Guitarist Stephen Bennett returned to his home along the Housatonic to reflect on what had transpired just days before in Winfield, Kansas. At 68, Bennett had done what no one else has in the fifty-two-year history of the Walnut Valley Festival: he became the only musician to win both the International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship and the National Flatpicking Championship.
“It popped into my head in early June,” Bennett said. “At the age of 68, I probably ought to get to it.” And so, after more than two decades of performing at the festival, where booked artists are ineligible to compete, Bennett decided it was time. “I’ve long thought I could win this contest,” he explained. “But since the festival has booked me to perform there 24 or 25 times—I’d have to go back and figure out exactly how many—it hasn’t been possible.”
The contest itself is a bit of a marathon for guitarists. “You register, and you play live,” Bennett explained. “It’s blind judging. The judges don’t see you. They’re in a trailer somewhere off-site. They just hear, ‘This is contestant number 27,’ and that’s it. The audience knows who’s playing, but the judges don’t.” The first round requires two pieces, and the top five contestants return for a second round, playing two more. From there, the judges pick three winners.
And then, there are the prizes: three guitars, to be exact. “The first-place winner picks first,” Bennett said, smiling. “I chose a Bourgeois OM. It’s lovely.” Bennett’s journey to this year’s triumph is long and storied, much like his relationship with the festival itself. “I first went in 1983. I was 27 years old and got second place in the Flatpicking Championship,” he recalled. “I left there pumped and knew I had to come back.” And come back he did, winning second in flatpicking again in ’83, third in the Fingerstyle Championship in ’85, and finally, the Flatpicking title in 1987. “That was it for me with the contests,” he said, noting that he soon transitioned to being a performer at the festival. “After that, they started booking me to perform, and you can’t compete if you’re performing.”
He did return to the Fingerstyle Championship one other time, in 1995, when he wasn’t booked. “I played like crap,” he said with a laugh. “My hands just froze. You know how it is. Some days, your hands just don’t sync up.” But after registering this past June, Bennett practiced daily with an almost monastic focus. “I rehearsed every single day without fail,” he said. “And I had a good day when it counted.”
Bennett’s approach to the competition was rooted in his lifelong relationship with the guitar. “Some people go for the pyrotechnics, and sometimes that works for them,” he said. “But I’m just looking for overall musicality. A bit of pyrotechnics doesn’t hurt, but it’s really about the music.” As for the type of guitar he played during the competition, he clarified: “It’s limited to standard guitar. No harp guitars allowed.”
Bennett’s love affair with the guitar has spanned decades, beginning when he was 11 years old. Over the years, he’s mastered various styles, including his work on the harp guitar. An incredibly unique and versatile instrument, he plays one he’s nicknamed “Big Mama” that his great-grandfather once owned. Though he’s widely known for his harp guitar performances, the two instruments are very distinct in his mind. “Many six-string tunes won’t translate to the harp guitar,” he explained. “The harp guitar has its own set of strings and lends itself less to pyrotechnics in a way.”
Having won both guitar championships, Bennett now plans to shift focus back to his music. “I’ve got my next album lined up,” he said. He recently released a project called “SB Squared” with another Stephen Bennett, a British writer and musician. “We both wrote all the tunes and take turns singing them. It’s out now, on all platforms.”
As for what comes next, Bennett is content with the simple act of playing. “I’m not really out looking for gigs,” he said. “But I play at assisted living homes and places like that, just for fun. It doesn’t pay a cent, but I don’t care. I just like to play.”
Bennett shared a piece of advice he gleaned from another renowned guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel. “I met Tommy in ’97 at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville. He’s an incredible performer, and his energy is just unreal.” But Bennett’s takeaway wasn’t to imitate others. “A lot of people try to copy Tommy, but the lesson I learned from watching him is to be the best version of yourself. That’s what he’s doing.”
At 68, Bennett’s achievement is not only a testament to his skill but also to his enduring love for the instrument. “I’ve always wanted to win this thing,” he said. Now, having finally done so, he’s content to let the music lead him forward, one note at a time.
