World's top guitarists in Bigfork
<p>Julian Lage, left, plays with Lee Ritenour at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival on Tuesday, August 28, in Bigfork. The Julian Lage Trio will be playing tonight, August 30. Gates open at 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Dennis Koster plays the flamenco guitar at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival on Monday, August 27, in Bigfork.</p>
<p>Sonny Landreth teaching at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop on Tuesday, August 28, in Bigfork.</p>
<p>Detail of Sonny Landreth playing at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival on Tuesday, August 28, in Bigfork.</p>
<p>Andy Bacon, left, of Banff, Alberta, and Jamie Dupuis of New Liskeard, Ontario, work on a piece called "Jerrys Breakdown" on Tuesday, August 28, at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop in Bigfork.</p>
<p>Lee Ritenour plays at the 2012 Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival in Bigfork. This year's festival kicks off Monday.</p>
<p>Patty Larking playing at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival on Monday, August 27, in Bigfork.</p>
The top guitarists in the world, as well as up-and-coming musicians, are in Bigfork this week for the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival.
The event, which takes place at the Flathead Lake Lodge, features workshops for guitar students and teachers of all ages during the day. Evenings feature concerts in a variety of guitar genres, from classical to jazz to country rock.
The festival is in its third year. It was launched in 2010 in conjunction with Glacier National Park’s 100th anniversary.
“Originally, the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation wanted to tie into the environment, into this very special place where we are,” said foundation chairman David Feffer.
“2010 happened to be the Glacier Park centennial, and we said, ‘It would be foolish not to start in conjunction with the Glacier Park centennial.’ There was a big light being shone on this area because of the centennial.”
From the first year, which primarily focused on the workshop with a couple of public concerts, the festival has grown to feature a full slate of evening shows designed to highlight the world’s top guitarists. This year’s festival also featured the semifinals and finals of the Lee Ritenour Yamaha Six String Theory Guitar Competition.
There are still two chances to catch one of the festival’s concerts. On Thursday night, Jody Fisher and Julian Lage play at the Crown Festival Stage at the Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork.
Fisher is a “great jazz guitar player,” Feffer said, and “Julian is the future of jazz guitar. ... At the ripe old age of 25, he is already considered the absolute top of the jazz world. He’s going to have an amazing career.”
That show begins at 8 p.m.
At 7 p.m. Saturday, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen will perform with Matt Smith and friends at the Crown Festival Stage.
Smith is “an amazing blues and rock guitar player,” Feffer said. Hillman was one of the founding members of The Byrds, and he “was also the person who created the whole genre of country rock,” Feffer said.
Pedersen “is one of the great guitarists out of Nashville,” he said; his credits include fronting the Laurel Canyon Ramblers for 40 years and collaborations with everyone from Emmylou Harris to Earl Scruggs to Dan Fogelberg.
Tickets to each show are $30 each.
For additional information about the shows, the festival or the foundation, visit www.cocguitarfoundation.org.