 1-2)
Fiddle: @brittfiddle (Steamboat Around the Bend)
Pedal Steel: @willellismusic_ (Wilson Rag)
Rhythm guitar: @jordan.tice , Rachel Combs (Steamboat Around the Bend)
Engineer: @willellismusic_ (Wilson Rag), @chrissharp80 (tracks 1-3)
Mix/Master: @jasonrichmondmix
Cover photo: @robbymuller.archive
Cross-stitch (Sunflower River Blues): @neon.tumbleweed
Poster: @westley.austin
#acousticguitar #instrumentalmusic #johnfahey #elizabethcotten #normanblake #vintageguitar #acousticcover
“Placer Camp Blues,” my newest single with @combsmattstrings on cello 🎻 Stream it wherever, and check out the full video on the @ruralguitar YouTube channel.
🎥: @misathebear
🎙️: @chrissharp80
#folkmusic #acousticguitar #instrumental #strings #vintageguitar #original #live #fingerpicking #indie #lofi #instrumentalmusic
so happy to share our next show - @cameronknowler with @adeline.hotel at @avaloncafebermondsey on July 22 :)
it’s gonna be so cool! We hope to see you there, tickets in bio x 🐎
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Cameron Knowler hadn’t stepped foot on Yuma, AZ dirt since the incarceration of his father when he was eleven years old. CRK, a self-titled affair, finds the artist confronting darkness with an open mind, sculpting the diorama of his youth into a record brimming with medicinal soundscapes. In line with the regional ethos of composer Frantz Casseus, the minimalism of Bruce Langhorne and the genre-blurring lens of David Rawlings, this instrumental record draws on the history and geography of Knowler’s perplexing birthplace—a border town known for its eternal sunshine, lettuce production, affordable dental work and defunct territorial prison that once served as a high school. Knowler carries forward the grand pictorial canon made famous by Dorothea Lange and western films such as “3:10 to Yuma” while soberly reporting on day-to-day life in the Sonoran with “Christmas in Yuma,” a zany poem recited by Jack Kilmer. Exploring various ensemble formats, the project features collaborations with a diverse cast of session aces who support Knowler’s signature guitar work: Jay Bellerose, Dylan Day, Rayna Gellert, Rich Hinman, Jordan Tice and Harrison Whitford.
In the tender, surrealist world that Dan Knishkowy has developed under the name Adeline Hotel, stories have been told through sprawling psych-rock epics, stark solo guitar performances, piano-led orchestral song cycles, and lush, jazzy compositions that felt like a genre unto themselves. Inspired by indie lifers and fellow world-builders like Jim O’Rourke and Phil Elverum, the Ruination Records co-founder has rewritten the rule book with each new project, inviting listeners to join as he discovers new channels for his singular voice. By now the sound of Adeline Hotel is equally identifiable through Knishkowy’s dextrous fingerpicking—the aural equivalent of tracing your fingers through cool sand at sunrise—as his low, whispered vocals and autumnal melodies
In the belly of the 🐳 hand signing, numbering and packing our collaborative zine with @fretboardjournal , ‘Rural Guitar’s Almanac of Things Mostly True.’ All 250 orders shipping today and tomorrow!
#ruralguitar #zine #book #privatepress
East Nashville! On April 28th, join Jana Horn, Ben Garnett and Cameron Knowler for a night of music at @rice_vice_proper_bev . Garnett and Knowler will open the night at 7 PM before Jana and her trio hit at 8 PM. $10 admission.
Cameron Knowler is a songwriter, sideman, and preservationist. As Opry Archivist, he’s tasked with maintaining the many instruments and historical documents that tell help to tell the story of the legendary venue. His reverence to the history of American music is exactly what is heard when you listen to Cameron’s music.
‘CRK’ is an acoustic meditation consisting of 11 instrumental tracks and a prologue in the form of a poetry recitation. Knowler hails from Arizona which is why this album feels like such a sincere ode to the American west. With much of the album comprised of solo acoustic tracks, it gives listeners visions of cacti and endless frontier. ‘CRK’ features great thematic depth ranging playful (“Yuma Ferry”) to intense (“On a Widows Outfit”) to somber (“Mojave Runs Colorado”). Cameron’s chops are on full display throughout and tracks such as “Mule at the Wagon” and “Secret Water”, demonstrate great interplay between the cast of supporting musicians on the album.
‘CRK’ is available to stream on most platforms. You can check out Cameron’s projects including merch, lessons, and more at his website ruralguitar.com.
Playing @urbancowboy_nashville this Wednesday with @bengarnettmusic ! Come out for some guitar tunes, duo and solo, and some sand-drenched tape loops.
#folkmusic
Talkin' Blues // Cameron Knowler
Today, I’m sharing a conversation I had with guitarist, writer, archivist, teacher and scholar Cameron Knowler, who has lovingly absorbed an archive’s worth of early American guitar styles, and it shows. His self-illustrated book “Guitars Have Feelings Too” views flat picking as a continuation of the dance music that became bluegrass, not just virtuosic instrumental music.
Cameron is a writer for Fretboard Journal magazine, and his new record CRK, released in April of this 2025, was heralded by Acoustic Guitar magazine, who said: “The dynamic performances, which evoke words like sensitive, nuanced, restrained, and understated, hint at a disinterest in flash for its own sake.” We talked about Norman Blake quite a bit, learned about his fascinating background, and as always, geek out on some music history. Enjoy!
#cameronknowler #americansongcatcher #normanblake #capertonferry #talkinblues
