Michael Hedges, my old friend and schoolmate in the late 70's at The Peabody Conservatory of Music, passed away at age 43 in a car accident. He was a sweet tempered man who loved creative innovation in his music. And as such set in motion a number of players who followed his lead and continue to use his techniques to this day. As they say, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Gary, I had the pleasure of meeting Michael and spending an entire day with him back in 1985. He and I met when he came to Knoxville, TN for a concert while I was in school at the University of Tennessee and he was signing autographs at the local music store. We struck a conversation about his album that was playing in the store at the time and how I had seen him twice before in Nashville and he commented how he was playing there the next night and I told him that I knew that and that I was going to THAT concert. He was taken aback since he was performing that night in Knoxville and wondered why I would be driving three hours the next day to see him perform and not just see him in Knoxville that night. I told him that I could not afford two concerts but that I had never seen Shadowfax perform and that concert was going to be a triple-bill with he, Liz Story and Shadowfax. He understood. Then he decides that I am going to be his guest that night in Knoxville so that I can see him perform there as well too. Then, and this is the part that will blow you away, he asked if I had room in my car and could he ride with me to Nashville the next day. Of course I said yes. Long story short and I can expound more later if anyone wants to know of our day together, I would be more than happy to share that experience but I took him to Nashville, he gave me a backstage pass for the concert, I met all the members of Shadowfax and in fact, the violinist for them sat with me in the audience when Michael performed. He was a great guy and tremendously talented. I will always remember my day with Michael, listening to him telling me of his influences and me turning him onto Pat Metheny, to whom he had never heard of. He is truly missed in this world and a pioneer.
But Andy respects Hedges. How can you expect the next generation to be this influential? Hedges changed the way guitar could be played. At least there are torch bearers who can still try and build on that
Repent and trust in Jesus. He's the only way to Heaven. We've all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins like lying, lusting, etc. Repent and trust only in Jesus, and you will be saved! You can be saved because he took the punishment for our sins on himself when he died on the cross, just like someone can pay your speeding fine in court, and you get off free. Romans 3:23 John 3:16😊❤❤
Repent and trust in Jesus. He's the only way to Heaven. We've all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins like lying, lusting, etc. Repent and trust only in Jesus, and you will be saved! You can be saved because he took the punishment for our sins on himself when he died on the cross, just like someone can pay your speeding fine in court, and you get off free. Romans 3:23 John 3:16
David Crosby~“There was this kid sitting there playing the guitar. I walked up to him, and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Michael Hedges. I want to play you a song I wrote.’ He started playing ‘Aerial Boundaries.’ I promptly lost my mind and went to heaven.” How the legendary guitarists crossed paths is a favorite story of Crosby’s. On a hot summer day in Mill Valley, California, sometime in the early 1980s, Crosby pulled off the road to get a Popsicle. “I came out of this 7-Eleven convenience store and saw a tan VW bus with the side door open.”
Michael walked up to me in Palo Alto, with a battered guitar case and that inimitable smile. He told me he was new in town, said I looked like a musician (guilty as charged), and asked if I knew where he might find some gigs. I suggested several places, including the New Varsity (where he said he was already booked). I saw him countless times, hung out a bit, and got to know some family. (Sandy, where are you?) Last time I saw him perform was in Albuquerque, where Leo Kottke opened for him (!) That chance meeting on El Camino Real opened a new world for me. He was a unique artist and continues to be an inspiration.
I lived in Palo Alto awhile - Homer Ave - late 90's. What I would've given to see/hear him play at the varsity but eventually did 4 or 5 times elsewhere including Montalvo.
Hey hey! He still lives in his music! We would sit around my house. He would sit in the couch and just play. I have never seen anything like him. Wow. I would say. He would just smile. My sister and I were so blessed to have known him. Won't be another one like him. My Sister was killed in a wreck. He had a concert and dedicated it to her. I look back and know that he was so special then for some unknown reason he was taken from us too. I hope he is sitting on a couch and she is watching him play. Somewhere! Wow life! I miss you my good good friend.!!! Wow!!!
I wish people could of known him like I knew him. I would laugh and tell him that you are not from this world. He would just smile. He played like none other His songs and music will live forever. God bless you my dear may you have a wonderful Easter Weekend Greg
He was the Man Thank you for your comments. He was so cool I was laughing at him one day and asked him what planet was he from. He laughed and made up some name. I have never met anyone like him I prob won't. I thank God I knew him. He was a brilliant man. RIP thank you again. Peace be with you and your family.
i went to college with michael and performed in a few ensembles with him. he played flute and guitar - one of a kind. a genius in writing and performing. he sang at my wedding with donnie record - 1974. unforgettable. we miss you michael. -- d.t.
I got goosebumps reading how close you were with Michael. Glad to know you knew him. I went to a dozen or so concerts, and spoke to him a few times. I love his music and wonderful human nature.
@@ZOMBIELANDakaUSA it's all true. i knew michael very well. he was a kind of ian anderson artist - guitar and flute - ultra talented ... we both attended phillips university, enid, oklahoma - his father, thayne hedges, was the director of the regional speech and hearing clinic. michael was a blessing to everyone around him.
@@ZOMBIELANDakaUSA Your "bullshit alert" is bullshit. You may not have noticed, but I have commented here about my occasions of meeting Michael Hedges at his concerts. He would often meet and greet people coming into his concerts. I've had opportunities to meet him, and talk to him. Michael Hedges was wide open to people. He was sensitive, intellectual, and absolutely genuine. ....just like the music he made.
His life was the same way as his music. I told him once you cannot be of this world. He just smiled. He had a heart of gold. I grew up in Enid Oklahoma. His home town. He studied music the world over. He was truly a great. I just wonder where he would be twenty years later. Thank you for your kind words about him. I am sure he is smiling! Peace!
Thank you for the awesome response! I'm not surprised in the least to hear that he had a great heart. It really shines through in his music! I'm just glad that through the internet so many new people are getting the chance to hear his stuff and be inspired. Peace to you too!
TheSKINNMAN I grew up in Enid as well. The amazing thing about Michael was that he was as gifted in the heart as he was with a guitar. Enid needs to do more to honor this amazing native.
Quotations about Hedges "I feel I can always hear his heart when he plays. He respected my playing too, and that simply thrills me." - Pete Townshend "Michael was unique. His music transcends genre and trend. It's truly musical, fun and enlightening." - Steve Vai "His playing has a feel and timbre all its own - technically brilliant, but always organic and true." - Joe Satriani "One of the most brilliant musicians in America." - David Crosby "I considered him to be a genius and when he died I lost a great friend." - Graham Nash "There was simply no one like him." - Bonnie Raitt "He was a real musician who remained humble even through stardom. A rare breed indeed." - Alvin Lee
I have been listening to this song many many years and this is the first time I realized that it was only one guitar mastering all that sound space. Amazing.
I had the honor of photographing this brilliant man on a few occasions. He would stand not 5 feet from me and conjure up his musical magic. Alone in the room with him, I was mesmerized, and all the while, doing my work, capturing his very special presence. I treasure his precious images in my archive of musicians, and those private moments of being creative together. I so wish he was still with us.
Few things make me happier than knowing that truly mind-blowing performances like this one have been preserved for future generations to love and cherish. Only good things can come of it.
