Editor’s note: The lineup for the Sept. 6 performance at Stage 5 in the Krannert Center lobby has changed since the ELLNORA artists were announced. Due to a scheduling conflict for Sona Jobarteh, the performance at Stage 5 that evening will feature LADAMA – four female artists playing guitar, percussion and the four-stringed bandola llanera whose sound blends roots music influenced by the traditions of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the U.S. with pop and rhythm and blues.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The 2019 ELLNORA: The Guitar Festival will bring leading guitarists from around the world and a variety of musical styles to Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 5-7.
The lineup for the biennial event includes Grammy Award-winning blues legend Buddy Guy, gypsy jazz musician Stephane Wrembel and Grammy-winning jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. Musicians from Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and the U.S. will play a range of music that includes Latin, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, slack key guitar and avant-garde jazz. The weekend will include unusual combinations of guitar and clarinet and of guitar and accordion.
Legendary Chicago blues artist Guy played ELLNORA in 2013, and he’s back as one of the headliners this year. Guy – who was named one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine – has won eight Grammy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award, been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and awarded a Kennedy Center Honor and a Presidential National Medal of Arts.
Other artists include the Stephane Wrembel Band, playing flamenco and gypsy jazz with an infusion of rock and blues in the Studio Theatre; Metheny, a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master and 20-time Grammy Award winner, playing with a group of young jazz musicians; and Rafiq Bhatia, who combines improvisational jazz and electronic music with hip-hop, rock and Indian influences.
Bluegrass artist Molly Tuttle will appear with Steve Dawson, who performed his original composition with the Jupiter String Quartet for Krannert Center’s 50th anniversary celebration in mid-April. Kaki King will present an audiovisual performance project, “DATA NOT FOUND,” which explores issues such as artificial intelligence, big data and personal empowerment, and was co-commissioned by Krannert Center. Classical guitarists Bokyung Byun and Jason Vieaux will give a performance together.
Two unusual musical partnerships will share the stage in Foellinger Great Hall. Brazilian classical guitarist Marcello Gonçalves will perform with clarinetist Anat Cohen, and the Balkan duo Aritmia features guitarist Miroslav Tadić and accordionist Merima Ključo.
The Opening Night Party on Sept. 5 features the Madagascar group Toko Telo, playing island-inspired folk music; Bombino, an artist from Niger who plays North African desert blues; and slide guitarist Luther Dickinson and blues singer Samantha Fish – both ELLNORA alums – playing with Fish’s band. Spontaneous Combustion – a late-night, separately ticketed, improvisational set featuring the bluegrass duo of Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, along with Dickinson, Dawson and Tuttle – will close out opening night.
The Opening Night Party is the first of several free ELLNORA performances. Other free events include slack key guitarist Jeff Peterson; avant-garde jazz trio The Messthetics; rock band The Bluebonnets; cumbia- and Latin-inspired ensemble Sávila; Sona Jobarteh, the first female to play the 21-stringed kora professionally; and Danny Weinkauf and the Red Pants Band, a family-friendly band headed by a longtime member of They Might Be Giants.
Special events at ELLNORA include a live podcast of Dawson’s “Music Makers and Soul Shakers”; a panel discussion and a workshop by luthier Rachel Rosenkrantz; and a panel discussion with Fabi Reyna, a guitarist with Sávila and the founder of “She Shreds” magazine devoted to female guitarists.
Tickets go on sale July 20. Ticket prices vary. For the complete schedule and more detailed information, go to http://ellnoraguitarfestival.com/.