Rod Abernethy
Rod Abernethy is a unique blend of an authentic southern folk troubadour, master acoustic guitarist, and award-winning songwriter and composer for film, TV and video games and the Overall Grand Prize Winner of the 2021 International Acoustic Music Awards. In 2019 he was the Grand Prize winner of American Songwriter’s Bob Dylan Song Contest.
His last album Normal Isn’t Normal Anymore, produced by Grammy nominated producer Neilson Hubbard (Mary Gauthier, Kim Richey, Glen Phillips), received rave reviews from No Depression, American Highways and The Wall Street Journal and was the Top 20 CD of 2021 at No. 11 on the Folk International Folk Charts.
Rod’s talents go beyond being a dynamic performer, vocalist, instrumentalist, and storyteller. He’s a prolific photographer, a sculpture artist of whimsical steampunk found-object robots and a seasoned teacher and adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, NC, where he teaches how to score video games. As composer, Rod has scored and produced music for countless television shows, commercials and over 80 video games including the Electronic Art’s blockbuster hit Dead Space which won a BAFTA Award in 2009 for Best Use of Audio and Tolkien’s The Hobbit for Vivendi Universal which won the Game Audio Network Guild’s Video Game Soundtrack of The Year in 2003.
“What’s instantly likable is the voice and compositions that gel perfectly with originality turns of phrases that create clever appetizing moments. The majority of the songs are carefully rendered, written and showcased. Almost no inclination toward lyrical cliches. I can’t consider Rod a folk singer because he doesn’t pigeon-hole his material. This may be one of the year’s best already. He’s a vivid, expressive artist.” – Americana Highways
“Armed with great storytelling, mature songwriting, and impeccable groove, Rod Abernethy holds the audience in the palm of his hand. He brings his heart and soul into everything he plays.” – Martha Bassett (host of The Martha Bassett Show)