I saw him with my then boyfriend in 1991 in Atlanta at the Roxy. It was Halloween and he was dressed like a woman and came down the aisle playing his guitar. He let everyone touch him, so cool. I married my then bf, together 30 years.
so...I looked up this video because this week I discovered something: I just took my kids to the US Capitol and on the official tour the first thing they do is sit you down in this huge movie theater and play you a short film (E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many One) which opens with this song (Aerial Boundaries) pretty much in its entirety to help illustrate America in all her splendor and diversity...I thought that was pretty cool...salutes to Mr. Hedges
That's amazing. And it's entirely fitting: Michael's approach to both music and guitar playing is about as distinctly American as it gets. It makes me happy to know that he represents us in that way. There are surely others equally deserving - but no one more so. The world is a better place because Michael Hedges made music here.
I've gone several years without listening much to Michael. Then, I bring up this video and am hit with a fresh wave of grieve. And of gratitude. His death still stings, but his music - and creative reach for heaven - still inspires.
When I was 16 in 1982 Michael was playing this same song at the New Varsity Theater in Palo Alto CA. We were all kids and saw him every chance we could get. Even then we knew he was something special. Then his hair was a flowing mane down to his belt. This is a very late recording of him before he died. He recognized us after awhile and we earned front row seats with cups of coffee. Michael was a really good human. He gave me his 1st two records signed in silver pen. Skinnman.....? You with me here?
It’s in the tunings, but it’s not all in the tunings. He was way before his time and opened many a door for many guitarists. God bless him. Much respect, always.
I discovered this song through an interview of David Crosby. David met him and stood in awe watching him play on the side of the street. They became best friends. I understand why. It's like you hear multiple guitars playing at the same time.
David Crosby~“There was this kid sitting there playing the guitar. I walked up to him, and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Michael Hedges. I want to play you a song I wrote.’ He started playing ‘Aerial Boundaries.’ I promptly lost my mind and went to heaven.” How the legendary guitarists crossed paths is a favorite story of Crosby’s. On a hot summer day in Mill Valley, California, sometime in the early 1980s, Crosby pulled off the road to get a Popsicle. “I came out of this 7-Eleven convenience store and saw a tan VW bus with the side door open.”
Met him in Palo Alto when he started playing at the New Varsity Theatre on University ... very low key guy. Someone announced he was playing and people slowly started listening to him just play in the lobby of the theatre and stood in puddles of drool, watching and listening to him work a guitar to death and really appeared to love what he was hearing. Accolades, thunderous applause filled the lobby while he played their regularly and Windam Hill found him and it was a done deal. I left $10.
Christmas 1995, I went to my band's leader's house on invitation to hear Michael Hedges, watch a video. I was a keyboardist and guitarist for our band. After hearing him, I literally put my guitar away for 3 years. I said, "I'm not a guitarist. THAT'S a guitarist." When I resumed playing, I incorporated much of his style. In 2000, I started learning "Woman of the World" and perfected it in 2003. When. normally, it only took me a week to a month to learn a song. The next year, in 2004, I played a European guitar tour in 6 countries, and played Woman of the World only on the non-recorded concerts. It was a hit, I never got to meet Michael, but I did cause many emotions in the people, and tears, as they listened to his music. What a privilege to represent him in Europe! What a blessing to them, and to me!
I saw him and Leo Kottke at the OKC Civic Center, in 1989 or so, from about the 4th row (which if you ever saw anything there, you know is about like sitting in his lap). Leo came out and played a set, then Michael came out and played a set, and then Leo came back out and they played a set together. It only deterred me for about a week, but unlike you I never aspired to doing that myself, I went ahead and sufficed with the knowledge that that is not my path, lol. Kudos for the determination to master it.
I saw Michael perform at a little club in L.A. around 1986-87 before he was well-known. I was completely transfixed, and wept like a baby because his music and sensitive playing was so moving to me. The music that flowed through him was unlike anything. I sat right in front of him in the audience. He saw me crying in between songs and said "Hey, why are you crying?" I told him I didn't really know why, his music touched me deeply. He gave me a knowing smile and said "That's beautiful, man." Such a shame he died so young. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you for this. Michael Hedges was the first of the Windham Hill artists that I was introduced to; I got to see him live in Chapel Hill NC around 1989. Nothing like him on this Earth, before, then, or since.
years ago, I spent months trying to learn to play a few bars of this, and failed miserably ... what this man did with a guitar, and the music he created, was way beyond amazing!
He learned the classics first, put in his time, Juliard, I think lol and came up with a style they ended up rejecting. Their own student, with an open mind.
I know it's an old comment, but if you re still looking to learn it, Andy Mckee made a great 3 parts tutorial of it during lockdown, you should check it out. And since he's not always perfectly clear, you should check it played by Remi Cote at the same time. The way it's filmed makes it very clear what he does. Have fun learning it, it's one of the most rewarding piece of music to learn! And actually it's not that hard technically, but it's complete hell on the rythmic side! So it takes time to develop the requiered muscle memory, just keep it up and I promess it'll do!
Andy McKee said this piece was one of the toughest he'd ever had to learn but even tougher to get RIGHT. MH playing this, there's so much subtlety in volume, in emphasis, in tempo change, in chord variation... his musicality is astonishing. But that's not the best part of MH (imo) it his "connection" to whomever he playing for. I'd imagine Beethoven had the same "connection". Look at his funeral - his entire nation mourned him. RIP Michael, the world NEEDS more people like you, now more than ever.
Saw him so many times. And was crushed of the news if his passing. I played this whole record for my 8 year old while she was reading the other day. I told her of his Lewis Carroll Jabberwocky interpretation. I don’t have the flexibility. However, the seed is planted. There will be a moment in the future where she will ask me about it again. I will read her the poem and show her a video of Michaels reenactment. Rest in peace Michael. You blasted me off into the here and now. Thank You.
Saw Michael in concert 3 times. I have never seen an audience react the way they did to him. He just astounded everyone, an unbelievable talent and showman. He was a true original. Nothing like him, before or since. Michael, you are geuinely missed.
Saw Micheal in Sapporo, Japan in the early 80’s. Went backstage and had a chat with him. My wife (then girlfriend) had choreographed a dance to some of his music and he thought that was cool and asked for a video,. Such a pure snd genuine guy. You can’t fake that. RIP Michael.
I miss this guy. I stalked him around the region whenever he was around in my youth. He was playing at what could be described as a dinner venue in Nashville. I was in front of him and he accidentally landed some spit in my face. I was so honored. Young people are so crazy.
His music is really unlike any I have ever heard, and I never get tired of hearing it. A an awesome musician with such a gift. Rest in Peace Michael. Thanks for the music you left us.
Michael Hedges was certainly a one and only, once in a thousand years kind of artist. I remember going to see him on two different occasions in the late 80s. His mastery and control of his instruments made it appear that they were a part of him. I was excited to see his shows after watching some performances on video in high school. I was completely shocked to hear that he'd died so young. A big loss for his fans and the world around him...
In 1985, while at college, I happened to catch Stanley Jordan on the Tonight Show. I'd never seen or heard anything like it. Many years later, I discovered that someone had been doing the same thing on acoustic guitar at the same time, which I thought was impossible. Electric? Sure. Acoustic? Are you kidding me? My mind was blown a second time. I wish I'd found Michael Hedges when he was still around. Fortunately, his music lives on.
Thanks for posting. What Jaco was to the bass guitar, Michael was to the acoustic guitar. Both were extraordinary composers. One day there will be a documentary of this rare talent.
There is a documentary-- it came out shortly after his death, and I think it was released by PBS. I'm pretty sure someone has already uploaded it to here.
