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Charley is always looking for more venues world-wide to add to his ongoing tour. He likes to do it all: Festivals, concert series of all kinds, coffeehouses, music pubs, house concerts, clubs, groups, associations of every type, cruises, special events, whatever. A great believer in personal networking, Charley hopes that if you can suggest venues, anywhere in the world, you won't hesitate to contact him at charleygroth@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Above, Charley is seen onstage in a festival performance with a southern USA version of his Easy Street band. Charley fingerpicks and flatpicks guitar in standard and alternate tunings, and in styles from jazz and swing to Piedmont-style blues to Doc Watson-style flatpicking. He plays jazz, ragtime, honky-tonk and country piano, and swing, ragtime, old-time and country music on mandolin. He plays the blues--and bluegrass--on Dobro. He does intricate instrumentals, both his own compositions and those of others. He has recorded several folk melodies using Autoharp...and one wild march he wrote called The March of the 10,000 Autoharpers (available on Charley's 2003 Grandpa Flatpicked CD). For those presenters who need them, shows entirely of Charley's original compositions and public domain material are available. Also: Charley performs in cities around the world, and loves to do that---but one of his missions is to bring the unique excitement of real live entertainment to places with smaller populations too. He's done shows and found appreciative audiences worldwide in such places as Te Awamutu, New Zealand; Vlad Strakonice, Czech Republic; Ferndown, England; and many smaller towns in the United States, coast to coast and border to border.

From the music of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family to that of Hank Williams Senior, Bob Wills and Hank Penny, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Fats Waller; from ancient folk songs to authentic blues and even, occasionally, to music like Beatles' Yesterday and Long and Winding Road as guitar instrumentals, Charley does it all. His own songs and instrumentals are written in several styles: The Tickler, ragtime for piano; Grandpa Flatpicked, a bluegrassy story song; Night Flight, contemporary jazz for piano; Easy Street, in the classic/traditional jazz style; All American Ride, swing; You Will, blues; Black Range Tales, an impressionistic guitar instrumental in an alternate tuning; among many others. Charley's compositions have been recorded by numerous artists. A recording of his Florida Moon by singer Jan Milner was chosen a few years ago as theme music for television broadcasts of sessions of the Florida legislature.

Great music, lots of humor, excellent audience contact. No doubt about it, Charley Groth knows what he is doing onstage. Festival performance review, 1997.

Above, Charley plays acoustic swing in a European theater with Jiri Kralik and the Rowdy Rascals band.

...Charley's performances are filled with good music, well played and sung. In the audience, I felt a part of the evening: happy to be there. Madeline MacNeil, entertainer and recording artist, Virginia. That Charley Groth really knows his way around a guitar!Tex Schutz, noted nationally touring musician/recording artist and host of the acoustic music stage at the South Texas Music Festival, 2003.

Charley doing a July 4 concert, Laramie, Wyoming, USA 2006

With a favorite Gibson archtop guitar.

...Charley is not only a great vocalist, and songwriter, he's also a great picker, utilizing a number of his talents on this CD. He plays rhythm guitar, mandolin, Dobro, lead guitar, Autoharp, bass, snare drum, electric guitar, organ, and piano. Well, it takes an incredibly accomplished musician to be able to do all that. And guess what? Charley Groth does them all incredibly well. ...Charley Groth is an all-around topnotch ENTERTAINER, and that is what he does with all this talent he has. ...a lot of others wish they could even come close to what Charley Groth does with his music. ...An excellent CD, one you need to listen to when you get bored with all the other ones you have. Why? Because this one is super! From a review of Charley's Grandpa Flatpicked CD in the Fall 2003 Tradition magazine.

Charley has appeared on a multitude of radio and television shows. A veteran recording artist, he has played on a host of albums and has made several of his own. His current release is Grandpa Flatpicked. For more on Grandpa Flatpicked, and to order, click HERE. Click on [Home] to return. Charley lives in Largo, Florida, USA, where he is producer and director of Florida’s annual Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp, an October music learning camp open to all. In 1989 he was named a Florida Master Artist by the Florida Department of State. He has performed for many years in the famed Florida Folk Festival. He has performed in every one of the annual WillFest festivals, a leading Florida festival. His touring American Roots Revival and Real Deal shows are also based in Florida. Below, Charley is seen with band on the main stage at WillFest in Florida, 2005.

...Charley, you are truly a walking encyclopedia of the music of our American heritage! Pat Barmore, concert producer and musician.

From his home on a quiet, tree-shaded street in an old neighborhood of Largo, where he likes to garden and do his own work on his property, Charley travels extensively each year, bringing his music and productions to a wide variety of audiences across the country, in Europe, and around the world.

...Charley, ein Music Man kommt aus Florida und kann auf eine lange und wirklich erstaunliche Karriere zuruckblicken. Stand er doch u. a. mit niemand geringeren als Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Mrs. Woody Guthrie gemeinsam auf der Buhne. Seine Instrumentenvielfalt sowie der Witz und Charme, wie er seinem Publikum begegnet, machen ihn bereits heute zum Haudegen dieser Musik. ...Gemeinsam in Amerika erfolgreich starten die beiden nun auch in Europa durch. Von Osterreich, Deutschland, Tschechien uber Holland, Irland, England, Schottland bis nach Danemark, Schweden und Norwegen beliefern sie ihr Publikum mit einer Show der Superlative. Der Bogen spannt sich dabei von Folk, Blues, Bluegrass, Old Time Country bis hin zu Elementen aus Jazz, Ragtime und Swing. Ein MUSS fur jeden Musikliebhaber! From German-language promotional material for a tour in Austria and Germany.

