Vin Downes - Good Light to Go By (2020)

Vin Downes began studying guitar at the age of eleven. His early interests were in electric guitar, but this all changed when he heard the opening notes of David Cullen’s “Along the Way” on a Windham Hill Records guitar sampler. He immediately immersed himself in the fingerstyle music of Will Ackerman, Michael Hedges, David Cullen, Leo Kottke, and Mississippi John Hurt.

Greatly influenced by the music of artists on Windham Hill Records in the late 1980's, Downes furthered his interest of fingerstyle guitar technique and music composition by earning a degree in classical performance/music education from William Paterson University in New Jersey.

Vin Downes has released four studio albums, two of which were produced by Grammy Award winning guitarist and producer, Will Ackerman and award winning engineer/producer, Tom Eaton. He has performed nationally as a soloist and as a member of “The Gathering – A Concert Series presented by Will Ackerman” and is a member of Will Ackerman's group Four Guitars.

He has written, recorded, and performed music with musicians including Will Ackerman, David Crosby, Trevor Gordon Hall, Todd Mosby, David Cullen, Tom Eaton, Eugene Friesen, Tony Levin, and Michael Manring.

Vin Downes is a public school music teacher in New Jersey, where he currently teaches an award winning classical guitar program at Bayonne High School.