There are a lot of great guitar players out there, from classical masters, jazz greats, chicken pickin' maniacs, to speed metal shreaders. But few could be like Micheal hedges and make so much wonderful music come from 1 guitar
+rbagel55 Ditto: got the LP when it first came out in the UK, & my mates couldn't comprehend how so much 'stuff' was coming out of one guitar. Just sublime.
You can say that again. I've been captivated by his music for so long. Hell, I wrote an entire Suite of music on our last album that borrowed from his stylistic colors. I loved Michael. Such a great human example.
I used to see him outdoors on the patio in front of this theater in Palo Alto; $2.00 to sit, free to stand. He would do two sets of mostly originals and then come back and do a third set of covers. All of it amazing, even kind of dippy stuff like "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits. I'll never forget his take on "Tomorrow Never Knows." His originals go well beyond mere technical brilliance. He had a sense of melody that's missing from a lot of technically skilled players. And an impish sense of humor. I saw him in Madison Wisconsin in the late '80s, and he said he wrote this song back in Enid OK. It was a wild song, and at the end he said "it was a windy day in Enid."
That would have been the New Varsity Theater on University Av. in the early-to-mid '80s . . . I worked as a cook there during that time . . . The New Varsity, was the reincarnation of one of 20th Century Fox's original movie theaters first built in the 1920s to, basically, have a place to show their movies . . . By the time I worked there, it had been bought and converted into a multi-performing arts venue that also included a bar and a restaurant . . . In addition to the patio, there were also live performances in the theater itself (Buddy Rich; Hoyt Axton; Count Baise, to name a few), lobby/bar/snack bar area, and upstairs . . . Michael was a regular performer there. I remember we once discovered he and I had the same birthday, NYE, as I was making his dinner. He was always cool, and I really loved his performances . . . one of the greatest guitarists I have ever witnessed . . . a beautiful soul gone way too soon . . . And the New Varsity? . . . Sadly, the last time I was there, it was a Borders Bookstore . . . Though, I suppose, it could be worse, I suppose . . . they could have razed it and erected a Walmart . . .
Agreed...people can miss his music if they focus on his technique. That's exactly what's missing today - I hear many who present a "soundscape" of musical meandering but compositionally, void of substance. Nothing to say as my teacher would say.
I miss the beauty of his work, so pure. I can not even imagine, where he would have taken the music if he had continued on this level of existence .. Such a pure sound....May all be blessed.
I knew Michael when he was in Enid, OK. I was friends of his parents and knew him from Phillips University when we were undergraduate students. He in music and I in history and music minor. Sweet, sweet guy 😢
🥰David Crosby: Michael Hedges"...one of the most brilliant musicians in America..." "I met Michael when he sat in the door of his Volkswagen Van and played Aerial Boundaries for me in the parking lot at 7-11 in Mill Valley, before he had even recorded it. It was so transcendently strong that it cut though even my drug haze. I said, 'Please come home with me and do that again.' He did, and I have loved him with my whole heart ever since. "Before Michael, acoustic guitar went from about right there to over here somewhere. After Michael, it goes from near the rest of us, where he found it, to out the other side of the world where he set it down for just a little while. His flame went out when it was just starting to achieve full burn, and it is a great loss to the world. "He was as good at friendship as he was at music, and I miss him every day." ⛵️CROZ
I am finding myself grieving listening to this today. His music touches my soul. I had the honor of seeing him performed three times in my life. Twice in Rochester New York and once at Mishawaka amphitheater at the Poudre canyon outside of Fort Collins Colorado. it was a full moon and Poudre river was raging. it was an awesome show and I was totally thrilled after his break when he came out and acted out Jabberwocky! which holds a very special and dear place inside me because I memorize that in high school for an English class and have had so much fun over the years performing it myself! Your spirit lives on in my heart brother Michael!
God bless Michael ... I first saw him at the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington, MA in the 80s. One of the most mesmerizing concerts I have ever seen ... I still remember how I felt walking out of that theater. He has indeed inspired many ... miss you Michael ❤️
I first heard this man's music when I was living in the middle east. It was difficult living there to say the least but when I heard him play I was drunk with his style.Thank you Michael Hedges for being on this earth and touching my heart and mind.I hope to see you one day.R.I.P.
I was subscribed to acoustic guitar back in the day so when I saw I had mail I went to the box and low and behold an issue! . I will never forget the headline Michael Hedges..born 19..-died 19. I thought it was a sick joke couldn't accept believe it. When i realized i fell to my knees dear me i cried.
Never in my life have i heard music come from within the soul untill now. he loves every second he play`s every note he pick`s and strum`s. he is the guitar he is the music...WOW.
The best I've ever seen. Saw him in a jazz club in Orlando, Florida. There were about 8 people in the audience. Orlando is a very backward town. Sadly he wasted energy here. I listen to his music every week, that being since 1986. I miss his talent and his never seen potential.
what an incredibly self-serving vile comment.. consider yourself lucky to have been present, rather than dismiss that performance as wasted energy. What a completely moronic thing to say.
+Machete Moonlight I don't think he's dismissing the performance. I think he is regretting that more people didn't have a chance to hear him in Orlando. To travel to a city and then to perform for just eight people is something of a waste...
+Machete Moonlight What a bizarre reaction to the comment. He was saying that only 8 people showed up to hear this legend, which is a bit of a waste if you think about it
I saw him live in concert 3 times in the Baltimore, Wash. DC. area, and he blew my mind each time. After the first time, I was inspired to buy an acoustic guitar, and I practiced for hundreds of hours, but I was totally void of musical talent.
A friend took me to see Leo Kotke and Michael Hedges in Cleveland around 30 years ago, I really did not know much about either one, Kotke being the headliner, Hedges just blew me away, then and still now, always will love his skill, sound and creativity.
I have no idea why this beautiful piece of music came to conscious awareness just now, but there is a reason for everything. It is so stunning, magical and uplifting🙏
WoW, i just heard this song on Sonos radio and go straight finding it here. At 46 I love when I found diamant I never heard before. I will explore more of him. Exceptional playing 👍
Nate Mullins .. Of course he wasn't underrated. I swear to GOD in almost every RUclips video I watch now of a great musical talent, some dumb fucker says "he was so underrated". Do people just say that like a damn Parrot repeating what they hear other dumb fuckers say? "baaawk! underrated. baaawk!"
I saw Michael play live for the first time at the '95 Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Then I saw him again, two nights in a row in Mancos, Colorado in '96, front row first night, second row second night...WOW is all I can say!🎼🎵🎶
The most talented, innovative musical "artist" I have ever enjoyed. Saw him every time he played the east coast and sadly, one last time at the Seaport in Philly. Finally got to meet him backstage and introduce my teenaged kids to him, Two months later I learned of his untimely death and remain so saddened by the loss.
I get all misty eyed every time I listen to Michael. I was also there at the New Varsity in those days. My friend Craig Moyer took lessons from him. Of course I have no idea where he is now.
I had the privilege of hearing his music 3 or for decades ago now, and loved the warm vibrant sound he created. I was very saddened to learn of his passing back in the 90's, and still feel what a tremendous loss to music his death brought. As far as I know, Michael was no relation, and yet I feel like I understand the specialness of his music, a rich and lasting legacy we can all still listen to, thanks the recording that he made and we still all have access to with the wonderful technology of today!
I have been a fan for over 15 years and I still can't stop tuning in to hear him play. I miss him so much but am incredibly thankful for the gifts he gave while here.
