Kevin T. Richards Bio / Overview
Kevin T. Richards is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist specializing in pre-war acoustic blues, country, and traditional jazz, who plays an array of instruments, including electric and acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo and mandolin. Averaging hundreds of performances annually, he has entertained audiences across the United States for over forty years.
Kevin is the founder of “SpYder Stompers and Sugar Pie”, a quartet that was included in the Ohio Arts Council’s Ohio Artists on Tour directory, and is the lead guitarist for the Gypsy jazz band, Hot Djang!, specializing in the music of Django Reinhardt. He also plays Freddie Green style guitar with the Night Owls, an 11 piece orchestra and with George Foley and his Rhythm with both groups focusing on the works of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and early 20th century jazz.
Early Career
Kevin began his formal training at Cleveland State University, where he studied classical music. He worked as a music instructor at Dick Lurie Guitar Studios in Cleveland Heights for 9 years. He studied under various teachers, including Jazz guitar with John Stebel and Lee Bush, Country guitar with Denny Earnest, Rock guitar with Bill Jeric (from the James Gang), and Ragtime and Piedmont guitar with Andy Hazen.
As a guitar student of Kevin’s, I have witnessed first-hand his virtuosity in styles of playing and his ability to provide just the right advice for the struggling student. When my son was in high school, Kevin taught my son to play guitar and that has been a gift that my family continues to treasure.
Finally, let me say that it is hard to imagine anyone easier to work with than Kevin. In short, I am a fan.
Finally, let me say that it is hard to imagine anyone easier to work with than Kevin. In short, I am a fan.
Paul Lauritzen
Board Chair,
Roots of American Music
Board Chair,
Roots of American Music
Working Musician & Performances
He has performed at the National Folk Fest, MerleFest, Brooklyn Folk Festival and Augusta Heritage Week, where he has also been on staff for both blues and swing, and tradition guitar styles. He has performed many times at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, including at its American Master Series; and at Rock Hall conferences focusing on Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, and Jimmie Rodgers. He has also performed at the Robert Ebert Film Festival.
As a performer, he has shared the stage with Grammy Award winner and Blues Hall of Fame member John Hammond, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jorma Kaukonen, National Heritage Fellowship recipient Howard Armstrong, and Blues Hall of Fame member Robert Lockwood Jr.
Kevin's Music
He has released three CDs: The First String Band (1995), One Night at the Spider (1997), and SpYder Stompers (2014), all of which feature pre-war acoustic blues and ragtime, as well as traditional string band music. Kevin has competed on the stage three times at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia, and has competed at the national fingerstyle guitar championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield Kansas. He was a First-Place winner in the Burton, Ohio guitar competition at the Raccoon County Music Festival, and was the recipient of the Northern Ohio Live community music award for his community planning for the 2000 Folk Alliance Conference.
I've studied guitar with Kevin off and on for over 30 years. I've studied with other amazing guitarists as well. But Kevin's breadth and depth of knowledge and musical repertoire is unparalleled in my opinion. If you want to take your guitar playing to the next level, you couldn't find a better mentor.
Bicknell Robbins
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Teaching & Educational Programs
Kevin has taught guitar and mandolin for more than four decades in the Cleveland area and has provided teaching and mentorship for two generations of students. He is actively sought out as a teacher for his master roots skills and mastery of guitar styles and maintains a private teaching studio.
As an administrator, Kevin founded the Fairmount School of Music in 1988 to bring private music instruction to the community. Today the music school has partnered with Musicologie Cleveland Heights.
As a Clinician, he has conducted workshops on a recurring basis at MerleFest, the Augusta Heritage Festival, the Lake Erie Folk Festival, and the Kent State Folk Festival; and has also conducted workshops at the National Folk Festival and Great Lakes Folk Festival. He has participated in the Old-Time Fiddlers’ Convention and many other music-related events.
Kevin was hired by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 to create an outreach and education program. Here, he helped with the creation and oversight of Blues in the School program until 2000, which was showcased in a documentary called Keeping the Music Alive. He has served as a teacher and/or teaching artist for other organizations in the area including Roots of American Music and Fairmount School of Music and created and oversaw the Roots of Rock program at Ruffing Montessori School.
Talent is something special and, often, illusory to those without it. Even more special and rare is finding a talented person who effectively can impart some of this talent to others. Kevin Richards is this sort of teacher: gifted, accessible, knowledgeable, and generous.
Michael Weil
Former Development Director,
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Former Development Director,
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Founder, Roots of American Music
In 1999, he founded Roots of American Music (ROAM), as a 501C/Non-Profit, with a vision to provide outreach to the community bringing roots music programming and education to diverse audiences.
Kevin launched the education programs Stop the Hate and Youth Sing-Out in partnership with the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. Other programs include Blues is the Backbone for grades K – 3 and the Buckeye Bicentennial.
He served as ROAM’s CEO and Artistic Director for 22 years.
In addition to the many educational programs he has produced, Kevin produced and directed "First Voice, Ohio" a documentary shown statewide on PBS and was selected for showing in the Cleveland International Film Festival.
Over 20 years ago, Kevin secured funding for the first Roots of American Music program developed for the Cleveland Metropoitan School District. Not only is Kevin a top notch musician, he also has strong organizational skills and the ability to motivate groups of artists to collaborate on programs.
Jack Dialesandro
Classroom Artist since ROAM's Beginning
Classroom Artist since ROAM's Beginning