Brooklyn Guitar Festival to Launch in Greenpoint and Prospect Park This June
The two-day event will feature legends like Al Di Meola, John Scofield, and Bill Frisell alongside rising stars, tribute concerts, and master classes.
On June 12–13, Warsaw, a 1,000-capacity performance space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (261 Driggs Avenue), and the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park will host the inaugural Brooklyn Guitar Festival, a new two-day event featuring six-string legends alongside some of the instrument’s fastest-rising stars.
The festival will kick off with evening concerts on Friday, June 12 at Warsaw and continue on June 13 with a daylong program at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside.
The premiere lineup was curated by two of the festival’s New York City-based performers: Alex Skolnick, a metal and jazz guitarist best known as lead guitarist of thrash-metal pioneers Testament, and Joel Harrison, a genre-blurring veteran of the New York scene and founder of the Alternative Guitar Summit and its companion camp.
The curators aimed to highlight the full expressive range of the instrument. “Celebrate the instrument’s range—not only the sheer power and velocity that a guitar can put forth, but the intimacy and the interplay,” Harrison said, noting a focus on honoring influential elder artists while establishing the festival as an annual destination event.
Skolnick added that the lineup represents some of the most accomplished guitarists across styles, calling each performer “a leading light of their respective style.”
Spread across two stages, the lineup will feature full-length sets from jazz guitar icons Al Di Meola, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, and Mike Stern, along with Adam Rogers. These artists have helped redefine jazz guitar by incorporating elements of rock, funk, Americana, and beyond.
Blues-rock will also be showcased with performances by Eric Gales, Ally Venable, and Jackie Venson, who blends blues-rooted guitar work with contemporary R&B influences.
The festival will also spotlight boundary-pushing artists including Vernon Reid, co-founder of Living Colour; Joel Harrison; and acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Andy McKee, known for his innovative techniques and use of instruments like the harp guitar.
Two tribute concerts will honor guitar legends John Scofield and Jeff Beck. The Jeff Beck tribute on June 12 will feature Skolnick, Vernon Reid, and Greg Koch, who will also appear in a blues program on June 13.
The Scofield tribute on June 13 will include Bill Frisell, Steve Cardenas, Gilad Hekselman, Nir Felder, David Gilmore, and Lolivone de la Rosa.
Scofield will also perform with his trio on June 12 at Warsaw. Earlier that day, he will lead a master class as part of the festival’s developing educational programming.
The Brooklyn Guitar Festival aims to serve as a wide-ranging celebration of the guitar, highlighting both its history and future while reflecting its deep cultural ties to New York City.
Food and drink will be available during the June 13 performances at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, provided by Duck Island Cafe & Bar.
|
Therapy Gecko The Bell House (8/29-8/29) |
|
Tim Kenneth Kicks the Bucket Vino Theater (7/22-7/22) |
|
Auld Acquaintances St. Paul's Episcopal Church (1/20-1/20) |
|
SWAN LAKE by The United European Ballet Company Ulster Performing Arts Center (1/20-1/20) |
|
Marissa Mulder Jazz On Main (7/24-7/24) |
|
Zarabanda Variations Album Release Concert National Sawdust (8/31-8/31) |
|
Still Life with Dowland and Britten Ascension Episcopal (10/16-10/16) |
|
HOT PANTS: AN EVENING OF QUEER SHORTS Dixon Place (7/20-7/20) |
|
Light As Air Tenet Vocal Artists (5/08-5/08) |
|
SweetnLow Jazz On Main (8/07-8/07) |