I feel so very lucky to have seen Michael play live twice. Both times at the fantastic club in Santa Cruz called the Catalyst. Michael Manring was on the ticket for that second show as well! Had I not seen Hedges on stage play, I never would have believed a man with a guitar could make music like that. Pure mastery of the craft
I saw Michael a number of times in the late 80s early 90s in and around Santa Fe and the last few times he recognized me in the audience and can to my table to talk with me just a fantastic connection with this amazing person. Just thinking about him is making me cry
I recall my first introduction to Michael Hedges was at a Crosby Stills Nash Concert where David Crosby introduced him as one of the most innovative new guitarists he had met and he opened with a few songs, I watched him ever since until his unfortunate passing at such a young age. How sad to lose such an amazing talent. Truly his techniques and talent was awe inspiring. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to see and enjoy his music as well as his covers of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. The world was a better place because of him.
There's a purity about this piece that takes me back to a simpler time and place in my life. I had the fortune and pleasure of meeting Hedges after a show in Kalamazoo in the 90s. Drove 3 hrs to see him and ended up getting 3 traffic tickets on the way there. Well worth the drive.
The chills going up and down my spine won't stop. Michael Hedges was one of a very few musicians who truly had a gift for seeing new possibilities in an instrument everybody thought they knew. His death represents a loss to music that is still incalculable.
Hearing this song for the first time back in the early/mid 80s changed my life forever... for the incalculably better. Yes, what a visionary, a unique soul whose spirit lives on in all those he touched.
I remember in college in Philadelphia late 80's, my guitar friends came back raving about a guitarist they saw a Penns Landing. We were all hooked on him from then on. Saw him in concert 4 or 5 times. Then one day in 1997, a close friend/guitarist came into my office and simply said "Hedges is dead." My heart sank. Why? There will never be anyone even close to his musicality. He was an artist not a guitarist...it was just the tool he chose to express himself. I swear there should be MH support groups
We love you, Michael. Still and always. Thanks for sharing a peace of your heart into those beautiful sounds. I'm sure you're still making cool sounds, wherever you are!
No, he wasn't the fingering virtuoso that so many worship today -- but NOBODY has ever coaxed a richer or more intoxicating TONE from a guitar's strings. I feel so blessed to have seen him perform and grateful that I may continue enjoying his music. I only wish he was still here with us making more.
So much positive energy in his music, promotes spirituality and healing - which is what music is supposed to be about... What you said is the ultimate compliment for a real musician.
I've had the pleasure to see Michael Hedges over a dozen times, I was devastated when he passed away in a car accident. He was an amazing musician and guitarist that not many even now can rival! In the immortal words of Steve Vai "Michael was unique. I don't like using that word because it's so abused, but it stands true in this case. The first time I heard him play, I was stunned into silence. Not only did I know what must have gone into the practicing and performance of his pieces, but I could also tell so much about his personality by the way he played."
First heard this when I was 18...im 32 now and this composition and performance still blows my mind...truly, only a handful of people come into this world who have the capability to bring magic to life.
That is really cool, I am 31 and heard this in my late teens too. Im so lucky I had a brother who played acoustic, and because of him I learned the names Michael Hedges, Andy McKee, Ewan Dobson, Phil Keaggy, and Leo Kottke. And discovered so many more on my own. No one even compares with the amount of heart and soul poured into the guitar in each song. The only person who sounds remotely close, to me, is Erik Mongrain, but only because he says Michael was by far his biggest influence
I saw him live twice - both amazing - first time he came out dressed as a woman and introduced himself - stripped down to boxing shorts and fishnets, said "ladies and gentlemen I'd like to introduce the acoustic guitar" and proceeded to do..I don't know what he did or how he did it - never heard anything like it - no one like him. RIP.
His playing and sound on this is cosmic....so incredible and intricate..RIP Michael, you sound just as amazing as you did 32 years ago, when I first heard this....bliss....
I can't remember where I first heard the name Michael Hedges, but man, am I ever grateful. What a performance. The singing. The playing. The energy. Listening to this feels almost surreal. Just amazing.
I saw him live six times - the first and last were in the same small bar - and got to talk with him a couple times. His music changed my life, and saved it.
I'm in pain almost all the time and I heard him o DirecTV on channel 856 .I've been up since 8 21 vand last night I prayed that I would wake up and not be in pain.its happened!!! Michael hedges is a lesson for chilling out.i was an 8 last night and I am not in pain since I woke up!!!
Michael Hedges, my old friend and schoolmate in the late 70's at The Peabody Conservatory of Music, passed away at age 43 in a car accident. He was a sweet tempered man who loved creative innovation in his music. And as such set in motion a number of players who followed his lead and continue to use his techniques to this day. As they say, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
such as Andy Mckee
Gary, I had the pleasure of meeting Michael and spending an entire day with him back in 1985. He and I met when he came to Knoxville, TN for a concert while I was in school at the University of Tennessee and he was signing autographs at the local music store. We struck a conversation about his album that was playing in the store at the time and how I had seen him twice before in Nashville and he commented how he was playing there the next night and I told him that I knew that and that I was going to THAT concert. He was taken aback since he was performing that night in Knoxville and wondered why I would be driving three hours the next day to see him perform and not just see him in Knoxville that night. I told him that I could not afford two concerts but that I had never seen Shadowfax perform and that concert was going to be a triple-bill with he, Liz Story and Shadowfax. He understood. Then he decides that I am going to be his guest that night in Knoxville so that I can see him perform there as well too. Then, and this is the part that will blow you away, he asked if I had room in my car and could he ride with me to Nashville the next day. Of course I said yes. Long story short and I can expound more later if anyone wants to know of our day together, I would be more than happy to share that experience but I took him to Nashville, he gave me a backstage pass for the concert, I met all the members of Shadowfax and in fact, the violinist for them sat with me in the audience when Michael performed. He was a great guy and tremendously talented. I will always remember my day with Michael, listening to him telling me of his influences and me turning him onto Pat Metheny, to whom he had never heard of. He is truly missed in this world and a pioneer.
@@rogergoode5698 Wow thats a really great story, so cool hearing things like this about people that most of us will never meet in person.
@@rogergoode5698 Oh my god, tell the whole story please, sounds very interesting, i love his music a lot.
But Andy respects Hedges. How can you expect the next generation to be this influential? Hedges changed the way guitar could be played. At least there are torch bearers who can still try and build on that
The good news I've heard is that they are finally making a film about Michael's life and music. It's about time!
Is it a documentary?
Repent and trust in Jesus. He's the only way to Heaven. We've all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins like lying, lusting, etc. Repent and trust only in Jesus, and you will be saved! You can be saved because he took the punishment for our sins on himself when he died on the cross, just like someone can pay your speeding fine in court, and you get off free.
Romans 3:23
John 3:16😊❤❤
Repent and trust in Jesus. He's the only way to Heaven. We've all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins like lying, lusting, etc. Repent and trust only in Jesus, and you will be saved! You can be saved because he took the punishment for our sins on himself when he died on the cross, just like someone can pay your speeding fine in court, and you get off free.
Romans 3:23
John 3:16
@@christianweatherbroadcasting You people show up in the weirdest of places
When is this supposed to be released ?
David Crosby~“There was this kid sitting there playing the guitar. I walked up to him, and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Michael Hedges. I want to play you a song I wrote.’ He started playing ‘Aerial Boundaries.’ I promptly lost my mind and went to heaven.” How the legendary guitarists crossed paths is a favorite story of Crosby’s. On a hot summer day in Mill Valley, California, sometime in the early 1980s, Crosby pulled off the road to get a Popsicle. “I came out of this 7-Eleven convenience store and saw a tan VW bus with the side door open.”
