Crown of the Continent to bring multiple shows within the valley

Tickets are now on sale for the six public concert events that will be held during the weeklong Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop starting Aug. 24 and concluding on Sept. 1. Each evening of music features top name artists drawn from the extensive list of Artists in Residence who are teaching at the workshop. All the concerts, except for Friday, Aug. 24, will be held on the Crown Festival Stage at Flathead Lake Lodge, in Bigfork.

Tickets are priced at $30, with the exception of the Six String Theory competition, which is $50. They can be purchased in advance at www.cocguitarfoundation.tix.com or by calling 249-4671.

They are also available at the following local Flathead Valley locations: Nancy O’s in Bigfork’s Branding Iron Station, Donna Shanahan Interiors and Electric Avenue Gifts in downtown Bigfork, Sportsman Ski Haus in Kalispell and Whitefish, Bonelli’s Bistro in Kalispell, SM Bradford in Whitefish and The Glacier National Park Fund office in Columbia Falls.

A Crown Pass for $158 is available that admits patrons to all performances, except for the Aug. 24 fundraising event. The Crown Pass includes a commemorative poster designed by Bigfork’s western artist, Nancy Cawdrey.

“Guitar Night for the Glacier Fund,” will launch the week of music on Friday, Aug. 24. The musical fundraiser is organized to support the Glacier National Park Fund and features fingerstyle guitarist Bill Mize along with the Brazilian jazz group, Rio. It begins at 8 p.m. at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish.

Mize received a Grammy award for his collaboration with storyteller David Holt and is a winner of the Winfield world fingerstyle competition. He has been featured on the popular guitar compilations “Windham Hill Guitar Sampler” by Windham Hill Records and “Masters of the Acoustic Guitar.” His music appeared in the Ken Burns’ documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” Beth Bramhall will accompany her husband Mize in a vibrant combination of fingerstyle guitar and accordion music. Their music is influenced by not only their Appalachian roots, but also by soul, jazz, world and modern classical music.

RIO is a bossa nova jazz group that was featured recently on the Montana Public Broadcasting show 11th & Grant with Eric Funk. The band is comprised of Max Hatt, on guitar, Edda Glass, vocals, Dennis Unsworth, drums and Pete Hand, bass. Hatt plays a wide range of guitar tonalities, including steel-string, baritone, nylon, electric arch-top, and guitalele while Glass brings alive the cadences of Portuguese carioca. Unsworth is known for sounding like a small samba drum school and Hand on bass, provides a warm jazz growl and gorgeous solos.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit Glacier National Park’s High School Citizen Science Program, a hands-on educational program that encourages teenagers to learn more about nature and the environment of Glacier National Park.

The guitar-driven urban folk-pop artist Patty Larkin and classical-flamenco master, Dennis Koster will perform at Flathead Lake Lodge on Monday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m.

Larkin, a self-described ‘guitar driven songwriter,” combines evocative vocals, inventive guitar wizardry and imaginative lyrics in a delightful soundscape. Her songs run from impressionistic poetry to witty wordplay. She has won an unprecedented 11 Boston Music Awards among numerous others.

Koster is widely regarded as this country’s leading authority on flamenco guitar and is also acclaimed as a brilliant classical guitarist. He is one of the few guitarists ever to have learned flamenco directly from both Mario Escudero and the legendary Sabicas.

Three jazz and blues legends share the stage at Flathead Lake Lodge on Aug. 27 at 8 p.m., Lee Ritenour, Sonny Landreth and Dave Grusin with Melvin Lee Davis, bass and Sonny Emory, drums.

Lee Ritenour, Grammy award winner, is one of the true multi-style guitarists. From rock to jazz to blues, he has recorded over 40 albums, with 35 chart hits.

Sonny Landreth is a Louisiana bluesman best known for his slide playing, having developed a technique where he frets notes, plays chords and chord fragments behind the slide while he plays.

Dave Grusin, a legendary American pianist, composer, arranger, and producer, has composed over 100 scores for feature films and television. His numerous awards include an Academy Award and 12 Grammys.

Melvin Davis, bassist, worked with Don Cornelius of Soul Train and has toured and recorded with Lee Ritenour, Chaka Khan, the Pointer Sisters, Bryan Ferry, David Benoit, Larry Carlton, and many other top acts.

Sonny Emory, Grammy award winner, is best known for his ground-breaking drumming with Earth, Wind, and Fire, and has performed with a virtual “who’s who” in pop and jazz music.

Lee Ritenour Yamaha Six String Theory Guitar Competition Finals will be at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts on Aug. 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Six finalists from around the world in rock, blues, jazz, classical, acoustic and country vie for the Grand Prize at the 2012 Lee Ritenour Yamaha Six String Theory Competition Finals.

Ticket cost is $50 and can be bought at www.coc guitarfoundation.tix.com.

New World jazz guitar phenomenon Julian Lage will perform with his trio with Jody Fisher as the opening act at Flathead Lake Lodge on Aug. 30 at 8 p.m.

Julian Lage was featured as a guitar prodigy at the Grammys when he was 8 years old has been hailed by All About Jazz as “a giant in the making.” Lage brings a purity of tone and consistency of attack to everything in his repertoire. His first album, “Sounding Point,” earned him a 2009 Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

Tupac Mantilla, drummer and Jorge Roeder, bassist are members of the Julian Lage Trio and Grammy nominees. Each has been recognized as versatile, creative players in the New York and international music scenes.

Jody Fisher, fingerstyle jazz master is Chair of the LA Music Academy Guitar Department and author of over 20 of the leading jazz guitar instructional books. He is a faculty member of the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation’s week-long workshop.

Festival Finale with Pioneers of Country Rock with Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen performing together; Matt Smith and friends will open with energy charged rock and blues.

Chris Hillman, from the legendary band The Byrds is considered to be the pioneer of the “Country Rock” genre, who has carved a permanent niche in the history of contemporary American music through his work with such seminal bands as The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, and the Desert Rose Band. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a four-time Grammy Nominee.

Herb Pedersen is a legendary vocalist and all-star multi-instrumentalist who for 40 years fronted his own band, The Laurel Canyon Ramblers, and has collaborated with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, The Dillards, Old and in the Way, Dan Fogelberg, Stephen Stills, Linda Ronstadt, John Prine, Jackson Browne, and John Denver.

Matt Smith, Mark Dziuba, James Hogan and other faculty with the workshop that runs in conjunction with the festival are guitar virtuosos that blend music across many genres with great entertainment.

For information about the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation and the 2012 workshop go to www.coc guitarfoundation.org.