CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — How many different kinds of sounds can come out of an instrument with just six strings? ELLNORA: The Guitar Festival will provide some answers Sept. 5-7 (Thursday-Saturday) at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
The lineup for this year’s edition of the popular biennial event features American axe artists including Dweezil Zappa, who will re-create his father Frank’s “Roxy & Elsewhere” album;Lucinda Williams, winner of three Grammy Awards and named America’s best songwriter by Time magazine; Buddy Guy, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and winner of six Grammy Awards; bluegrass legends Sam Bush and Del McCoury; and the youngest and only female on Rolling Stone’s 2006 list of “New Guitar Gods,” Kaki King.
They will be joined by guitarists from around the world, such as Stephane Wremble, the French-born Gypsy-jazz guitarist who composed and performed the theme music for Woody Allen’s movie “Midnight in Paris”; Andreas Aase, whose compositions are inspired by the music of his Scandinavian homeland; India’s Hindustani slide guitar master Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya; and South African Derek Gripper, whose repertoire ranges from the music of Mali to Brazil to India and works written by Bach for violin.
Eleven of the festival performances will be presented free of charge, including Brooklyn-based indie rock duo Buke and Gase; Los Angeles-based instrumental looping duo El Ten Eleven; Latin rockers Del Castillo, based in Austin, Texas; and Gyan Riley, described by a writer for The Boston Globe as “a nimble guitarist with an exploratory ear and a technique steeped in both Western and Indian classical traditions.”
The opening night party on Thursday (Sept. 5), offers a bargain appetizer platter of festival bands, with a $5 ticket giving audience members a pass to hear sets by Australian blues guitarist Fiona Boyes with her trio; the gospel/blues/rock/funk “sacred steel” band The Lee Boys; Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist Jonny Lang; Bush and McCoury; and Wremble.
Single tickets for all other events range from $10 to $48, and go on sale at 10 a.m., Aug. 10 (Saturday) at the Krannert Center ticket office, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, and at www.EllnoraGuitarFestival.com, via email at kran-tix@illinois.edu or by phone at 1-800-527-2849.
This year’s artist-in-residence is popular three-time ELLNORA alumna Cindy Cashdollar, a Dobro and steel guitarist based in Austin, who has worked with Dave Alvin, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Rod Stewart. She won five Grammy Awards for her work with Asleep at the Wheel. Cashdollar will collaborate with a variety of ELLNORA artists, including Dan Zanes and Friends and with session guitarist Kevin Breit’s Sisters Euclid, the jazz/folk/rock band that has had a weekly gig at Toronto’s Orbit Room for more than a dozen years.
At 3 p.m. on Sept. 6 (Friday), Spanish flamenco guitar master Paco Peña will deliver the keynote address through an interview with classical guitarist Jason Vieaux. Peña, who has been playing professionally since age 12, has toured internationally, recorded 29 albums and written numerous compositions for guitar. Vieaux, who has made 11 albums ranging from the music of Astor Piazzolla to Bach’s works for lute to the music of jazz great Pat Metheny, is on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
All performances take place in one of the Krannert Center’s seven performance spaces, ranging from the formality of Foellinger Great Hall, with its renowned acoustics, to the casual vibe of the outdoor amphitheater and the tented Sonic Garden. ELLNORA (originally called Wall to Wall Guitar Festival) is named in honor of Ellnora Krannert, who oversaw every phase of the center’s design and construction. Food and beverages will be available on-site, and the Studio Theatre will once again be transformed into Studio Store, offering souvenir merchandise and opportunities to meet the artists.
A festival pass grants admission to all ticketed events except the Dan Zanes and Friends show on Sept. 7 for $314 or less ($271 for senior citizens, $130 for students, $90 for Illinois students and youth). For the complete schedule and more detailed information, visit www.EllnoraGuitarFestival.com.