Brooks Robertson is a fingerstyle guitarist from Eugene who is now an assistant professor of guitar at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He plays two hometown sets August 1 at The Jazz Station, performing a mix of country, jazz, classical, Americana and blues. Robertson says his two shows will feature covers, selected arrangements and original compositions, paying tribute to his musical idols and mentors Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed and Buster B. Jones. In 2004, Robertson won first place in a Garrison Keillor Prairie Home Companion talent competition for 12- to 20-year-old musicians. Around that same time, he frequently performed on local stages and was hailed by acoustic music fans as something of a child prodigy. Growing up in Eugene, Robertson was mentored by a series of acclaimed local guitarists, including Jones, Nokie Edwards, Bill Harkleroad, Mason Williams and Don Latarski. He says that experience shaped him as a person, and translated into the way he plays and who he is as a musician. That support, he adds, gave him the foundation to pursue “a career in music for the last 25 years, and for the next 25 to come.” 

Brooks Robertson performs 6 and 8 pm Saturday, August 1 at The Jazz Station, 124 West Broadway. Tickets are $30 and available at TheJazzStation.org. The concert is all-ages.