Adelaide Festival Centre

Grammy Award-winning US bluegrass band Punch Brothers will headline a Special Edition of Adelaide Guitar Festival in July. Led by Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan, Adelaide Guitar Festival is a biennial event and this is the first time ticketed gigs will be held on the alternate year.

US band Punch Brothers will headline this year’s Adelaide Guitar Festival special edition

Punch Brothers will perform at Woodville Town Hall on 14 Jul. This is the third time they will play at Adelaide Guitar Festival – their 2016 performance was a sellout. 

Other ticketed performances are Karin Schaupp and Miles Johnston, playing at Adelaide Festival Centre’s Space Theatre on 16 Jul, and Jeff Lang and Cal Williams Jr also at Space Theatre on 17 Jul. The Gathering will take place in Elder Hall on 19 Jul as guitarists from Winter School take the stage, featuring the Adelaide Guitar Festival Orchestra and special festival guests.

Adelaide Guitar Festival Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan said it’s all about meeting demand. “Adelaide Guitar Festival is the most significant festival of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and continues to be extremely popular. We want to continue to build momentum for the next full program in 2020 and at the same time, make music more accessible. We are thrilled to have musicians of this caliber performing in July, which will compliment Guitars in Bars, Winter School, Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition and Resonance, which are held each year.”

Adelaide Guitar Festival Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan

It’s shaping up to be the biggest year yet for Guitars in Bars, an open-access programme celebrating South Australia’s vibrant live music scene, which works by connecting musicians with venues through a venue directory. 2019 will showcase 1,293 artists performing in 124 venues across Adelaide and South Australia.

A focus on regional touring will take live music to more people and places than ever, with a guitar store, a brewery and a distillery amongst the 2019 venues.

The last week of June on the 29 and 30, will open the guitar season with Alt-Fest and Hidden Hindmarsh, and the bookend closing weekend on 27 and 28 Jul will see fans heading north of Adelaide to Port Augusta for Umeewarra Downtown, a celebration of Aboriginal music and musicians.

Registrations are also currently open for Winter School, a week-long guitar intensive led by Dr Paul Svoboda and Cal Williams Jr with expert tutors, Slava Grigoryan, Karin Schaupp, Giuseppe Zangari, Andras Tuske, Jeff Lang, Chris Finnen and Emily Davis. Held from 15 to 19 July, it has two streams – Orchestral and Blues and Roots – and is open to all ages.

Karin Schaupp will perform at this year’s Special Edition of Adelaide Guitar Festival and tutor Winter School students (Photo credit: Cybele Malinowski)

Understanding how music can play a role in health, well-being, and recovery, the Resonance programme will deliver outstanding guitarists for intimate performances at hospitals, aged care facilities and community centres across South Australia from 1 to 31 July.

Local musician Kelly Menhennett performing as part of Resonance 2018 (Photo credit: Alice Healy)

The most prestigious guitar competition in the southern hemisphere, Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition, will return from 15 to 19 Jul with emerging guitarists from around the world playing for A$32,000 worth of prizes.

Adelaide Guitar Festival runs 1 to 31 Jul and is proud to celebrate Adelaide’s designation as a UNESCO City of Music.

Click here to visit Adelaide Festival Centre’s website.