The poster above right is from another European tour. In the picture below Charley is shown onstage at the South Texas Music Festival away down in the southernmost tip of Texas, February 2003.

It gives us great pleasure to be able to recommend Charley Groth... whom we've had here at our house concert series on several occasions... He is equally (and expertly) at home on guitar, mandolin, dobro, upright bass, autoharp, and piano, making him a highly versatile entertainer. Charley was extremely well-received here at "the Oaks", and we heartily endorse him for the solid-gold performance he can provide at any venue. Ellie Daulton & Doug Travers, producers, Under The Oaks House Concerts, Florida.

His music is a compelling miscellany of the best, we can find in American music traditions. Folk, blues, real country, swing / traditional jazz, ragtime, bluegrass and more. His own music creation is significant as well. Charley´s pleasant, distinct baritone easily moves across the American music heritage. He excellently plays guitar, mandolin, piano, autoharp, dobro, banjo and other instruments. Charley´s concerts, overflowing with ease, but also with energy and musical sovereignty, stay in the audience´s vivid memory for a long time afterwards. Translation of a European concert review, 2004.

Above, Charley in Europe with Jiri Kralik and the Rowdy Rascals. Charley plays jazz, swing, old-time and bluegrass mandolin.

Charley's songs speak of that which is within us all---the capacity for love, the bittersweet sadness we sometimes find in life, the struggle to overcome, the enjoyment of pleasures... You'll find yourself humming the tune and remembering the phrasing of the words. Bonnie Hamilton, journalist, New Mexico. Right, Charley playing his ragtime compositon The Tickler with the Devil Mountain Jazz Band, California, 2002.

This wonderful CD is a combination of several sessions in the United States, and then some more in Prague in the Czech Republic. ...Charley has been around a long time in this music business, in various styles, modes, and methods. This particular CD of his has a nice combination of styles, with Bob Wills western swing and Charley's own ragtime standing out. ...Kudos to one of America's wandering troubadours who travels around the world sharing America's incredible musical heritage. ...Tops!" From a review of Charley's "Remember Me" CD, 2005.

A prolific writer (of prose and poetry as well as music), Charley's work, often recorded by other artists, includes story songs like I Would Do It All Again, Grandpa Flatpicked, and After All These Years; instrumentals like All American Ride (guitar, flatpicking style), Kansas City Ramble (guitar, Travis-style fingerpicking), and The Tickler (piano, ragtime); jazz compostions like Night Flight, Black Range Tales, and Blues for Del; swing tunes, and more. He is the writer of Florida Moon, a song often covered by other artists and selected as theme music for television broadcasts of the Florida legislature. He is the author of the book Words and Music, and he has written articles and columns on music for several music magazines. Selections from his writings on music are archived in the United States Library of Congress.

Left, Charley enjoys many good friendships both in and out of the music world. Here he's seen on tour in New Zealand, January 2007, with the great American songwriter Terry Smith, writer of Far Side Banks of Jordan and many other country gems. Terry loves ice cream... Picture taken on the road by our friend and good guitar picker Keith Herbert, of Putaruru, New Zealand.

Your tape was good. I really enjoyed your songs! Janette Carter, The Carter Family Fold, Hiltons, Virginia. Your jazz instrumentals are right up there with the best of them, Charley. Good work! Charles Perry, jazz bassist, Florida. I think Woody would have liked your songs and your music, Charley. Marjorie (Mrs. Woody) Guthrie, New York.

Here, in 2001, Charley performs with a group on the main stage of the renowned Florida Folk Festival, one of the nation's oldest and largest. He has appeared in the festival for more than twenty consecutive years, was one of the artists featured in the 2002 50th Anniversary production of the famed event, and was chosen to open for Doc Watson when that legendary musician headlined the festival.

In this picture, Charley (far right) performs in a grandstand show at Bob Everhart's great National Old Time Country and Bluegrass Music Festival on Labor Day Weekend 2003 in Missouri Valley, Iowa, with Jett Williams, daughter of the legendary Hank Williams, along with (left to right) Harriett Andersen, Rick Andersen, Lee Muller, and Jay Kelly.

I have met many entertainers but none more versatile than Charley Groth. His musical virtuosity and knowledge allow him to adapt his talents to many types of presentations. It was so nice to meet him and have him on the Radio Reunion shows. Nadine Dreager, producer/director, Radio Reunion Shows, Iowa.

He is the consummate entertainer. Jan Milner, mountain dulcimer virtuoso, singer, and recording artist, introducing Charley at a concert.

If you are interested in booking Charley Groth, or have questions or need additional information about anything on this site, e-mail charleygroth@yahoo.com (click on [Contact/Booking] in top menu, or use your own e-mail service). If you would like to be added to Charley Groth's mailing list, fill out and submit the form below. Charley will always be glad to hear from you, and he's always interested in new and exciting projects--so be in touch!

Charley Groth plays and Recommends AUGUSTINO guitars.

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This web site by Gulf Coast Web Presence, Largo, Florida. Many thanks to all who contributed photos to this project.

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