Will Kimbrough has a voracious musical appetite. Singer, songwriter, producer, band leader — he wears all hats, and wears them well. The Americana Music Association’s 2004 Instrumentalist of the Year has penned songs recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Todd Snider, Jack Ingram and others. A master collaborator, he has toured, performed or written with a long list of luminaries such as Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Gomez, John Prine, Mark Knopfler and Mavis Staples. Kimbrough has also produced albums for artists including Rodney Crowell and Garrison Starr, and produced a Grammy-nominated album for Adrienne Young.

The Columbus Arts Council presents the Nashville-based Kimbrough in a solo show at the Rosenzweig Arts Center Omnova Theater Friday, Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance; $12 at the door, if available. Get tickets at the arts center at 501 Main St. Tuesday through Friday, or online at columbus-arts.org. Seating is limited; advance tickets are recommended.

A very Southern thing

Kimbrough spoke by phone from a recording studio in Virginia Tuesday about his upcoming show in Columbus. Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, he is well versed in the South and recalled gigs in Starkville and Oxford in the early 1990s with his band Will and the Bushmen (a band that once included former Columbian drummer Bryan Owings, currently touring with Tony Joe White.) Some of those Bushmen songs still turn up in Kimbrough’s repertoire today.

Friday’s show will be a combination of “stories and songs and picking,” he said. “I think if you like Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and The Beatles, you’ll enjoy what I do.” He describes the music as “a very Southern thing,” songs about the South and growing up on the coast. He will also share a few stories of working with some of the most respected people in the industry.

“I’ve been lucky to be in the right place at the right time to work with folks like that,” remarked Kimbrough, who has mastered guitar, slide, mandolin, dobro, harmonica and more.

An “honorary Coral Reefer,” the songwriter and performer has had multiple songs on Jimmy Buffett’s last several albums. Buffett, born in Pascagoula, grew up in Mobile, as Kimbrough did. “It’s been a real fun experience because I’ve gotten to know all the Coral Reefers,” said Kimbrough.

J. Dee Mckay of Columbus is a longtime musician and sound engineer. He’s known Kimbrough for three decades or more.

“I’ve run sound for him over the years with great folks such as Todd Snider. He’s played with just about everyone,” Mckay said. “He’s a multi-instrumentalist bar none, a really tasty slide player. This guy is a must-see to hear.”

Kimbrough has multiple albums to his credit. Two recently-released projects are “Live at Coast,” his first solo live DVD-plus-CD, which dropped in November 2015, and a new Willie Sugarcapps album, “Paradise Right Here,” out in April. That band is a Gulf Coast collaboration. Kimbrough is also well-known to fans of the bands the Bis-quits and Daddy.

For more information, contact the arts council at 662-328-2787 or visit columbus-arts.org.

Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.