World-renowned acoustic finger-style virtuoso Tony Cox has been confirmed as the ‘super-headline’ act for Splashy Fen Music Festival 2007, to be held over the Easter long-weekend from 5-9 April.  Although a veteran of the inaugural Splashy gathering in 1990 and the festival’s early years, it’s been a decade since he graced the stage at this picturesque Southern Berg venue.  Speaking from the icy Canadian leg of yet another extensive Northern Hemisphere tour, Cox said that being offered the prestigious Showcase billing was “wonderful…it’s really good to be invited back as the feature act and I’m very much looking forward to the gig…for various reasons I’ve had an enormously long break from Splashy”.

Relentless touring – much of it far beyond our borders – is the main factor behind this prolonged absence from South Africa’s pioneering and increasingly broad-spectrum ‘ultimate outdoor experience’.  In addition to a loyal fan-base at home, the Zimbabwe-born and Johannesburg-based guitar wizard has built up an enviable following globally; far-flung audiences which keep calling out for more with a steady stream of invitations to return.  The snowball effect has led to what Tony Cox calls “a whole host of bookings” for the coming year and, in addition to Splashy 07, his diary is already filled with big-name events such as the International Guitar Festival of Great Britain and Germany’s famed Open Strings International Guitar Festival.

On the record
Another outcome of the critical acclaim which Cox has garnered in Germany is that on his previous visit he was sequestered in the recording studio by Peter Finger’s genre-defining Acoustic Music Records label.  Two selections from the fruits of those sessions are set for release on AMR’s annual ‘Acoustic Sampler’ CD early next year. The most recent of Cox’s already available locally-issued output is the dual CD/DVD recording of his live performance at the Grahamstown Festival 2005.  This album earned him South African Music Awards ‘Best Instrumental’ nomination number five – a category in which he has taken top honours on two occasions.

One is enough
The Grahamstown set captured Tony Cox in single spotlight as opposed to ‘and friends’ with which he’s become increasingly associated over time – the Aquarian Guitar Quartet and spin-off ‘World in a Guitar’ plus ‘Great South African Soiree Circle’ and duets with almost every other local acoustic guitar luminary form barely a fraction of his non-stop gigging history.  But, as Cox said from Canada this week: “I’ve been tied to ensembles for many years and now the focus is on my solo performance…this is how I intend appearing at Splashy Fen 2007.”

Tunes, not songs
Playing purely as a soloist means that festival-goers in Underberg can look forward to an instrumentals-only set from the maestro, who reviewers have called “something of a phenomenon in the world of guitar music” and “a living musical treasure”.  “I gave up singing many years ago to concentrate on what the guitar can say with its own voice” says Cox, who promises previously-unheard compositions – “new tunes” – for the Splashy faithful, as well as the festival debut of his new Mervyn Davis guitar.  Lauded by music lovers, critics and his peers the world over, Tony Cox is the one ace-full house reason not to miss Splashy Fen 2007.