Adelaide Guitar Festival

Last updated

The Adelaide Guitar Festival (AGF), formerly the Adelaide International Guitar Festival (AGIF) is Australia's largest guitar festival, held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The AGF is the sister event to the New York Guitar Festival, and features local, national and international artists across a variety of genres including rock, jazz, classical, experimental, blues and roots music.

Contents

First held in 2007, the AGF is held at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Slava Grigoryan has been artistic director since 2010.

Annual events associated with AGF are Guitars In Bars, Winter School, the Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition and Resonance.

History

Following negotiations with the New York Guitar Festival's founder David Spelman, South Australian Premier Mike Rann announced in 2007 that Adelaide would stage the first Adelaide International Guitar Festival later in the year. [1] It would be the sister festival to the New York Guitar Festival. [2]

The AIGF began as part of the plan to make the Adelaide Festival Centre "the nation's most innovative arts hub". [3] Spelman served as the founding artistic director for the Festival and continued to serve as an international program advisor. [1] The ten-day festival was modelled on the New York Guitar Festival, and drew 30,000 people in the first year. The Adelaide Advertiser wrote that "never before have we had a festival like this... the Guitar Festival was a roaring success and an unqualified winner".[ citation needed ] Rolling Stone called it "a genuinely international event... curated by David Spelman, the man behind the world-famous New York Guitar Festival".[ citation needed ] Over 100 musicians from around the world performed in over 40 events, spanning many genres, with attendance at the ten-day festival in excess of 30,000. [2]

In March 2009 it was announced that Slava Grigoryan had been appointed artistic director for the 2010 Festival. [4] Grigoryan commented on his appointment, saying "it was a great honour for me to be asked to direct a Festival, with the guitar at its heart." [5] On 30 March the Adelaide Festival Centre CEO, Douglas Gautier, along with Grigoryan, announced the festival was to become a biennial event, to ensure there was "more planning and lead time to secure artists and projects which excite audiences, partners and sponsors". [5]

Past Festivals

2007

The 2007 Festival was held from 23 November to 2 December.

2007 featured a number of local and international artists including: Ralph Towner, Jorma Kaukonen, The Assad Duo, Pepe Romero, The Atlantics, Richard Clapton, Beau Young, David Lindley, Kaki King, Vernon Reid, Bob Brozman, Cindy Cashdollar, Lucky Oceans, John Hammond Jnr and Fiona Boyes.

2008

The 2008 Festival was held from 29 November to 7 December.

Artists who performed at the 2008 festival included: The Romeros Guitar Quartet, Xavier Rudd, Adrian Belew, Hoodoo Gurus, The Derek Trucks Band, Lior, Troy Cassar-Daley, The Party Boys, Slava Grigoryan, Ash Grunwald, Grinspoon, Guy Pratt and Peter Denahy.[ citation needed ]

2010

The 2010 Adelaide International Guitar Festival ran from 25–28 November and featured a variety of local and international artists including: Manuel Barrueco, Richard Bona, Shawn Mullins, Dhafer Youssef, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Jeff Lang, Yamandu Costa, Pepe de Lucia, Oscar Guzman and more.

As part of the 2010 program the Festival hosted the inaugural Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition. The winner was Jin-Hee Kim from South Korea, second-prize was awarded to Samuel Klemke from Germany and third place went to Tal Hurwitz from Israel.

2012

The 2012 Adelaide International Guitar Festival ran from 9–12 August.

The 2012 festival included performances by: John Scofield Trio, Punch Brothers, Ana Vidovic, Australian String Quartet, Edin Karamazov, Tommy Emmanuel, Caminos Flamencos, Paulo Bellinati & Weber Lopez and more.

The Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition returned, and this year was won by former Adelaide University Elder Conservatorium of Music student Andrey Lebedev. Australia's Stephanie Jones came in second while third place went to Ekachai Jearakul from Thailand.

2014

The 2014 Adelaide International Guitar Festival ran from 17–20 July.

