With his inspirations ranging from Andres Segovia to Mississippi John Hurt, Ed Gerhard is one of the true masters of steel string fingerstyle guitar. A Philadelphia native now residing in New Hampshire, Ed was inspired by the late guitarist John Fahey to develop his own compositional voice, which he explores in performance with 6-string, 12-string, and slide guitars, Hawaiian Lap Steel, a passionate intensity, and a sly sense of humor. Melodic and cliche-free, his lush playing travels in unexpected directions, conveying classic sensibilities or inflections of the blues. The Boston Globe summed it up well by declaring that "Ed does not write instrumentals. He writes songs that only a guitar can sing."

Ed has received numerous honors since his critically acclaimed debut album in 1987, Night Birds. In 2005 he shared the Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Album for his work on the CD Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar. He returns to the Freight tonight with tunes new and old, many of them from his recently released CD, Sunnyland, an homage to his early blues heroes.