Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival takes over Bigfork for eighth annual event

Music is about to take over Bigfork from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 with the eighth annual Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival.

Five concerts featuring different performers are scheduled during the week, each one showcasing a guitar genre ranging from classical to rock, from slide blues to bluegrass, from songwriting to world beat to acoustic. The festival concerts are held to showcase the artists in residence and the master guitar instructors who are in town to teach at the weeklong Crown Guitar Workshop, held Aug. 27 to Sept. 3 in Bigfork. The workshop offers dozens of local and national scholarship recipients an opportunity to rapidly develop new skills and hone techniques with some of the world’s foremost guitarists.

The Crown Festival, held at the Flathead Lake Lodge, is unique in Montana — people park in the horse pasture, walk to the scenic meadow for live preshow music presented by workshop students and faculty, enjoy food and drink before the concerts and stroll through the auction tent where they can bid on an array of artwork, big city concert tickets and assorted other items. All seats are general admission and early arrival is encouraged. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with concerts starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Saturday’s show is a six-hour music extravaganza that begins at 4 p.m. with music in the meadow and three separate music acts starting at 6 p.m., followed by a huge grand finale in the “Crown style” of collaboration.

“Nashville Night” opens the festival on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Dobro guitar master Jerry Douglas and Nashville’s renowned thumbpicker, Brent Mason, are the featured artists. Douglas is known as the world’s greatest player of the slide resonator guitar, the Dobro. He’s been named Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year three times and received a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA. He has won 14 Grammys and is co-director of the popular BBC Television series “Transatlantic Sessions.” The list of artists he’s worked with includes Emmylou Harris, Béla Fleck, the Whites, Peter Rowan, Reba McEntire, Kathy Mattea and Dolly Parton. Since 1998 he’s been a featured musician with Alison Krauss’ band Union Station.

Mason is lauded as Nashville’s go-to session musician and is one of the most recorded guitarists in history. He rolls from country twang to bluesy rock and everything in between. Joining them will be an all-star rhythm section with a mix of Nashville, Austin and local musicians.

“Rock-Blues-Funk and Song” will take the stage on Wednesday, Aug. 30, with David Lindley headlining the show. The eclectic ’70s- and ’80s-era rock and blues slide guitarist is a multi-instrument wizard, famous as the lead guitarist for Jackson Browne and his own band, El Rayo-X. Lindley has mastered more than 80 instruments, including guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo, oud, bazouki and saz to name a few. Lindley’s humor and wild stories will spice up the evening.

Emily Elbert, who is appearing for her third time at the Crown, brings a lovely voice and folk tunes. Elbert has come full circle — from scholarship student to emerging artist to Artist in Residence — and will provide sweet melodies peppered with her chop-and-growl guitar licks.

Opening the show will be Laura Jean Anderson, a rising star of New Wave Emotion roots, rock ‘n’ roll style.

“Classical, Jazz & More Blues” on Thursday, Aug. 31, brings Grammy-winning classical artist Jason Vieux to the Crown Festival Stage. Vieux is “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” (Gramophone), and expresses his virtuosity with a range of music from classical to flamenco, jazz, Arabic, Argentinean and rock.

Opening the evening will be Lynn McGrath, with a short set from Kevin Loh from Singapore, who is the Crown’s Emerging Artist this year. Also offering up a performance will be the Canadian duo Command Sisters, winner two years in a row of the “Rising Stars — Women that Rock” award at the annual National Association of Music Merchants show in Los Angeles.

Mike Stern will fill the jazz, blues and rock genre. He’s a soloist with blistering chops, honed early playing lead for Blood, Sweat and Tears and Miles Davis. His own 16 albums have garnered six Grammy nominations and he’s earned Guitar Player magazine’s Certified Legend Award. Adding to his set will be an all-star Crown band that includes Wes Ritenour on drums, Teymur Phell on electric bass and jazz multi-instrumentalist Erica von Kleist on saxophone.

“Rising Stars and Master Mentors” take to the stage on Friday, Sept 1. This show brings the workshop students, many of whom are professional musicians, front and center. They will perform with their mentors from the Crown All Star Faculty and several rhythm sections. It’s a fun evening of camaraderie and collaboration and gives a peek into the abundance of talent that makes up the Crown Guitar Workshop. Entry is free with a donation of $10 appreciated.

“Slide-Rock-World Finale” on Saturday, Sept. 2, is the star-studded culmination of the week of learning and collaborating at the Crown. Three full music acts are planned, starting with a World Beat percussion set, segueing into a rock and rockabilly set and finishing up with slide master and 2016 Blues Foundation Bluesman of the Year Sonny Landreth.

World music pioneer Leni Stern, who has twice been named Female Jazz Guitarist of the Year (Gibson Guitars) starts the show. She has invited African percussionist and collaborator Alioune Faye, of Senegal, to join her and a number of Crown guests on rhythm guitars and instruments in a set of world music and song.

Next up is Landreth showing off the supernatural slide-guitar prowess that has Eric Clapton calling him the most underestimated musician on the planet. He’s played with the likes of John Hiatt, Junior Wells, John Mayall, Irma Thomas, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Kenny Loggins, Mark Knopfler, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Vince Gill, Bonnie Raitt and hundreds of other artists. He’ll be backed by an all-star percussion section.

British guitar legend and rockabilly star Albert Lee will finish the evening with some unusual musical surprises. In the typical Crown Guitar Festival fashion, the audience can expect many of the Artists in Residence to join these stars onstage for a grand finale celebration.

Tickets for the concerts are $40 online in advance and $20 for youth through age 18 — add $5 if purchased at the gate. Advance tickets can be purchased online at http://www.crownguitarfest.tix.com. Food, drink and live music on the outdoor stage are available before the shows.

For more information, call 855-855-5900 or visit http://www.crownguitarfest.org.

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Crown Guitar Fellowship students to perform at Thursday!Fest

Crown Guitar scholarship winners will be the featured performers during the final Thursday!Fest of the season from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24. The show is free and held on the lawn of the Museum at Central School in Kalispell.

Performing will be former and current scholarship winners Tessa Kerry, Ned Cooney and Kevin Van Dort and his band. Nicky Vassalla, winner of a Crown Fellowship from last May’s Upstream Seattle music competition, and the Canadian-based duo, Command Sisters, will also play. All the musicians will gather on stage for a big finale jam.

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Summer Guitar Celebration at Flathead Lake Brewing Co. kicks off week of music-making

A special event to kickoff the week of the Crown Guitar Workshop and Festival will be held from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at the Flathead Lake Brewing Co. Pubhouse in Bigfork. The event is a fundraiser to benefit the scholarship program for Bigfork students to attend the Crown Guitar Workshop. Admission is $10.

The event will showcase some of the musicians who have participated in the Crown Guitar event in previous years as well as new attendees. This year’s lineup includes the first Crown Fellowship student, Emily Elbert, a singer-songwriter who will be performing at this year’s Crown Guitar Festival as an Artist in Residence. Joining in program will be former scholarship students Tessa Kerry, Ian Velikoff, Andrew Scotchie and Kevin Van Dort along with 2017 Crown Fellowship student Nicky Vassalla, a winner of the Upstream Seattle competition. A backup band will fill out the roster and some of the special guest artists who are attending the Crown Workshop and Festival are expected to jump on stage as well.

The brewery will offer a dinner menu that includes Kahlua Pork, teriyaki chicken, stir fry rice, mac salad, side salad and dessert for $12. Wine and Flathead Lake Brewing Co.’s best brews will be available to purchase.

For more information about the celebration, call Flathead Lake Brewing Co. 406-837-2004.