I’m sure that Croz and Michael are having one epic jam session in the great beyond. ❤
I'm nearly in terrible pain all the time and this morning I woke up with this song I'm relaxed and the song has chilled me out!!!!
What happened to Michael hedges????
Last night my pain was an 8 out of 10 and I am not in pain now for an hour and God answer my plea
@@CindyFarr-fb5nl 🤍
Michael walked up to me in Palo Alto, with a battered guitar case and that inimitable smile. He told me he was new in town, said I looked like a musician (guilty as charged), and asked if I knew where he might find some gigs. I suggested several places, including the New Varsity (where he said he was already booked). I saw him countless times, hung out a bit, and got to know some family. (Sandy, where are you?)
Last time I saw him perform was in Albuquerque, where Leo Kottke opened for him (!) That chance meeting on El Camino Real opened a new world for me. He was a unique artist and continues to be an inspiration.
Wish I'd been with you that day in Palo Alto. Michael was a gifted, beautiful soul.
I lived in Palo Alto awhile - Homer Ave - late 90's. What I would've given to see/hear him play at the varsity but eventually did 4 or 5 times elsewhere including Montalvo.
Hey hey!
He still lives in his music! We would sit around my house. He would sit in the couch and just play. I have never seen anything like him. Wow. I would say. He would just smile. My sister and I were so blessed to have known him. Won't be another one like him. My Sister was killed in a wreck. He had a concert and dedicated it to her. I look back and know that he was so special then for some unknown reason he was taken from us too. I hope he is sitting on a couch and she is watching him play. Somewhere! Wow life! I miss you my good good friend.!!!
Wow!!!
TheSKINNMAN died too young
I wish people could of known him like I knew him. I would laugh and tell him that you are not from this world. He would just smile.
He played like none other
His songs and music will live forever.
God bless you my dear may you have a wonderful Easter Weekend
Greg
He was the Man
Thank you for your comments.
He was so cool
I was laughing at him one day and asked him what planet was he from. He laughed and made up some name. I have never met anyone like him I prob won't.
I thank God I knew him.
He was a brilliant man.
RIP
thank you again. Peace be with you and your family.
Stories like this that make people real inspire my heart. Thank you.
eric snow
Hey thank you for reading my comments.
He was a true friend.
You have a wonderful week.
God bless you and your family.
i went to college with michael and performed in a few ensembles with him. he played flute and guitar - one of a kind. a genius in writing and performing. he sang at my wedding with donnie record - 1974. unforgettable. we miss you michael. -- d.t.
That's incredible Don!! Hope you are doing well
I got goosebumps reading how close you were with Michael. Glad to know you knew him. I went to a dozen or so concerts, and spoke to him a few times. I love his music and wonderful human nature.
@@ZOMBIELANDakaUSA it's all true. i knew michael very well. he was a kind of ian anderson artist - guitar and flute - ultra talented ... we both attended phillips university, enid, oklahoma - his father, thayne hedges, was the director of the regional speech and hearing clinic. michael was a blessing to everyone around him.
@@ZOMBIELANDakaUSA Your "bullshit alert" is bullshit. You may not have noticed, but I have commented here about my occasions of meeting Michael Hedges at his concerts. He would often meet and greet people coming into his concerts. I've had opportunities to meet him, and talk to him. Michael Hedges was wide open to people. He was sensitive, intellectual, and absolutely genuine. ....just like the music he made.
Yes he was great.
This guy makes sound tapestries. His music is like listening to some kind of natural force like wind or water. Unreal what he could do with a guitar.
His life was the same way as his music. I told him once you cannot be of this world. He just smiled. He had a heart of gold. I grew up in Enid Oklahoma. His home town. He studied music the world over. He was truly a great. I just wonder where he would be twenty years later. Thank you for your kind words about him. I am sure he is smiling!
Peace!
Thank you for the awesome response! I'm not surprised in the least to hear that he had a great heart. It really shines through in his music! I'm just glad that through the internet so many new people are getting the chance to hear his stuff and be inspired. Peace to you too!
TheSKINNMAN I grew up in Enid as well. The amazing thing about Michael was that he was as gifted in the heart as he was with a guitar. Enid needs to do more to honor this amazing native.
SO PROFOUND!!!
@@TheSKINNMAN A true legend. It's sad and unfortunate he left us too soon. RIP Michael Hedges, you are truly missed.....
Quotations about Hedges
"I feel I can always hear his heart when he plays. He respected my playing too, and that simply thrills me." - Pete Townshend
"Michael was unique. His music transcends genre and trend. It's truly musical, fun and enlightening." - Steve Vai
"His playing has a feel and timbre all its own - technically brilliant, but always organic and true." - Joe Satriani
"One of the most brilliant musicians in America." - David Crosby
"I considered him to be a genius and when he died I lost a great friend." - Graham Nash
"There was simply no one like him." - Bonnie Raitt
"He was a real musician who remained humble even through stardom. A rare breed indeed." - Alvin Lee
This was a very unique contribution on comments - thanks!
Wow that’s a great list of accolades from prestigious musicians. Sad he died so young probably with so much music he could have still made.
Good mood music
Organic... and guttural.. Amen brother.
Thanks for Sharing with us! Magnifique. 💯💜 ✌️☮️
I have been listening to this song many many years and this is the first time I realized that it was only one guitar mastering all that sound space. Amazing.
I had the honor of photographing this brilliant man on a few occasions. He would stand not 5 feet from me and conjure up his musical magic. Alone in the room with him, I was mesmerized, and all the while, doing my work, capturing his very special presence. I treasure his precious images in my archive of musicians, and those private moments of being creative together. I so wish he was still with us.
One of the greatest pieces of music ever made. ALso one of the most brilliant performances ever.
Best performance of THE BEST ACTUAL guitar solo of all time.
He was something else.
Luv and Peace
Few things make me happier than knowing that truly mind-blowing performances like this one have been preserved for future generations to love and cherish. Only good things can come of it.
I saw him with my then boyfriend in 1991 in Atlanta at the Roxy. It was Halloween and he was dressed like a woman and came down the aisle playing his guitar. He let everyone touch him, so cool. I married my then bf, together 30 years.
Красивая история! Майкл так мало прожил, но оставил такую добрую музыку.
А Вам с мужем желаем ещё 30 лет радости!
Как минимум
so...I looked up this video because this week I discovered something: I just took my kids to the US Capitol and on the official tour the first thing they do is sit you down in this huge movie theater and play you a short film (E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many One) which opens with this song (Aerial Boundaries) pretty much in its entirety to help illustrate America in all her splendor and diversity...I thought that was pretty cool...salutes to Mr. Hedges
That's amazing. And it's entirely fitting: Michael's approach to both music and guitar playing is about as distinctly American as it gets. It makes me happy to know that he represents us in that way. There are surely others equally deserving - but no one more so. The world is a better place because Michael Hedges made music here.
I've gone several years without listening much to Michael. Then, I bring up this video and am hit with a fresh wave of grieve. And of gratitude. His death still stings, but his music - and creative reach for heaven - still inspires.
me too .... I have "Breakfast in the Field" ... I did not even know he died
This tune is just like red wine, the longer it stays in your soul cellar the better it gets
When I was 16 in 1982 Michael was playing this same song at the New Varsity Theater in Palo Alto CA. We were all kids and saw him every chance we could get. Even then we knew he was something special. Then his hair was a flowing mane down to his belt. This is a very late recording of him before he died. He recognized us after awhile and we earned front row seats with cups of coffee. Michael was a really good human. He gave me his 1st two records signed in silver pen. Skinnman.....? You with me here?
