Hi everyone…
I’m compelled to share this jaw-dropping video performance that I literally stumbled on, by an artist I’d never heard of (John Butler). At 12 minutes it’s long, but considering he’s playing a 12-string, we’re talking endurance. Anyway, I hope you like. 
Now that’s some impressive stuff! Am off to open a beer and feel sorry for myself about how bad a guitar player I am after watching that 
. But seriously that was really cool and thanks for sharing Gary. 
Hi Gary,
Yes, I can do this too, nice and easy, this is not a 12 string, but a simple 11 string…
honestly i only saw it at the end when i read it,…nice show 
Greetings,…
We had the great pleasure of seeing him perform live at the Port Fairy Folk Festival earlier this year (March). The venue was standing room only with good reason, just superb entertainment. His 12 string is actually an 11 string. 
Wow - lucky you, it must have been amazing! He connects at a level few are able to achieve. I gathered from the absent peg that it was -1G-string by design, which is interesting. I used to play a 12-string - they are so hard to play for any length of time.
John Butler is an amazing talent and not only is an incredible guitarist, is also a talented songwriter. Deserves more worldwide acclaim than he gets.
Not all his songs are as complicated as this one.
My favourite songs of his are Tahitian Blue, Used To Get High and Close To You. If you check him out he’s got a huge catalog.
I’d love to be able to play some of his simpler songs one day.
Great stuff, I had seen it on this channel, it’s a guitar teaching and analyzing a little bit of the theory and logic behind different live performances (hope it’s okay to post).
New artist to me as well but holy smokes that’s crazy good, the first percussive section has just had my jaw drop! I’ll be exploring more especially the suggestions from @jkahn
Also how cool is that guitar! Looks like it’s had a hard but good life!
Amazing fingerstyle and percussive going on this dreadnaught! I’m really happy you pick this one up Gary, it helps to popularise fingerstyle in this community.
I agree, it’s pretty humbling. At 70, chances are pretty slim I’ll ever reach this level…but the dream is alive. btw-I needed something a little more potent 
I’m also fortunate enough to have seen John Butler live, he is quite exceptional.
Justin does have a video lesson on probably his best known song, Zebra.
Rod.
Pretty wild, huh? - glad I didn’t oversell it. The guitar is a conversation piece and could hang in an art museum. I wonder what kind of wood the soundboard is made of - it’s unrecognizable to me… What a story it tells.
Glad you enjoyed it! I started Justin’s finger picking course (Technique: Fingerstyle | JustinGuitar.com) a few weeks ago to help round out my skills, such as they are. I like the feel of my fingers on the strings and losing myself in the ‘groove’ of a pattern. I agree that the beauty of FP can sometimes be overlooked, but there’s nothing like it, and I’ve come to appreciate it as an important creative tool.
I couldn’t agree more. For this very reason I’m focusing only on acoustic fingerpicking. It is very demanding and time consuming but I can’t help myself, the beauty of it outweighs the hardship it brings.
Glad you liked it Roger!
I agree. My mother used to say that the world is full of unrecognized or underappreciated talent. A profound example is an experiment conducted by the Washington Post showing how people perceive talent. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth checking out : Joshua Bell and the Washington Post Subway Experiment.flv - YouTube
“Joshua Bell, one of the best concert violinist in the world played for free, for 45 minutes, on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars at a subway station. Over a thousand people passed by Bell, only seven stopped to listen him play, including a 3-year old boy and only one person recognized him.”
Yep, pretty sad…
That guy sounds pretty awesome. For female guitarists, Sophie Lloyd from the UK is the best I have seen in my life. She handles anything that rocks like a champ and plays original songs. AC DC, Van Halen, Guns & Roses, you name it.
Thanks for this - she is amazing! 
To piggy back on this topic, what really got me into acoustic guitar in the first place is Sungha Jung.
That guy is pretty phenominal too. I would be happy if I could get my fingers moving at 20% of the speed of Sungha or Sophie in my lifetime. That is the most amazing part to watch, regardless of music style.