Crown Guitar Festival fills Bigfork with music

Music will take over the village of Bigfork when the Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop and Festival shares its love for all things guitar at the Crown Guitar Festival on Aug. 24-30.

Now in its fifth year, the greatest compliment for this home-grown Montana event is the number of local volunteers and supporters who come back every year to enjoy the planet's best guitarists today and hear a whole crop of new artists who will be the stars of tomorrow.

During the day the star-studded lineup of Artists in Residence will share their musical passion with workshop students, then every night the public will be treated to once-in-a-lifetime aural experiences as the artists perform onstage in six festival concerts.

Collaboration is the theme of this year's guitar festival as several artists in residence have asked some of their long-time bandmates to join them at the workshop for a stay at Flathead Lake Lodge. Organizers say they know of no other festival in the world that features this cross pollination of artists in one place for a full week of great music, food, drink and friendship.

The workshop atmosphere fosters a creative energy that will be evident in each of the six festival concerts.

“Expect some surprise additions to the concert stage each night,” comments David Feffer, COC Guitar Foundation board chair. “These artists all really love to play and they enjoy collaborating with each other.”

He cites the Tuesday, Aug. 26, concert featuring Shelby Lynne as the best example. “It will be the world's best finale. For the first time in the history of the Crown all the AIRs will be on campus at the same time and Lynne has invited them to join her onstage for a grand finale performance.”  

To get the audience warmed up there will be three pre-show performances at three restaurants in Bigfork featuring the talented alumni and workshop scholarship winners from the Harlem School of Jazz and Berklee College of Music. Guitarists are scheduled to perform on Monday, Aug. 25 at ShowThyme!, Wednesday, Aug. 27 at Grill 459 and Thursday, Aug. 28 at the Bigfork Inn, all from 5-7 p.m. allowing plenty of time for the audience to enjoy a meal before the evening concerts. 

The most collegial concert will be Saturday's Guitar Extravaganza on Aug. 30, when a “crossroads” type event will be staged, meaning that many artists will be invited to step onto the stage and join in. Since several of the artists in residence will be staying through Aug. 30 the concert is guaranteed to have appearances by some surprise musicians. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. for this concert with food and beverages offered by Flathead Lake Lodge and vendors. Between 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. young outstanding artists will be featured on an outdoor stage. Adding to the dude ranch atmosphere, Flathead Lake Lodge will greet the patrons on horseback and put on a calf-roping exhibition.

Since the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation is a nonprofit organization, a fundraising raffle offering incredible high-value prizes and a series of rapid fire auctions featuring true collector grade guitars will be held all weeklong. To buy tickets online visit the website www.cocguitarfoundation.tix.com or call 855-855-5900.  

Festival concerts lineup including artists not previously announced:

Sunday Aug. 24, 7 p.m. “The Modern Face of Zappa Music” The week of music kicks off a half-hour early at 7 pm with an opening act featuring Montana's own Rob Quist and his daughter Halladay. Rob is a founding member of the Mission Mountain Wood Band and The Montana Band and is a longtime board member of the COC Guitar Foundation. Halladay Quist is fresh back from Nashville debuting her latest new songs.  Dweezil Zappa then takes the stage and will be joined by three core members of his Zappa Plays Zappa band; Scheila Gonzalez on sax/keyboards/vocals, Kurt Morgan on bass and Joe Travers on drums.

Aug. 25, 7:30 p.m.: “Fiery Blues Meets Sizzling Jazz” Ana Popovic will be joined by rhythm aces Clipper Anderson on bass and Pete Sweeney on drums with a guest horn section of sax player Dan Rose, Nick Simko on trumpet and Jim Rogers on keyboards. Grammy-winner and versatile jazz guitarist, Mike Stern follows and will be backed up by Ben Shepherd on bass and Wes Ritenour on drums. 

Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m.: “Amazing Singers/Songwriters” Opening for Shelby Lynne will be singer/songwriter Emily Elbert who was a huge hit in 2013 and is back by popular demand. Lynne will be backed by her longtime guitar and lap slide player Ben Peeler, with rhythm support from John Beasley, keyboards, Abe Laboriel, bass and Sonny Emory, drums. Look for a surprise finale featuring some of the Artists in Residence!

Aug. 27, 7:30 pm: “Jazz-fusion Luminary and Friends” Lee Ritenour will command the stage with his high octane team of John Beasley, keyboards, Abe Laboriel, bass and Sonny Emory, drums. Look for some surprise guest artists to join him onstage as well!

Aug. 28, 7:30 pm “Rock 'n Roll Superstar and Pure Classical” John Oates, newly elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his band Hall and Oates, will be bringing bandmates Shane Theriot, guitar, Michael Jude, bass and John Michel, drums. Opening the concert will be David Leisner, a performer, distinguished composer, and master teacher who will present solo classical guitar pieces as well as a performance of the Boccherini Quintet in D with the Glacier Symphony String Quartet. 

Aug 30, “Guitar Extravaganza” Gates open 4:30 for food and music; concert begins 7 pm. Music will be performed outside the Crown Festival Tent from 4:30 - 6:30 pm. See above for details.

For a complete listing of artists and activities visit the website www.cocguitarfoundation.org or call 855-855-5900.

ABOUT THE CROWN OF THE CONTINENT GUITAR FOUNDATION: Founded in 2009, the nonprofit Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation celebrates the love of the guitar and the magical splendor of Montana. The Foundation provides scholarships and collaborates with other non-profit organizations including:  Montana Public Radio and Public Broadcasting, The Montana Land Reliance, North Valley Music School, Glacier National Park Conservancy and Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center. The workshop is a perfect opportunity for drawing inspiration, perfecting technique and deepening one's passion for the guitar and music. Visit www.cocguitarfoundation.org