ABERJAZZ fans will already be familiar with the Welsh tornado, guitarist Gareth Pearson, and there's another chance to see him in Fishguard on Friday at Ffwrn.

His nickname comes from the fingerstyle pyrotechnics of his playing, with explosive lead runs making Pearson one of the most exciting acoustic musicians gigging today.

Gareth’s distinctive style can be heard through his creative and innovative arrangements of Michael Jackson, Radiohead and Bruno Mars to his own beautiful and often intricate original compositions.

Drawing his playing style initially from influences such as Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Jerry Reed and Tommy Emmanuel, he has developed a sound that is both inspiring and entertaining.

Within a year of taking up the guitar, Gareth was opening for Tommy Emmanuel on his 2005 UK tour. It was in Cardiff where Tommy invited Gareth to play at the CAAS convention (Chet Atkins Appreciation Society) in Nashville Tennessee.

Later that year, Gareth was performing and touring alongside Ray Davies (The Kinks), John Renbourne, and Southside Johnny and the Ashbury Jukes.

During the Southside Johnny tour, Gareth was invited by Southside to be flown over to the USA to open for his annual New Years Eve concert at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey.

The following year Gareth was invited by Tommy Emmanuel to be the support act for his UK tour, following extensive UK supports to Jan Akkerman, Andy McKee and appearing at numerous folk festivals and guitar workshops including the Montreal Jazz Festival.

With appearances throughout Europe and a growing reputation, Gareth was invited to perform at the 2008 Canadian Guitar Festival where he came to the attention of Candyrat Records.

This lay the seed for Gareth to be the first UK guitarist to be signed by the label. On its release, Gareth’s debut album Urban Echoes Vol 1 was selected by Acoustic Guitar editors and frequent contributors as one of the Essential Acoustic Albums of 2010.

Gareth’s reputation as a performer and teacher is constantly growing.

Tickets are £10 (plus 50p booking fee) from the aberjazz.com events page.