About
“It’s like the guitar has been given free rein to play itself!” Pierre Bensusan is a French acoustic guitar virtuoso, vocalist, and composer whose distinctive voice has made him a defining figure in contemporary world music. Known internationally as “Mr DADGAD”, Bensusan has spent five decades bringing his singular sound…
“It’s like the guitar has been given free rein to play itself!”
Pierre Bensusan is a French acoustic guitar virtuoso, vocalist, and composer whose distinctive voice has made him a defining figure in contemporary world music. Known internationally as “Mr DADGAD”, Bensusan has spent five decades bringing his singular sound to concert halls and festivals across the globe.
Widely regarded as one of the great guitarists of the 21st century, his influence is such that fellow innovators have paid direct tribute – most notably when Michael Hedges titled a composition “Bensusan.” Awards include the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival, the Independent Music Award Grand Prix for his triple live album Encore, and repeated recognition as Best World Music Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine readers.
Celebrated by artists across genres- from Leo Kottke and Tommy Emmanuel to Mark Knopfler and Pat Metheny – Bensusan’s work has also attracted champions beyond the guitar world. Steve Vai released three of his albums on the Favored Nations label, and recent collaborations include studio work on Donny Osmond’s Start Again.
If world music is the artful fusion of tradition and innovation- blending folk roots with jazz, classical, and contemporary expression – Pierre Bensusan stands among its most eloquent voices. A pianist by training and self-taught guitarist, his pioneering approach to open tunings, especially DADGAD, has reshaped the acoustic guitar’s expressive possibilities.
On stage, Bensusan is at his most compelling. His concerts are immersive, lyrical journeys – intimate yet orchestral – where crystalline tone, rhythmic subtlety, and poetic storytelling converge. With over half a million albums sold and thousands of performances worldwide since his debut in 1974, Pierre Bensusan remains a master storyteller and an essential live artist.
“For me, so total is his mastery of the solo instrument, his dazzling harmony, his deft command of counterpoint, the jazz idiom, folk expression, and all genres between and beyond, an entire history unfolds as Pierre Bensusan plays. But really, the emotional depth – and this is where true artistry often likes to live – of many of his songs and compositions is all, well, breathtaking. Mr Bensusan can disassemble your heart and hand it back to you restored and renewed as he did to mine tonight. A true giant.” – James Volpe Rotondi (editor Guitar Player Magazine)
“I’ve seen Placido Domingo, Alfred Brendel, Itzhak Perlman, Daniel Barenboim, Lynn Harrell, Nureyev etc., etc., perform magnificently. Tonight, in Atlanta, in the last half of the second set, Pierre Bensusan went a quantum beyond the warm, compelling, appealing, extremely accomplished guitarist whose recordings and performances I’ve eagerly sought for over 30 years. He’s achieved the sublime — decades of technique, creativity, intuition, passion, and intensity crashed together — a man transformed, singular, stunning. I have so seldom had the privilege and pure animal joy of experiencing this caliber of artistry.” – Rain Crow (a fan)
