Ted Hennington

Growing up in the Deep South, Ted started on trumpet at age 9 before moving on to guitar at age 12. Early on he was inspired by country guitarists like Roy Nichols (Merle Haggard) and session great Reggie Young as well as the blues legends of the Mississippi delta in the persons of B.B. King and Robert Johnson and by the architects of rock guitar in Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins. It was a love of all music given to him by his dad and older sister that later led him to everything from artists like Emmylou Harris to Rufus to Aerosmith. “I am so thankful for that musical upbringing, it laid the groundwork for me being a versatile musician which has served me well through the years”.

Shortly after picking up the guitar, the journey took him to Nashville which was the first turning point. “There were great musicians everywhere in music city, that really was the first thing that pushed me to really get better and there were so many great live shows to see that I couldn’t help but be inspired”. After Nashville, the journey took him back to Mississippi and to a couple of relationships that led to his current musical endeavors. The first was meeting his musical mentor and co-guitarist in Stone Senate James Edwards. “That changed everything for me because I could sit and talk with James for hours, and he made me think about why great guitar players approach the instrument the way they do in addition he is my best friend in the world”. The second was meeting the future founder of Queen City Gypsies and his future wife Gypsy Rosehill, “she shaped so much for me and really opened my eyes to different music and to a whole different culture”.

Those journeys led to his current destination, Ted is one of the guitarists in the group Stone Senate, the group is signed to Rollin’ The Dice Records, and their current album was produced by multi-Grammy-winning producer Toby Wright (Alice In Chains, Metallica). The group’s sound covers a large spectrum of rock-n-roll and is the perfect showcase for a guitar player. As guitarist and multi-instrumentalist for Queen City Gypsies, whose current album is titled Barbarian Army, Ted plays everything from heavier rock to gypsy jazz and even bluegrass/Celtic-inspired acoustic arrangements with each song written to complement dance movement. “It is a very unique project and I give Gypsy so much credit for her vision of it. It broadens my approach to guitar and to life so much”.

Much like the journeys of the Gypsies, both Romani and rock-n-roll, Ted keeps covering new ground and Breedlove is the perfect musical partner in those travels. “I love Breedlove’s approach to guitar making and to sustainability, plus they haven’t forgotten the old methods of the great luthiers of past generations and most importantly I really like the people there. I look forward to everything Breedlove and I create together”. Check Ted out here at Breedlove and at all his projects on the web and social media sites!