I was there too. Michael and Tuck and Patti on alternating weekends. I was lucky to be there.
It’s in the tunings, but it’s not all in the tunings. He was way before his time and opened many a door for many guitarists. God bless him. Much respect, always.
I discovered this song through an interview of David Crosby. David met him and stood in awe watching him play on the side of the street. They became best friends. I understand why.
It's like you hear multiple guitars playing at the same time.
Thanks.... didn't know this
David Crosby~“There was this kid sitting there playing the guitar. I walked up to him, and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Michael Hedges. I want to play you a song I wrote.’ He started playing ‘Aerial Boundaries.’ I promptly lost my mind and went to heaven.” How the legendary guitarists crossed paths is a favorite story of Crosby’s. On a hot summer day in Mill Valley, California, sometime in the early 1980s, Crosby pulled off the road to get a Popsicle. “I came out of this 7-Eleven convenience store and saw a tan VW bus with the side door open.”
Met him in Palo Alto when he started playing at the New Varsity Theatre on University ... very low key guy. Someone announced he was playing and people slowly started listening to him just play in the lobby of the theatre and stood in puddles of drool, watching and listening to him work a guitar to death and really appeared to love what he was hearing. Accolades, thunderous applause filled the lobby while he played their regularly and Windam Hill found him and it was a done deal. I left $10.
Christmas 1995, I went to my band's leader's house on invitation to hear Michael Hedges, watch a video. I was a keyboardist and guitarist for our band. After hearing him, I literally put my guitar away for 3 years. I said, "I'm not a guitarist. THAT'S a guitarist." When I resumed playing, I incorporated much of his style. In 2000, I started learning "Woman of the World" and perfected it in 2003. When. normally, it only took me a week to a month to learn a song. The next year, in 2004, I played a European guitar tour in 6 countries, and played Woman of the World only on the non-recorded concerts. It was a hit, I never got to meet Michael, but I did cause many emotions in the people, and tears, as they listened to his music. What a privilege to represent him in Europe! What a blessing to them, and to me!
I saw him and Leo Kottke at the OKC Civic Center, in 1989 or so, from about the 4th row (which if you ever saw anything there, you know is about like sitting in his lap). Leo came out and played a set, then Michael came out and played a set, and then Leo came back out and they played a set together. It only deterred me for about a week, but unlike you I never aspired to doing that myself, I went ahead and sufficed with the knowledge that that is not my path, lol. Kudos for the determination to master it.
Kudos for learning that piece - one of my favorite MH pieces.
I saw Michael perform at a little club in L.A. around 1986-87 before he was well-known. I was completely transfixed, and wept like a baby because his music and sensitive playing was so moving to me. The music that flowed through him was unlike anything. I sat right in front of him in the audience. He saw me crying in between songs and said "Hey, why are you crying?" I told him I didn't really know why, his music touched me deeply. He gave me a knowing smile and said "That's beautiful, man." Such a shame he died so young. Thanks for posting this.
When God was sprinkling bits of talent on each of us, he spilled the bucket on Michael.
Not quite true....he distributed it between Michael and Estas Tonne.
@@vanlisana lol yeah estas one of a kind too.
Michael was truly amazing. Even after 25 years, his spirit and music is still very much alive.
Thank you for this. Michael Hedges was the first of the Windham Hill artists that I was introduced to; I got to see him live in Chapel Hill NC around 1989. Nothing like him on this Earth, before, then, or since.
years ago, I spent months trying to learn to play a few bars of this, and failed miserably ... what this man did with a guitar, and the music he created, was way beyond amazing!
He learned the classics first, put in his time, Juliard, I think lol and came up with a style they ended up rejecting. Their own student, with an open mind.
Peabody institute in Baltimore
I know it's an old comment, but if you re still looking to learn it, Andy Mckee made a great 3 parts tutorial of it during lockdown, you should check it out. And since he's not always perfectly clear, you should check it played by Remi Cote at the same time. The way it's filmed makes it very clear what he does.
Have fun learning it, it's one of the most rewarding piece of music to learn! And actually it's not that hard technically, but it's complete hell on the rythmic side! So it takes time to develop the requiered muscle memory, just keep it up and I promess it'll do!
Andy McKee said this piece was one of the toughest he'd ever had to learn but even tougher to get RIGHT. MH playing this, there's so much subtlety in volume, in emphasis, in tempo change, in chord variation... his musicality is astonishing. But that's not the best part of MH (imo) it his "connection" to whomever he playing for. I'd imagine Beethoven had the same "connection". Look at his funeral - his entire nation mourned him. RIP Michael, the world NEEDS more people like you, now more than ever.
Saw him so many times. And was crushed of the news if his passing. I played this whole record for my 8 year old while she was reading the other day. I told her of his Lewis Carroll Jabberwocky interpretation. I don’t have the flexibility. However, the seed is planted. There will be a moment in the future where she will ask me about it again. I will read her the poem and show her a video of Michaels reenactment. Rest in peace Michael. You blasted me off into the here and now. Thank You.
My ears, and spirit - have never be the same since hearing Michael Hedges. True genius taken from us too soon.
Saw Michael in concert 3 times. I have never seen an audience react the way they did to him. He just astounded everyone, an unbelievable talent and showman. He was a true original. Nothing like him, before or since. Michael, you are geuinely missed.
Mind-blowing, spine-tingling songwriting, feel, touch, and technique.
Absolute chills every time I watch.
Saw Micheal in Sapporo, Japan in the early 80’s. Went backstage and had a chat with him. My wife (then girlfriend) had choreographed a dance to some of his music and he thought that was cool and asked for a video,. Such a pure snd genuine guy. You can’t fake that. RIP Michael.
My greatest friend introduced me to this man’s music. Thank you Joseph
I miss this guy. I stalked him around the region whenever he was around in my youth. He was playing at what could be described as a dinner venue in Nashville. I was in front of him and he accidentally landed some spit in my face. I was so honored. Young people are so crazy.
You echoed the same exact words I posted on my facebook before reading these comments. I miss him as well.
That's so funny. I heard he was so humble. If he knew he would have made you feel like a prince...
His music is really unlike any I have ever heard, and I never get tired of hearing it. A an awesome musician with such a gift. Rest in Peace Michael. Thanks for the music you left us.
Nobody has or can make a guitar sound like Michael Hedges. Sheer genius. Aerial Boundaries represents the height of his guitar mastery.
One of the best solo acoustic guitar performances ever recorded.
Michael Hedges was certainly a one and only, once in a thousand years kind of artist. I remember going to see him on two different occasions in the late 80s. His mastery and control of his instruments made it appear that they were a part of him. I was excited to see his shows after watching some performances on video in high school.
I was completely shocked to hear that he'd died so young. A big loss for his fans and the world around him...
In 1985, while at college, I happened to catch Stanley Jordan on the Tonight Show. I'd never seen or heard anything like it. Many years later, I discovered that someone had been doing the same thing on acoustic guitar at the same time, which I thought was impossible. Electric? Sure. Acoustic? Are you kidding me? My mind was blown a second time.
I wish I'd found Michael Hedges when he was still around. Fortunately, his music lives on.
Thanks for posting. What Jaco was to the bass guitar, Michael was to the acoustic guitar. Both were extraordinary composers. One day there will be a documentary of this rare talent.
...and also what jimi hendrix was to electric guitar.