The 2014 festival featured a range of local and international artists, including Pepe Romero, Yamandu Costa, Debashish Bhattacharya, Guthrie Govan, Jose Antonio Rodriguez Trio, Judicael Perroy, Maximo Pujol Trio, Stochelo Rosenberg Trio, Australian String Quartet and more, including the premiere of the Adelaide Guitar Festival Orchestra.

The third Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition was won by Romania's Bogdan Milailescu, second place went to Brendan Evans with Callum Henshaw coming in third.

2016

The Adelaide Guitar Festival took place 11–14 August 2016.

The fourth Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition was won by Ukraine's Marko Topchii, second place went to Miles Johnston with Andrew Blanch coming in third.

2018

Taking place from 9 to 12 August, the 2018 event featured 20 international artists, with "five world premieres, two Australian premieres and four Adelaide premieres alongside workshops, artist talks, a guitar expo, masterclasses and more...". Performers included Tommy Emmanuel, Pedro Javier Gonzalez, Richard Smith, Tony McManus and Albert Lee, South African Derek Gripper, Kaki King and Marc Ribot. Perth's Abbe May and Adelaide locals Kelly Menhennett and Hana and Jessie-Lee also appeared. [6] [7] [8] Julia Zemiro interviewed some of the musicians and hosted the festival finale. [6]

Associated annual events

Guitars in Bars

Music SA it has run the annual Umbrella: Winter City Sounds event since 2016, growing each year. In association with the Adelaide Guitar Festival, it presents "Guitars in Bars" each year, as part of Umbrella. This event is open to everyone, and helps connect musicians with venues through a venue directory. [9] [10] Venues included a guitar store in Port Lincoln, a brewery on Yorke Peninsula, and a distillery in the Riverland in 2019. [11]

Other events

In addition to Guitars In Bars, the Winter School, the Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition and a program known as Resonance – where world-class musicians take their music to hospitals, aged care homes and community centres – are held annually. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepe Romero</span> Spanish flamenco guitarist

Pepe Romero is a classical and flamenco guitarist.

Saffire or Saffire: The Australian Guitar Quartet were an Australian classical music group, which formed in 2002. It consisted of four guitarists Anthony Field, Slava Grigoryan, Gareth Koch and Karin Schaupp. Leonard Grigoryan, Slava's younger brother, replaced Field in 2005. The members also worked as solo performers and in other ensembles. Their debut album, Saffire: The Australian Guitar Quartet, was released in June 2003, which peaked at No. 46 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 1 on the related ARIA Classical Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2003 it won the Best Classical Album category. They released two more albums, Nostálgica and Renaissance before disbanding in 2007.

Slava Grigoryan is an Australian classical guitarist and recording artist. He frequently collaborates and performs with his younger brother, fellow guitarist Leonard Grigoryan, performing as the Grigoryan Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Adelaide</span>

Music of Adelaide includes music relating to the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It includes all genres of both live and recorded music by artists born or living in the city, live music events happening in the city, and other aspects of the music industry relating to Adelaide.

The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is an annual jazz music festival first held in Melbourne, Australia in 1998. The Festival takes place in concert halls, arts venues, jazz clubs and throughout the streets of Melbourne.

Flávio Augusto Rodrigues Marques is a Brazilian musician, composer, musical director and arranger. He specialized in flamenco music. He is currently living in Madrid.

The Goldner String Quartet is an Australian string quartet formed in 1995 in honour of Richard Goldner, the founder of Musica Viva Australia.

