Jeff Plankenhorn made his name in Austin as a preeminent guitar slinger, especially as a slide specialist. Now he is everywhere in town.

He has also found time to put pen to paper and is increasingly known for his impressive songwriting and powerful voice. With the recent release of SoulSlide, a collection of mostly original work, he has completed his bona fides as both a master instrumentalist and an important songwriter and singer.

The origins of Plankenhorn’s musical journey share a note with so many others…small town America, a church choir, a deep sense of community and ministering to others through his gift of music. It was love at first sight for Plank, this giving and sharing through music, a love that has only deepened over the years.

Born in Ohio and educated in Michigan, his older brother John had a significant role in Plankenhorn’s evolution as a musician. John encouraged him to experiment with all types of music and, above all else, just keep playing. John gave Jeff his first guitar at the age of ten, and stringed instruments quickly became his passion. While he certainly mastered traditional styles of playing the acoustic and electric guitar, his true love became the slide or steel guitar, and decided to take shot at the life of a professional musician.

Jeff initially chased his dreams to Nashville, listening and learning from such greats as Uncle Josh Graves, Gene Wooten and Jerry Douglas. At the urging of Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jeff decided to move to Austin and has been here ever since.

Plankenhorn’s musical repertoire is both broad and deep, moving effortlessly through folk, country, blues, bluegrass, gospel, rock and soul. He has released four albums to date, Plank, The Speed of Hope, Live at the Saxon Pub, and the mentioned SoulSlide, which includes contributions from friends Milligan and Ruthie Foster.