Celebrate the Many Voices of Instrumental Guitar at the 2022 Whidbey Island Guitar Festival This Month

The Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, in Langley, will play host to the 2022 Whidbey Island Guitar Festival on July 22, 23, and 24. The festival, in its fifth year, is one of the only festivals in the world to celebrate purely instrumental music from a wide variety of musical genres. It is an inclusive celebration of the guitar and all its relatives from cultures around the globe featuring world class musicians of the Pacific Northwest.

Conceptualized and curated by multi-instrumentalist Andre Feriante, the inspiration for this festival stems from a desire to bring people of different walks of life and different interests together. It's an opportunity for fans of one kind of music to experience other styles as well. It's a chance to expand horizons musically, and make new friends in the process. Andre's hope is to help people find unity, understanding, and peace through music. In a nation that is experiencing increased divisions, music is a universal language that can bring people of all cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds together.

This year's virtuoso lineup includes:

Friday July 22

7:30pm (one concert with intermission)

Keith Bowers / Jazz Guitar

Troy Chapman / Baroque Lute, Jazz Guitar

Andre Feriante / Spanish Guitar and beyond

Elizabeth Brown / Lute, Baroque Guitar, Classical Guitar

Saturday July 23

2pm: Stella Kosim / Classical Guitar

3pm: Tim Bertsch / Acoustic Guitar, Harp Guitar, Electric

4pm: Nick Mardon / Blues, Jazz and Rock Guitar

5pm: Andre Feriante / Flamenco Fusion, multi-instrumentalist,

with Anil Prasad / tabla

Sunday July 24

2pm: Quinn Fitzpatrick / Acoustic Guitar, classic covers

3pm: Charlie Solbrig / Classical & Flamenco Guitar

4pm: Eric Fridrich & Leif Totusek / Blues & Jazz Guitar, World Music

5pm: Trio Guadalevin / Middle Eastern, Spanish, and Latin American Music

(Gus Denhard / Abel Rocha / Antonio Gómez)