(Left) Fingerstyle guitarist Adam Rafferty will be joining (Right) Benicia guitarist Peppino D’Agostino for a Friday, June 16 show at the Benicia Historical Museum. (Photo courtesy of Peppino D’Agostino)

At age 10, Peppino D’ Agostino was inspired to pick up the guitar after seeing his cousin playing in church. He has not stopped playing since.
The world-renowned Benicia guitarist comes to the Benicia Historical Museum on June 16. D’ Agostino said he will being playing some original music with some some surprises along the the way involving a cattle board that he constructed recently.
“A cattle board is basically a bunch of sets so the acoustic guitar will sound really huge,” he said.
Not only will D’Agostino be playing at the concert, but Adam Raffety will join him as well. Raffety and D’ Agostino met in 2015 during a musical festival in Germany. D’Agostino said he’s looking forward to jamming with Raffety.
“Adam is one of the most well-known fingerstyle guitarists in the world,” D’ Agostino said. “He has great arrangements of Stevie Wonder music. He made a great arrangement of a very legendary Stevie Wonder piece called ‘Superstition.’ He made an arrangement for solo guitar that sounds like a band. It’s just one man, but his techniques are amazing.”
Rafferty has also performed songs from the likes of Michael Jackson and The Beatles. His rendition of “Supersition” has gotten more than 2 million views on YouTube.
D’ Agostino counts guitarists like Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin and Leo Kottke as some of his influences while learning to playing guitar.
“I was liking what I was hearing,”D’Agostino said. “Leo Kottke, for example, he played the acoustic guitar, the six and also the 12-string guitar. I just like the sounds. The sounds of the instrument was really inspiring to me and I wanted to sound like that.”
During the ’80s, D’Agostino moved to Benicia. He said the city reminds him of his native Sicily. After coming back from a long tour in places like China, he feels Benicia’s sea side location has a relaxing effect.
“There’s nothing better than flying back to the Bay Area and coming back home to Benicia,” D’ Agostino said. “It’s such a nice area. It’s a nice town, and there’s a lot of musicians and artist living here. So I feel that I feel like there’s a strong artistic community.”
D’ Agostino plans to keep playing in Benicia for a long time. He organizes retreats in Benicia with some of the top guitarist sin the world. D’ Agostino hopes to make Benica a guitarist capital of the world.
“I would like people to know this concert with Adam Raffety will be really warm and entertain the audience. It’s not all about music but making a real spiritual connections and fun connection with the audience’’ D’ Agostino said. “Music is really a gift today. Especially today with trouble times. It’s kind of a spiritual force in this violent world. Music is an oasis of peace and joy. When people come to the concert, that’s what I and Adam want people to feel.”
The concert will be held at 8 p.m., Friday, June 16 in Stone Hall at the Benicia Historical Museum, located at 2060 Camel Road. Doors open at 7 p.m., and there will be a ho-host bar. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online at BrownPaperTickets.com or at the museum gift shop, Wednesdays through Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m. They can also be purchased at Bookshop Benicia, located at 636 First St. For more information, call (707) 745-5435.

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