Phil Keaggy Biography

It might seem easy to pigeon-hole Phil Keaggy as simply a great guitar player. He is, after all, recognized in both the Christian and mainstream music communities as one of the best players to ever pick up the instrument. No guitarist (or non-playing layperson for that matter) has ever listened carefully to Keaggy play and not come away in a kind of catatonic awe of his virtuosity on the fret board. Moreover, the soft-spoken musician is usually quite willing to let his guitar speak for him.

But don't be fooled by first impressions. The guitar-hero is a songwriter on a mission that, while at first glance subtle, is clear to anyone who pays attention. And for Keaggy, paying attention is what matters most.

And paying attention has many rewards, perhaps one of the best of which is insight into a man who has clearly become comfortable with his maturity, a man whose years have helped shape a wisdom that can discern the things that are genuinely urgent and those that are passing. Long ago in Phil Keaggy's life, grace, beauty, and truth have taken preeminence over passing fads or ego.

"As I have watched the Christian music industry mature and grow," says Keaggy, "I've been both encouraged by its energy and at once found myself taking comfort and solace in things that have lasted. I have learned to appreciate my musical and religious heritage, and have found myself with a deepening respect for form, the liturgical, and antiquity, as well as the spontaneity of youth and how both can be immediate and meaningful ways to convey eternal things in a disposable age."