Draft:Kessler Watson

Kessler Watson performing a traditional folk song in the acapella style.

Kessler Watson is a composer, guitarist, banjo player, and musical saw player from Asheville, NC. He plays a variety of instruments and music, ranging from classical guitar repertoire to Appalachian folk, gospel music and folk music from around the world - to bossa nova and jazz music - as well as various latin musics. Kessler grew up playing music on the streets of Asheville, NC where he made a meager living as a street performer playing delta blues music and traditional Appalachian folk songs. He traveled across the country multiple times, using his music to fuel his funding to live abroad across the USA, playing classical guitar music and traditional folk songs.

Kessler has played the guitar since the age of 14, upon receiving a guitar as a gift from his uncle after years of returning to his uncle's home and picking up the guitar to play it as a pass time - being completely enamored with the instrument and its qualities. At the age of 22 he left home to travel to New Orleans and Texas, and returned home shortly after - only to return to traveling a short time later to California, where he spent years writing music and developing his craft in the forests of Oregon, California, and Washington. Using only street performing as a method of income, Kessler made a humble living amongst the people of the Western USA.

In 2018 Kessler returned home to Asheville, NC where he performed professionally as a jazz musician for 2 years, and then returned to composition and guitar work as a solo artist. He now performs original and traditional works in the Western North Carolina area and south-eastern United States as a singer-songwriter, and a folklorist of Appalachian culture and tradition.