The festival will have some of the best guitarists you’ll come across!

The annual New York Guitar Festival is back for another beautiful showcase of a number of artists in the spring from the 18th – 20th of May and this year is going to be better than ever with the help of their partner WNYC!

The festival will host a number of events including the opening night concert by Grammy-winning classical guitarist Sharon Isbin and slide guitar master, India’s very own,Β Debashish Bhattacharya for the Raga Marathon. The all day event will be held on May 19th from 8 a.m to midnight.

David Spelman,Β New York Guitar Festival Co-Founder and Artistic Director, states, “One of the unique characteristics of Indian and South Asian music is the assignment of definite times of the day and nightΒ for performing Raga melodies.Β It is believed that at certain hours in the spinning of the Earth, the Raga approaches the height of its melodic beauty and majestic splendor. There are some Ragas that are very attractive in the early hours of the mornings; others that enchant more toward dusk; and yet others reveal their fragrance only near the midnight hour. That’s how we’ve programmed this Marathon.”

The festival will also feature artists likeΒ sitarist Krishna Bhatt performing as a trio with Gyan Riley and percussionist Dan Weiss, sarodist Anupam Shobhakar, jazz guitarist Julian Lage playing duets with indie-rock guitarist Margaret Glaspy; a pair of up-and-coming young classical guitarists Alberta Khoury and Tengyue Zhang, along with a few others.

This festival will also celebrate the second installation of New York Guitar Festival Academy by offeringΒ aΒ fullΒ day of free workshops, master classes, and panel discussions on topics. The workshops will be held at Sheila C. Johnson Design Center. Guitarist Rez Abbasi will lead a quartet while performing the world premiere of a new live score to the 1929 silent film,Β A Throw of Dice: A Romance of India.Β 

So what are you waiting for? Check out their official website for more info!