Crown Guitar Festival brings great music to Bigfork

 The Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop and Festival is bringing great music to Bigfork this week.

After a sold-out show Monday night, the fourth-annual music showcase and educational workshop continues this week at Flathead Lake Lodge and at local businesses.

 The Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop and Festival started in 2009 and had its first event in 2010 in Bigfork. The organization’s mission is to establish Bigfork as a leading international center for the study of the guitar. Well-known artists are also brought in for performances. About 95 students from around the world will come here to study guitar for a week.

Workshops range from beginner to professional and cover all genres, from rock, jazz and blues to acoustical.

Launching the Guitar Festival on Aug. 26 was classical guitar virtuoso Scott Tennant, who is returning for his third year to the workshop.

Aug. 27 shifts gears into blues night with electric blues rocker, Robben Ford and Lee Ritenour accompanied by an all-star rhythm section. Joining Ford for the evening will be guitar maestro Lee Ritenour, also a multi-Grammy nominee and winner.On Aug. 28 the Pat Metheny Trio will perform for the first time ever in Montana.  Metheny is considered to be the most acclaimed guitarist in history.          

Aug. 29 brings a night of rock, funk and fusion with Lee Ritenour and rock guitar wizard Darryl Stuermer.

Stuermer, who is known for his many his years as a lead guitarist with the Genesis, and with the Phil Collins Band, has released eight solo albums of his own original music and currently performs with his group The Daryl Stuermer Band.

The finale concert on Aug. 31 brings two singer/songwriters to the stage. Livingston Taylor returns by popular request from his 2011 performances in Bigfork, and Mac McAnally will be the featured artists.

Taylor is best known for his upbeat storytelling and touching ballads.           

McAnally, a songwriter for Jimmy Buffett and a lead member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, is an American country music singer/songwriter and a five-time winner of Country Music Association awards who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

All the concerts, except Aug. 31, will start at 8 p.m., with gates open at 7 p.m. On Aug. 31 the concert will start at 7 p.m. with gates opening at 6 p.m. Food, wine and beer will be available for purchase. Parking is limited; carpooling is recommended.

For more information and local ticket outlets visit: www.cocguitarfoundation.org or call 855-855-5900.