Classical guitarist Stephanie Jones joins the International Guitar Night celebration.
The North American Tour of International Guitar Night returns to Montana in early February with concerts Feb. 5 in Kalispell, Feb. 7 in Big Sky and Feb. 8 in Bozeman.
The 23rd event features Finnish guitarist Olli Soikelli, soloist and chamber musician Stephanie Jones, flamenco master Jesus Guerrero from Spain, and Canada’s traditional jazz guitarist and vocalist Jocelyn Gould. Newcomers and returning veterans of the tour will collaborate with their unique styles to create an unforgettable series of performances. The audience can expect to enjoy a mosaic of classical guitar, modern fingerstyle, flamenco, jazz, gypsy jazz stylings and so much more.
International Guitar Night is the world’s premier touring guitar festival, each show bringing together the most interesting and innovative acoustic guitarists to exchange musical ideas in a public concert setting. For each tour, IGN founder Brian Gore brings together a new cast of guitar luminaries for special evenings of solos, duets, and quartets that highlight the dexterity and diversity within the world of acoustic guitar.
Gore founded IGN in 1995 as a forum for the world’s finest guitarists/composers to play their latest original songs and share musical ideas and talent with their peers. This year’s performers continue that tradition.
Olli Soikkeli was born in Nurmes, Finland in 1991 and is now based in New York City. He started playing guitar at age of 12 and was soon introduced to the music of the great Django Reinhardt. Gypsy Jazz has been his main focus ever since.
Stephanie Jones is an active soloist and chamber musician who is currently based in Germany. In the course of her career, she was named the Young Virtuoso of the Year in 2014 and competed in the prestigious Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition in 1912.
Jesús Guerrero was born in 1985 in San Fernando (Cadiz), Spain. He started playing guitar at the age of 11 years and his natural virtuosity with the instrument and his musical creativity have led him to be one of the most sought-after figures of the current flamenco scene.
Jocelyn Gould is a Canadian jazz guitarist. Passionate about the tradition of jazz guitar, she cites Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass as primary influences of the instrument.
Catch them in concert:
Kalispell: 7 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Wachholz College Center at Flathead Valley Community College. Tickets are $50; head to wachholzcollegecenter.org, type in the promotional code LT2023 by Jan. 31 and receive a $30 discount!
Big Sky: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center; tickets are available online.
Bozeman: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at The Ellen; all seats are $29.50 and available online.