tony cox tour dates for 2009

Against all odds, in a country that has struggled through the deprivations of apartheid and had very little time and money for its home-grown musicians, acoustic guitarist Tony Cox has managed through sheer persistence and dedication to his craft, to carve out a singular niche for himself in South Africa. A genre of one; as one South African journalist calls it: Southern African, Acoustic, Instrumental, Fingerstyle, Contemporary, Guitar Music. Others, for the sake of convenience, simply slot him under the ‘World’ music label.

‘Speaking of impressions, Tony Cox was fantastic. His playing was exceptional, certainly on a par with some of the greats I have heard like Tommy Emanuel and the late great Isaac Guillory! For an audience used to songs, Tony kept them spellbound and you could have heard a pin drop during his whole performance. I will be certainly recommending him to organisers I meet and will be having him back at the club in due course’ – Will Richardson, Half Moon, Elloughton – Oct 2008

'In a year of many outstanding performances at the Evergreen Theatre, this concert by Tony Cox has to be one of the highlights' - Steve Kennard, Evergreen Theatre, Margaretsville, Nova Scotia, Canada - Nov 2007

Born in Zimbabwe, Cox moved with his family to South Africa in the late sixties having absorbed and assimilated the traditional African styles of his birthplace that were a constant source of inspiration and delight to him. This grounding in the African way of creating music stayed with him throughout the plethora of influences to come from the rest of the world that began in earnest when the family settled in Cape Town, home of many superb musicians. Over the years the guitarist adopted an eclectic approach to his own personal compositional style; seeing very little worth in confining himself to a particular genre beyond the immediately commercial which anyway, was never a factor in his growth as a musician. Many years before it became acceptable for a white boy to outwardly demonstrate a love for African music and indeed dangerous to do so, all his early compositions were infused with an African flavour.

'Lewes Guitar Festival has been delighted to invite guitar maestro Tony Cox to perform twice at our festival over the last few years - he's simply an entrancing performer who has that special knack of engaging all his audience while at the same time delivering a highly skilled and entertaining show. Highly recommended...' Laurence Hill, Festival Director, Lewes, UK - 2006 Inspired greatly by the human condition, Cox wrote many songs with powerful anti-apartheid themes, such as The Lions’ Roar about the inevitable retribution that would befall the then South African government; or the Easy See, a song about avoiding being conscripted into the SA army at all costs. Of-course these songs and many others were never allowed to be heard on the radio back home but nonetheless, that did not stop Cox from belting them out at every performance, invoking some strong and sometimes violent reactions from conservative whites in his audience.

‘Tony conjured up varying moods and layers of emotion and swept the audience along from American Blue Grass to the camp grounds of Shongweni, to the turbulence of life on Zimbabwe’s farms’ The Highway Mail – 2007

Eventually Cox’s love of the guitar won out and he dropped singing altogether to concentrate on writing instrumental music for the acoustic guitar. The themes though are still deeply connected to the human condition and are reflected in tunes like Jambanja a very recent composition, the title being the Shona word that Robert Mugabe’s war veterans use to chant as they descend on farms in order to enact what the word means: to turn everything upside-down. The piece itself is a breathtaking and relentless barrage of angry and insistent fingerpicking only a master of the craft would be able to deliver. Before you get to thinking though that it is all deeply serious work, Cox has a dry and wicked sense of humour; he is a superb entertainer and often has his audiences in stitches.

‘On behalf of the Cornwall Folk Festival organizing committee I would like say a big thank you for contributing towards the success of our festival with your excellent performances. Your guitar playing is unique and was the hit of the festival’ Alan Collins, Festival Committee, Cornwall, UK - 2006

In his time as a recording artist, Cox has won three South African music awards (SAMA), all in the ‘best instrumental’ category. It is a category he seems to dominate in the country. He now resides in the UK, tours world-wide as a solo artist and has recently released his album The Best of Tony Cox in Canada where he performs regularly.