Brent Mason

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Brent Mason is one of the most recorded guitarists in history. As well as being a Grammy Award winning artist he is also 14 times winner of the Academy of Country Music, the CMA (being nominated every year since 1991), a NAMMIE winner and for many years has won the annual Music City Allstars Award (the musician that has played on most songs on the radio in respect of the top ten for the entire year). Brent was born and raised in the city of Van Wert , Ohio. Born into a musical family, he taught himself to play guitar at five years old by sitting on the floor and using a butter knife to play his father's acoustic like a slide (the instrument was too large for him to hold and play normally). He has never had a music lesson and is unable to read music to this day, playing instead ‘by ear’. After leaving High School, he started working at a tool box factory. While there he witnessed many co-workers injure their hands, lose fingers and in one case lose their entire hand. The final straw came when he riveted a hole completely through his thumb in the middle of his thumbnail. Brent realized that if he was ever going explore his musical gift fully he had to leave the factory and pursue his dream before he too lost the use of his hands permanently. Brent left for Nashville at the age of 21 with a hole punched completely through his thumb. Brent found the first few years very hard. He met up with his only industry contact, Paul Franklin (the session steel guitar player) who he had met while living in Ohio. Paul and Brent became firm friends and Paul helped Brent learn the Nashville ropes. It was Paul Franklin ’s brother-in-law, Gregg Galbraith , who led Brent to land his first regular gig in Nashville, The Stage Coach Lounge. Besides keeping food on the table for about five years, this job opened some important doors for him in the music community; as by being seen on a regular basis by the inhabitants of Guitar Town. After playing the club for two years, Brent heard guitar icon Chet Atkins was coming to listen to them. Brent: “I said ‘Sure he is’. Then in walks Chet himself! He sat at the table closest to the stage and just watched me play. It was the most exciting thing to happen to me yet!” A month later, Chet stopped by again, and this time brought George Benson with him. Through these meetings, Chet asked Brent to play on his album, Stay Tuned. This project was Brent’s first master session and included legendary guitar greats such as

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