Antoine Dufour

Antoine Dufour (born 1979, in L'Épiphanie, Quebec) is a French-Canadian acoustic guitarist currently signed to CandyRat Records. Dufour started playing guitar at the age of fifteen. He went on to study at the CEGEP in Joliette, where he listened to the music of Leo Kottke, Don Ross, and Michael Hedges at the behest of his teacher. Since then, he has gone on to place second at the 2005 Canadian Guitar Festival's Fingerstyle Guitar Championship and first place in the 2006 competition. He also placed third at the 2006 International Finger Style Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas (Doug Smith was the first-place winner while Don Alder took 2nd place). Dufour has released five solo albums to date: Naissance, Development, Existence, Convergences, and Sound Pictures. He has garnered a sizeable fanbase through YouTube with live performances of his songs cut in the same studio as fellow guitarist Andy McKee, amongst other CandyRat performers. His most popular video is a cover of "Jerry's Breakdown" performed with Tommy Gauthier, who is himself an expert fiddler, using a single guitar between the two. Dufour has also released a sixth album (Still Strings) with Tommy Gauthier. Dufour works on the side as a guitar instructor, offering lessons through Skype as well.