The New York Guitar Festival is a music festival founded by radio host and author John Schaefer and musician, producer and curator David Spelman, who serves at the festival's Artistic Director. Since 1999, the festival "has been examining virtually every aspect of the guitar's musical personality," and has launched sister festivals in cities in the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia. Festival events take place at venues including Carnegie Hall, The World Financial Center Winter Garden, The 92nd Street Y, Merkin Concert Hall, Joe's Pub, The Jazz Standard, Le Poisson Rougue, Flushing Town Hall, Makor, BB King Blues Club, The Monkey, Barbes, and The Apple Store, SoHo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Spelman</span> American record producer

David Spelman is an American, New York-based, record producer and curator working in recordings, films and live events

Karin Schaupp is a German-born Australian classical guitarist. She has won APRA Music Awards and ARIA Music Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Romero (guitarist)</span> Spanish guitarist and conductor

Angel Romero is a Spanish classical guitarist, conductor and former member of the guitar quartet Los Romeros. He is the youngest son of Celedonio Romero, who in 1957 left Spain for the United States with his family.

The Shaolin Afronauts are an Afrobeat band based in Adelaide, Australia. Their music is heavily influenced by West African Afrobeat artists such as Fela Kuti, but also incorporates elements of avant-garde jazz, soul and other traditional African and Cuban percussive rhythms. They describe their music as "interstellar futurist afro-soul".

Jim Redgate is an Australian classical guitar luthier, who owns Redgate Guitars. As of 2012, he makes four models, the lattice-braced, the double-top, and the new wave double-top and traditional fan-braced. His customers include Pepe Romero, Ana Vidović, Ralph Towner, Slava Grigoryan, Leonard Grigoryan, Bertrand Thomas, Jeff Young, Gareth Koch, Odair Assad, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Karin Schaupp, Emmanuel Rossfelder, Hucky Eichelman, and Phillipe Mariotti. One author said of him, "Like fellow Australian Greg Smallman, Redgate builds his (lattice-braced) guitars with an arched back to improve their volume and projection, and he uses lightweight carbon fiber reinforcements under the soundboard. While not as thin as a Smallman's, Redgate's soundboards are much lighter than traditionally braced examples, and his guitars are therefore more responsive, energy efficient, and louder than traditional classical instruments."

The Limelight Awards were an annual celebration of the performances, recordings and music personalities in Australian classical music. Sponsored by the monthly classical arts magazine Limelight, they were the only publicly voted awards of their kind in Australia. In 2012 the awards attracted more than 4,500 votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian classical music</span> Genre of music of Australia

Australian classical music has developed from early years in the Australian colonies, until today. Today, each state has an orchestra and there are many major venues where classical music is performed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Zavod</span> Musical artist

Allan Zavod was an Australian pianist, composer, jazz musician and occasional conductor whose career was mainly in America.

Leonard Grigoryan is an Australian classical guitarist and recording artist of Armenian heritage. He is the younger brother of fellow guitarist Slava Grigoryan, with whom he often plays in a duo as the Grigoryan Brothers.

The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They take place in Adelaide, South Australia every November. The venue has varied over the years.

The Australian Independent Record Awards is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

Anne Cawrse is an Australian composer based in South Australia. As of 2022 she is on the composition staff at Elder Conservatorium of Music.

References

  1. 1 2 Debelle, Penelope (5 June 2007). "The festival with strings attached". The Age . Melbourne. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  2. 1 2 "New York Guitar Festival: A new sister festival in Australia". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  3. "New York Guitar Festival website" . Retrieved 15 July 2009.[ dead link ]
  4. "Club Zamia". Archived from the original on 18 July 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres" (PDF). Retrieved 15 July 2009.[ dead link ]
  6. 1 2 Kerry, Bridget (3 May 2018). "Adelaide Guitar Festival hits right notes with 2018 lineup". The Adelaide Review. Retrieved 3 September 2019.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. Coghlan, Michael (11 August 2018). "Tony McManus & Richard Smith: A Double Act Of Celtic And Americana, Blues And Classical Guitar ~ Adelaide Guitar Festival Review". The Clothesline. Retrieved 3 September 2019.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. Elliott, Greg (10 August 2018). "Guitar Festival review: Tommy Emmanuel and Friends". InDaily. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  9. "About". Umbrella. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  10. "Umbrella Winter City Sounds is Back for 2019!". Scenestr. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Adelaide Guitar Festival Extends 2019 Guitars In Bars Programme". Scenestr. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.