Bob Lewis started with the autoharp in 1975, coming off the guitar that “never seemed in tune to me, and my hands were really too small or weak, typical guitar refugee.” His first autoharp was a 1975 Appalachian Oscar Schmidt Model B, the first year and model with the 21 chord mechanism. He bought an electric pickup model in 1978, a 1979 Centurion, and finally a GDA Festival model. Bob met George Orthey in 1987 and purchased a GDA Liberty with birdseye top and spruce back. From there it was all diatonic for many years before including chromatic again about 2013. He owned the first diatonic model from Goose Acres in 1989 and acquired three more, still owning two of them. They served as the inspiration for the two instruments he built himself in 2005, very much based on the model A. He has owned a number of Fladmarks and Ortheys but cashed out of them along the way, every one a diatonic. His mainstays are US vintage model Bs, the Goose Acres, and the two he built himself.

Bob has won championships at Winfield International and the second MLAG contest in 1992. He went on to judge on occasion. He has enjoyed exposure to local music jam cultures while living in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Los Angeles and Ventura counties in California, and Cleveland. He has done some playing during 22 years in upstate South Carolina and was in a band for a spell. He has played on occasion at the independent living center where he works part time but the autoharp has always been primarily for his own private amusement. 

Bob is a veteran players with lots of workshops taught and many performances along the way and prefers to include some singing in his sets. This will be his fourth appearance at MLAG.