A more comparable Bass contemporary would be Michael Manring, whom Mr Hedges has/had played with. Superlative talents, both.
There is a documentary-- it came out shortly after his death, and I think it was released by PBS. I'm pretty sure someone has already uploaded it to here.
There are a lot of great guitar players out there, from classical masters, jazz greats,
chicken pickin' maniacs, to speed metal shreaders. But few could be like Micheal
hedges and make so much wonderful music come from 1 guitar
+rbagel55 On of the best I have ever listened too.
+rbagel55 Ditto: got the LP when it first came out in the UK, & my mates couldn't comprehend how so much 'stuff' was coming out of one guitar. Just sublime.
Estas Tonne....is his competition.
You can say that again.
I've been captivated by his music for so long. Hell, I wrote an entire Suite of music on our last album that borrowed from his stylistic colors.
I loved Michael.
Such a great human example.
@@vanlisana I'm sorry but no lol
I used to see him outdoors on the patio in front of this theater in Palo Alto; $2.00 to sit, free to stand. He would do two sets of mostly originals and then come back and do a third set of covers. All of it amazing, even kind of dippy stuff like "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits. I'll never forget his take on "Tomorrow Never Knows." His originals go well beyond mere technical brilliance. He had a sense of melody that's missing from a lot of technically skilled players. And an impish sense of humor. I saw him in Madison Wisconsin in the late '80s, and he said he wrote this song back in Enid OK. It was a wild song, and at the end he said "it was a windy day in Enid."
That would have been the New Varsity Theater on University Av. in the early-to-mid '80s . . . I worked as a cook there during that time . . .
The New Varsity, was the reincarnation of one of 20th Century Fox's original movie theaters first built in the 1920s to, basically, have a place to show their movies . . . By the time I worked there, it had been bought and converted into a multi-performing arts venue that also included a bar and a restaurant . . .
In addition to the patio, there were also live performances in the theater itself (Buddy Rich; Hoyt Axton; Count Baise, to name a few), lobby/bar/snack bar area, and upstairs . . . Michael was a regular performer there.
I remember we once discovered he and I had the same birthday, NYE, as I was making his dinner. He was always cool, and I really loved his performances . . . one of the greatest guitarists I have ever witnessed . . . a beautiful soul gone way too soon . . .
And the New Varsity? . . . Sadly, the last time I was there, it was a Borders Bookstore . . . Though, I suppose, it could be worse, I suppose . . . they could have razed it and erected a Walmart . . .
Agreed...people can miss his music if they focus on his technique. That's exactly what's missing today - I hear many who present a "soundscape" of musical meandering but compositionally, void of substance. Nothing to say as my teacher would say.
I miss the beauty of his work, so pure. I can not even imagine, where he would have taken the music if he had continued on this level of existence .. Such a pure sound....May all be blessed.
I knew Michael when he was in Enid, OK. I was friends of his parents and knew him from Phillips University when we were undergraduate students. He in music and I in history and music minor. Sweet, sweet guy 😢
🥰David Crosby: Michael Hedges"...one of the most brilliant musicians in America..." "I met Michael when he sat in the door of his Volkswagen Van and played Aerial Boundaries for me in the parking lot at 7-11 in Mill Valley, before he had even recorded it. It was so transcendently strong that it cut though even my drug haze. I said, 'Please come home with me and do that again.' He did, and I have loved him with my whole heart ever since. "Before Michael, acoustic guitar went from about right there to over here somewhere. After Michael, it goes from near the rest of us, where he found it, to out the other side of the world where he set it down for just a little while. His flame went out when it was just starting to achieve full burn, and it is a great loss to the world. "He was as good at friendship as he was at music, and I miss him every day." ⛵️CROZ
I am finding myself grieving listening to this today. His music touches my soul. I had the honor of seeing him performed three times in my life. Twice in Rochester New York and once at Mishawaka amphitheater at the Poudre canyon outside of Fort Collins Colorado. it was a full moon and Poudre river was raging. it was an awesome show and I was totally thrilled after his break when he came out and acted out Jabberwocky! which holds a very special and dear place inside me because I memorize that in high school for an English class and have had so much fun over the years performing it myself! Your spirit lives on in my heart brother Michael!
God bless Michael ... I first saw him at the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington, MA in the 80s. One of the most mesmerizing concerts I have ever seen ... I still remember how I felt walking out of that theater. He has indeed inspired many ... miss you Michael ❤️
I first heard this man's music when I was living in the middle east. It was difficult living there to say the least but when I heard him play I was drunk with his style.Thank you Michael Hedges for being on this earth and touching my heart and mind.I hope to see you one day.R.I.P.
I was subscribed to acoustic guitar back in the day so when I saw I had mail I went to the box and low and behold an issue! . I will never forget the headline Michael Hedges..born 19..-died 19. I thought it was a sick joke couldn't accept believe it. When i realized i fell to my knees dear me i cried.
How to play several guitars all at the same time whilst simultaneously making none of them sound like an actual guitar. Legend. Genius. Star.
I saw Michael several times and even met him and his wife. He was such a nice person and a true genius. I miss his presence every day.
Never in my life have i heard music come from within the soul untill now. he loves every second he play`s every note he pick`s and strum`s. he is the guitar he is the music...WOW.
The best I've ever seen. Saw him in a jazz club in Orlando, Florida. There were about 8 people in the audience. Orlando is a very backward town. Sadly he wasted energy here. I listen to his music every week, that being since 1986. I miss his talent and his never seen potential.
Wow, when was that? Thats sad but awesome at the same time.
what an incredibly self-serving vile comment.. consider yourself lucky to have been present, rather than dismiss that performance as wasted energy. What a completely moronic thing to say.
+Machete Moonlight I don't think he's dismissing the performance. I think he is regretting that more people didn't have a chance to hear him in Orlando.
To travel to a city and then to perform for just eight people is something of a waste...
+Machete Moonlight What a bizarre reaction to the comment. He was saying that only 8 people showed up to hear this legend, which is a bit of a waste if you think about it
Michael L can't really disagree.
Simply amazing. Incredible talent. Wish he was still with us, playing like that.
So beautiful. This song takes me back to a time when anything was possible.....thank you, Lizzie.
I have all of the Windham Original DVDs that came out years ago....when deployed I would play them all....kept me level....
I had this on a videodisk that was stolen. I hadn't seen this for about 15 years, thanks for posting this one!
Wow! When I need to escape I turn to this close my eyes and enjoy!
I saw him live in concert 3 times in the Baltimore, Wash. DC. area, and he blew my mind each time. After the first time, I was inspired to buy an acoustic guitar, and I practiced for hundreds of hours, but I was totally void of musical talent.
A friend took me to see Leo Kotke and Michael Hedges in Cleveland around 30 years ago, I really did not know much about either one, Kotke being the headliner, Hedges just blew me away, then and still now, always will love his skill, sound and creativity.
I have no idea why this beautiful piece of music came to conscious awareness just now, but there is a reason for everything. It is so stunning, magical and uplifting🙏
Beautiful reflection, Rose
Beautiful music, beautiful man, and from the comments, he touched many of us. Thanks for sharing.
Out of this world. “ A cure for gravity “ (joe jackson ) to coin someone else’s phrase.Thanks for posting this gem🙏
This was one of the CD's I had up at college in NH in 1985.
WoW, i just heard this song on Sonos radio and go straight finding it here.
At 46 I love when I found diamant I never heard before. I will explore more of him. Exceptional playing 👍
How could 41 people dislike this? This is the greatest guitar solo of all time, in my opinion.
