To hear him tell it, Keller Williams' first words were "Hee Haw," followed shortly thereafter by "Buck Owens" and "Roy Clark." His fixation with the classic TV show, a favorite in the Williams household, inspired him at the tender age of three to ask his parents for a guitar, which they bought him, and which he pretended to play for many years.

When he hit 13, Williams actually started learning chords on that guitar, and soon he was playing with a few friends in a band -- that got rejected from the high-school talent show. But Keller then submitted his own tape, of him performing solo on "The River," one of the first songs he ever wrote. He got into the show — and won it — and he's been performing primarily as a solo artist ever since.

But Keller Williams doesn't sound like a solo artist — he sounds like a symphony. Playing with bands at the end of high school and the beginning of college, he got to experience collaborating with a rhythm section and producing a dance vibe. As his solo performance evolved, he realized he wanted to get that rhythmic element back, but he wanted to be able to do it by himself. Thus began his explorations into looping, which added rhythm, bass, vocal percussion, harmony horns — up to seven or eight layers — to his "solo" sound.

While living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in the mid-90s, he became a fan of the String Cheese Incident, and gave them some of his music. Soon thereafter, they invited him to open shows for them, which exposed him to a wider audience, and launched him onto much larger stages than the coffee shops and restaurants where he’d been playing. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Williams wowed fans with his original material, unique covers, and playful stage presence, incorporating looping, beatboxing, dance beats and his incredible fretwork into his live shows.

Williams has since relocated to his hometown of Frederickburg, Virginia, though he's rarely there, touring heavily from coast to coast and making regular appearances on the summer festival circuit. He’s also released a string of acclaimed records, all with one-word titles, from his 1994 debut "Freek" to 2006's "Grass," on which he teamed up with friends Larry and Jenny Keel.