Crown Guitar Festival artists perform Aug. 30-Sept. 5
An extraordinary two weeks of musical energy will descend on the Flathead Valley when the sixth annual Crown Guitar Workshop and Festival brings a masterful lineup of guitarists, rhythm musicians and singers to perform. This year a series of pre-festival events are planned during the week before the festival offering free guitar instruction and solo performances by several promising national scholarship winners who will attend the Crown Guitar Workshop held Aug. 30 to Sept. 5 at Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork. It all adds up for a great two weeks of celebration of the love of guitar in the magical splendor of Montana.
And the Crown announces that two new artists will be added to the week’s music roster. The John Zoltek Jazz Quartet will open for the Grammy-winning LA Guitar Quartet on Sunday, Aug. 30. As maestro of the Glacier Symphony and Chorale, Zoltek is usually seen with his baton and not a jazz guitar, but he is long time jazz guitarist and the quartet will perform several of his original pieces.
Also added is India Carney, a recent finalist on the popular NBC TV show The Voice, who will sing at the Crown Guitar Summer Celebration Series public show on Aug. 29 in Bigfork. She will also present a free public clinic on Stage Presence for Guitarists, 4-5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3 (admission is limited and must be reserved by calling 855-855-5900 in advance).
A free concert and workshop set the stage for this year’s festival:
“Live at Flathead Lake Brewing Pubhouse” will be held from 4-10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28 in Bigfork. Featured entertainment the Crown All Stars and Solomon Hicks. A $10 cover is being charged with proceeds going towards the scholarship fund to mentor Bigfork guitarists. Food and drink is additional with a Southern Style BBQ menu offered.
Guest teachers offer a free workshop, 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27 at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell. Teachers include Solomon Hicks, plus this year’s national scholarship winners: Leandro Pellegrino, a 22-year-old jazz guitarist from Sao Paulo Brazil who is the recipient of this year’s Wes Montgomery-Lee Ritenour COCGF scholarship; Phil Goldenberg, a graduate student at Cleveland Institute of Music and winner of the James Stroud All-Ohio Classical Guitar Competition; Haaken Kjeldsberg, a 17-year-old rock guitarist from Horton, Norway, who was discovered by Dweezil Zappa at age 11; and Shem Kahawaii, an 18-year-old Hawaiian slack key guitarist from Maui, Hawaii.
Seven nights of incredible music are on tap Aug. 30-Sept. 5 for the Crown Guitar Festival featuring the star-studded lineup of Artists in Residence (AIRs) who will be teaching during the Crown Guitar Workshop. From the classical opening concert on Sunday night with the LA Guitar Quartet, to the Saturday night “Amazing Finale Extravaganza” that features a host of Festival AIRs and the superb Crown Faculty Allstars, the week will offer some of the world’s best guitarists backed up by world-renowned rhythm musicians.
Each festival concert will feature two of the AIRs who will play distinctly different styles of music. Because the artists have spent the week relaxing in the ambiance of the four-star lodge, getting acquainted and becoming comfortable with each other they often invite fellow musicians to join them on stage and many spontaneous collaborations are born.
The festival concerts are held on the Crown Festival Stage under a big top tent on the grounds of Flathead Lake Lodge, situated in a pastoral setting near the shore of Flathead Lake. Large projection screens amplify the stage action and a professional sound system makes every seat in the house first rate. Gates open each night at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. concert allowing time for patrons to partake of food and beverages and enjoy the evening light along the lake before the music begins.
Crown Guitar Festival Concerts
Sunday, Aug. 30: “World Classical” with the LA Guitar Quartet, a Grammy-winning, multi-faceted group that plays worldwide to sold-out houses, performing classical, contemporary, Latin, Irish and world music. Opening for LAGQ will be the John Zoltek Jazz Quartet. Kicking off the show will be “King” Solomon Hicks, a blues/jazz phenom who infuses his performances with real showmanship, musicality and soul.
Monday, Aug. 31: John Herington, who has been Steely Dan’s lead guitarist since 2000, is also guitarist, singer and songwriter for his own band and plays lead in the supergroup the Dukes of September. Opening the show will be Madeleine Peyroux, a jazz singer-songwriter whose ‘once in a generation’ voice and songs seamlessly fuse musical genres together, creating an entirely new sound.
Tuesday, Sept. 1: Jazz Legend Lee Ritenour and Friends. Ritenour returns for his sixth year with his high-octane team of Melvin Davis on bass and Sonny Emory, drums. After 40 albums, hundreds of tours and thousands of recording sessions, Ritenour’s eclectic and storied career is the stuff of legend. Opening for and joining Lee will be Academy Award and multi-Grammy winning pianist/composer Dave Grusin.
Wednesday, Sept. 2: Brett Dennen, a singer-songwriter sensation whose soulful voice is often campared to Tom Petty, Tracy Chapman and James Taylor. No one can experience “wild child” Dennen’s show, with his shaggy red hair, barefoot dancing, and that one-of-a-kind voice– and not be happy!
Texas blues virtuoso David Grissom has performed with a ‘who’s who’ of blues and rock stars ranging from Lucinda Williams to Buddy Guy to John Mayhall and many more. He was honored for one of Guitar Player Magazine’s Top 50 “Badass Blues Solos.”
Thursday, Sept. 3: Zappa Plays Zappa features Grammy-winner Dweezil Zappa and his full five-member band performing new original songs and rock/fusion interpretations of his father, the iconic Frank Zappa.
Reviewers describe Brazilian jazz guitarist Romero Lubambo as an uncommonly gifted soloist and musical improviser. His music unites the styles and rhythms of his native Brazil with the American jazz tradition.
Saturday, Sept. 5: Amazing Finale Extravaganza is a family-friendly concert featuring the Crown Faculty All Stars and over 15 of the Crown Festival artists onstage in a show directed by Shane Theriot, lead guitarist for Hall and Oates and music director of the popular TV show “Live at Daryl’s House.”
Performers include Dweezil Zappa and his five-member ZPZ band, Jon Herington, Madeleine Peyroux, Brett Dennen, David Grissom, Romero Lubambo, Solomon Hicks, John Dearman of LAGQ, and Berklee professor of guitar and performing jazz/fusion musician Tim Miller, all backed by accomplished rhythm musicians.
Gates open at 4 p.m. for food, wine, brews and outdoor music provided by selected scholarship students and the professional guitarists. Concerts begin at 7 p.m.
Tickets for all events are now on sale on the website www.crownguitarfest.tix.com. Individual concert tickets are priced at $35 with the option of a 10% discount with the purchase of a Crown Pass or a $3 discount on a Pick 3+ pass. Tickets may also be purchased at outlets in Bigfork: Nancy O Interiors, Electric Avenue Gifts and Donna Shanahan Interiors
For more info visit www.crownguitarfest.org or call 855-855-5900.