This is not a guitar solo. It's a solo guitarist, huge difference.
When I first heard this back in the mid to late 80's it now only blew me away, it changed my musical direction in listening and recording.
Amazing. The feeling he puts out through his performance is perfection.
Incredibly talented and underrated - RIP Michael Hedges - you were/are a legend!
I definitely don't think Michael Hedges was underrated. He got a lot of the love he deserved.
Nate Mullins ..
Of course he wasn't underrated. I swear to GOD in almost every RUclips video I watch now of a great musical talent, some dumb fucker says "he was so underrated". Do people just say that like a damn Parrot repeating what they hear other dumb fuckers say? "baaawk! underrated. baaawk!"
I saw Michael play live for the first time at the '95 Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Then I saw him again, two nights in a row in Mancos, Colorado in '96, front row first night, second row second night...WOW is all I can say!🎼🎵🎶
The most talented, innovative musical "artist" I have ever enjoyed. Saw him every time he played the east coast and sadly, one last time at the Seaport in Philly. Finally got to meet him backstage and introduce my teenaged kids to him, Two months later I learned of his untimely death and remain so saddened by the loss.
I get all misty eyed every time I listen to Michael. I was also there at the New Varsity in those days. My friend Craig Moyer took lessons from him. Of course I have no idea where he is now.
I had the privilege of hearing his music 3 or for decades ago now, and loved the warm vibrant sound he created.
I was very saddened to learn of his passing back in the 90's, and still feel what a tremendous loss to music his death brought.
As far as I know, Michael was no relation, and yet I feel like I understand the specialness of his music, a rich and lasting legacy we can all still listen to, thanks the recording that he made and we still all have access to with the wonderful technology of today!
Thank you so much for posting this
I have been a fan for over 15 years and I still can't stop tuning in to hear him play. I miss him so much but am incredibly thankful for the gifts he gave while here.
I feel so very lucky to have seen Michael play live twice. Both times at the fantastic club in Santa Cruz called the Catalyst. Michael Manring was on the ticket for that second show as well! Had I not seen Hedges on stage play, I never would have believed a man with a guitar could make music like that. Pure mastery of the craft
Haven't listened to this in probably 25 years. I forgot how wonderful it was.
I saw Michael a number of times in the late 80s early 90s in and around Santa Fe and the last few times he recognized me in the audience and can to my table to talk with me just a fantastic connection with this amazing person. Just thinking about him is making me cry
I recall my first introduction to Michael Hedges was at a Crosby Stills Nash Concert where David Crosby introduced him as one of the most innovative new guitarists he had met and he opened with a few songs, I watched him ever since until his unfortunate passing at such a young age. How sad to lose such an amazing talent. Truly his techniques and talent was awe inspiring. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to see and enjoy his music as well as his covers of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. The world was a better place because of him.
There's a purity about this piece that takes me back to a simpler time and place in my life. I had the fortune and pleasure of meeting Hedges after a show in Kalamazoo in the 90s. Drove 3 hrs to see him and ended up getting 3 traffic tickets on the way there. Well worth the drive.
The chills going up and down my spine won't stop. Michael Hedges was one of a very few musicians who truly had a gift for seeing new possibilities in an instrument everybody thought they knew. His death represents a loss to music that is still incalculable.
Hearing this song for the first time back in the early/mid 80s changed my life forever... for the incalculably better. Yes, what a visionary, a unique soul whose spirit lives on in all those he touched.
Undeniably, the man had immense pleasure in playing his guitar;
I watch this video a couple times a week just to relax and remember the beautiful soul named Michael Hedges.
I remember in college in Philadelphia late 80's, my guitar friends came back raving about a guitarist they saw a Penns Landing. We were all hooked on him from then on. Saw him in concert 4 or 5 times. Then one day in 1997, a close friend/guitarist came into my office and simply said "Hedges is dead." My heart sank. Why? There will never be anyone even close to his musicality. He was an artist not a guitarist...it was just the tool he chose to express himself. I swear there should be MH support groups
This video was the first time I had heard or saw Michael Hedges. Mind blown! Was lucky enough to see him live before he passed. R.I.P. Michael.
We love you, Michael. Still and always. Thanks for sharing a peace of your heart into those beautiful sounds. I'm sure you're still making cool sounds, wherever you are!
No, he wasn't the fingering virtuoso that so many worship today -- but NOBODY has ever coaxed a richer or more intoxicating TONE from a guitar's strings. I feel so blessed to have seen him perform and grateful that I may continue enjoying his music. I only wish he was still here with us making more.
Wow. So nice to hear him again. His music helped me out through some hella tough times. Kind of transports you to another world.
So much positive energy in his music, promotes spirituality and healing - which is what music is supposed to be about... What you said is the ultimate compliment for a real musician.
So true. It takes you somewhere else where time is irrelevant. As one artist, it’s like his music is the voice of 10,000 artists
@@akimbo139
Beautiful.. the magic of music! Good music that is.. and this is such great music!
I've had the pleasure to see Michael Hedges over a dozen times, I was devastated when he passed away in a car accident. He was an amazing musician and guitarist that not many even now can rival! In the immortal words of Steve Vai "Michael was unique. I don't like using that word because it's so abused, but it stands true in this case. The first time I heard him play, I was stunned into silence. Not only did I know what must have gone into the practicing and performance of his pieces, but I could also tell so much about his personality by the way he played."
First heard this when I was 18...im 32 now and this composition and performance still blows my mind...truly, only a handful of people come into this world who have the capability to bring magic to life.
That is really cool, I am 31 and heard this in my late teens too. Im so lucky I had a brother who played acoustic, and because of him I learned the names Michael Hedges, Andy McKee, Ewan Dobson, Phil Keaggy, and Leo Kottke. And discovered so many more on my own. No one even compares with the amount of heart and soul poured into the guitar in each song. The only person who sounds remotely close, to me, is Erik Mongrain, but only because he says Michael was by far his biggest influence
I saw him live twice - both amazing - first time he came out dressed as a woman and introduced himself - stripped down to boxing shorts and fishnets, said "ladies and gentlemen I'd like to introduce the acoustic guitar" and proceeded to do..I don't know what he did or how he did it - never heard anything like it - no one like him. RIP.
I will “like” these because I like these. The world should miss you more.
What a legendary performance. It leaves me speechless. Michael Hedges was a truly unique artist that this world misses and will miss
His playing and sound on this is cosmic....so incredible and intricate..RIP Michael, you sound just as amazing as you did 32 years ago, when I first heard this....bliss....
+Sean Bell yeah, one of the better recordings of this out there.. killer reverb, or whatever.
Oh, yeah!
Sorely missed yet happily remembered, blessings
Michael...
Saw this guy in concert at the Shaftsbury theatre in London in 86 supporting Suzanne Vega... brilliant!
I can't remember where I first heard the name Michael Hedges, but man, am I ever grateful. What a performance. The singing. The playing. The energy. Listening to this feels almost surreal. Just amazing.
As soon as you guys stop obsessing over who you think the best guitar player is or was in the world, you realize what is truly out there.
I saw him live six times - the first and last were in the same small bar - and got to talk with him a couple times. His music changed my life, and saved it.
Thank you for the 4 and a half minutes of calm I needed right about now.
I'm in pain almost all the time and I heard him o DirecTV on channel 856 .I've been up since 8 21 vand last night I prayed that I would wake up and not be in pain.its happened!!! Michael hedges is a lesson for chilling out.i was an 8 last night and I am not in pain since I woke up!!!