A versatile master of the solo acoustic guitar, John Rankin blends New Orleans feel and charm with originals, jazz, classical guitar, folk, blues, rhythm and blues and the American songbook. He has been described as a New Orleans hybrid of Leo Kottke and Chet Atkins, but his style covers far more ground than any single comparison can hold.
Rankin is also known as a powerful singer/songwriter with a wide array of songs, vocal and instrumental, that reflect his broad approach — and his harmonica playing, in sync with his guitar, adds real impact to his songs and stories. Although best known as a soloist, he performs with many ensembles, including the New Orleans Guitar Masters, the NOLA String Kings and The Classic Jazz Trio.
He has been a featured performer at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival since 1981. He was named a Jazz All-Star by New Orleans Magazine in 2007, won two Big Easy Awards for Best Folk Music (1992 and 2002), and was a winner of the 1985 American Finger-Style Guitar Festival.
Teaching is the other half of his life's work. Rankin has taught guitar and songwriting at Loyola University New Orleans for over thirty years, and has also taught at Tulane University, the University of New Orleans and Xavier University. In 2012 OffBeat magazine gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in Music Education for his commitment to teaching.
These days you can catch him every Tuesday at the Columns Hotel on St. Charles Avenue, in its restored Victorian ballroom, where each week he brings in different musician friends to join him.
