“Larry Keel is a triple threat....songwriter, guitar player, entertainer. He can do it all. I think what makes Larry so powerful is that he has lived his songs, he's not sitting in a room trying to write the hit of the week, he's writing what's in his heart and on his mind.” — Del McCoury
Larry Keel Experience
Larry Keel is an award-winning innovative flat picking guitarist and singer/songwriter hailing from Appalachia and currently residing in historic Lexington, VA. Raised in a musical family steeped in the mountain culture of the region, Keel began from an early age to forge a distinctive sound, taking bluegrass and classic country music and infusing those styles with a rock edge and elements of improvisational jazz.
With the acoustic guitar Keel has brought the flatpicking form to its highest level of sophistication and sonic power, delivered by his muscular yet refined style of playing. As a songwriter with a catalog of nearly 100 original compositions, Keel integrates raw honesty and charming grit to create songs filled with reality, imagination, imagery and mood. He has appeared on over 20 albums, 12 of which he produced, and has written songs that have been recorded and performed by distinguished artists including Grammy-award winners Del McCoury and The Infamous Stringdusters.
He has performed at some of the greatest venues including Tokyo Disney, Carnegie Hall, Town Hall NYC, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, LOCKN, High Sierra Music, Bonnaroo, Del Fest, Hulaween, and countless more. He has inspired and merged creative forces with some of the greatest artists in modern roots music such as Tyler Childers, Billy Strings, Greensky Bluegrass, Keller Williams, Tony Rice and Sam Bush, to name a few. Keel has been revered by critics at Relix, JamBase, Bluegrass Today, No Depression, AXS, and Rolling Stone, who dubbed him “one of the finest flat pickers around” and described his unparalleled live performance “taking songs up a notch with psychedelic hillbilly shredding.” C-ville Weekly claims “Keel is doing for bluegrass what Hendrix did for rock, what Miles did for jazz- exploring the uncharted possibilities, defying the limitations of a deeply established musical form.”
Stream or buy the new Larry Keel & Jon Stickley EP on your favorite platform! Be on the lookout for more new music releases throughout 2026!
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LKE Press Kit
Electric Larry Land
His latest project, “Electric Larry Land” presents Keel’s simultaneously gritty and suave original music applied to an electric format, creating what he calls a “sonic groove-and-vibe machine”. With this unit, Keel gives rein to his innate drive to expand his songs and playing style with this high-powered, highly creative and highly accomplished 4-piece band comprised of electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass and drums. It’s dynamic Acoustic Rock at its finest.
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ELL Press Kit
Keller & The Keels
Bringing you Appalachian Psychedelic Bluegrass at its finest.
“Award winning flat picker Larry Keel and his rock solid, in the pocket bass playing wife, Jenny Keel, make up two thirds of this super fun trio I started in 2004. With three albums recorded together the handful of gigs we play a year turn into acoustic picking parties. We vowed from the beginning that we wouldn’t do it often so that when we did, it would be special and it is.” –Kw
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Larry Keel & Jon Stickley
The Larry Keel & Jon Stickley Duo features two of the finest flatpicking guitarists of this generation. Both share a lifelong love of acoustic bluegrass guitar music made famous by influential duets Doc and Merle Watson, and Tony
Rice and Norman Blake. Keel, Stickley, and other modern flatpickers like Billy Strings grew up studying these legends. These masters were the role models who provided the inspiration to both Larry and Jon to pursue careers as professional guitar players. Each has gone on to pioneer his own distinct interpretation of the bluegrass artform, as well as fusing genres from roots, jazz, prog, and beyond. Now, Keel and Stickley have themselves become new masters of acoustic guitar. With this act, the two celebrate the pure joy of playing acoustic guitar music as a duo, effortlessly complementing each other’s rhythm and lead playing while never losing their own individual personality. Their sophisticated and awe-inspiring performances suit an array of venues including festival stages, listening rooms, private functions, and nightclubs. At the core of the Keel Stickley Duo is an intimate conversation between two guitars and voices, done with superior skill and taste, with more than a hint of explosive late-night jam vibe.
Stream or buy the new Larry Keel & Jon Stickely EP on your favorite platform now!
Publicity for Keel Stickley Duo: Dreamspider Publicity | Erin Scholze | 828-776-6248 | Erin@dreamspider.net
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Keel Stickley Press Kit
Larry Keel Duo
"Larry Keel Duo", consisting of Keel on acoustic guitar and Winston Mitchell on mandolin, are masters of their instruments and deeply soulful singers, drawing heavily from Keel’s catalog of original music and imaginative interpretations of choice covers.
Winston's love for music started with his dad who was a skilled guitarist, singer, songwriter, and pedal steel player. Playing mostly electric guitar until his early-20s, he was introduced to the music of Jeff Austin and Yonder Mountain String Band and was immediately captivated by the energy and improvisation coming off of a pile of acoustic bootleg CDs. After playing guitar in several bands he decided to try out mandolin and immediately was hooked. With his strongest inspirations deriving from Jeff & Sam Bush’s playing, he worked his way backwards through time to get to the origins of bluegrass.
One listener likened the experience of watching this act to being backstage while the artists are running tunes, relaxed yet energized, nailing songs while taking musical risks and letting it all hang out. That’s the vibe they bring to the stage, inviting listeners to have fun and be part of the creative process happening before their very eyes and ears.
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