Lonnie Knight  

Lonnie Knight

Singer-songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire Lonnie Knight joked that “Legendary is just another way of saying ‘…been around a long time’ ” but the lanky Minnesotan was one of those rare musicians who truly earned the title Legendary. Knight has long been known as a stellar guitar player – he’s won several Minnesota Music Awards for best guitarist – and his playing has been likened to Richard Thompson, Patty Larkin, Bert Jansch and Brooks Williams. His songwriting comes to the fore in all of his albums, revealing a truly gifted artist. He first picked up the guitar at the age of 12 and discovered it was something for which he had a true affinity. He started performing professionally while still in high school, songwriting, playing guitar and singing with The Castaways and the Rave-Ons, followed by Jokers Wild. He then went solo for a time in the early ’70s, touring nationally on the Bitter End College Coffeehouse circuit. The late producer George Hanson (Leo Kottke, Art Resnick, Robin & Linda Williams) took a liking to his music and produced his first two albums, Family in the Wind (1974) and Song for a City Mouse (1975). The ’70s also found Lonnie working as a highly in-demand studio musician at Minneapolis’ Sound 80 Recording Studio. In the 1980s, he joined up with acclaimed songwriter Mark Henley to form the Knight-Henley Band. They became producers for WrenSong Publishing in Nashville, and that led him to stints playing with Wild Horses and the Nielsen-White Band. In the ’90s, Lonnie joined the famed Hoopsnakes, founded by Bruce McCabe. In the latter part of the decade, he signed with Aquarium Records, which released his CDs Big Shoes in 1999 and Cain’s Blood in 2001. His move to Mosquito Shoals Records in 2005 brought him back to his acoustic roots, releasing Better Days in that same year followed in 2007 by I Wrote My Name on You. So We Jump was released in 2010 and his last album, Portals, was released in November, 2015 Lonnie toured Japan in 2013 as a solo act and guitarist for Don Nix. He was also a featured member of the Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan ensemble that performed annual benefit concerts for Guitars for Vets Lonnie was a tireless and joyful performer. His loyal and enthusiastic fans consistently turned out for his solo gigs, his duo with Reid Papke on bass, regular monthly shows with the blues band, Smokin’ Section, and with his acoustic quartet Mosquito Shoals. His CDs are available on CDBaby, Soundcloud, Apple iTune

Update this biography »
Complete biography of Lonnie Knight »

Follow 0 fans