Shetland-Music.com

Thursday 18th to Monday 22nd of September 2008

Visiting performers:

Martin Taylor & Alison Burns - Patron of the festival and close friend of the late Peerie Willie Johnson whom the festival is in tribute to, guitarist Martin Taylor returns to Shetland with Scottish-Canadian jazz vocalist Alison Burns (a "honeyed and assured voice" - The Times). The duo recently released an album of jazz standards and contemporary material inspired by the seminal recordings of Joe Pass & Ella Fitzgerald - www.martintaylor.com - www.alison-burns.com

Redmond O'Toole - Redmond is an adept Irish classical guitarist who was the first in the world to adopt the groundbreaking 8-string 'Brahms guitar' which he plays in the cello position connected to a resonating box, allowing great freedom for both hands - www.redmondotoole.com

Miguel De La Bastide - Miguel is a Flamenco guitarist and composer, originally from Trinidad who now lives in Canada, and Music Director of internationally acclaimed flamenco company "Compañia Carmen Romero" - www.carmenromero.ca/bastide

Brian Gore - Brian is a fingerstyle steel string guitarist from San Francisco, USA. His unique melodic technique incorporates classical and percussive styles with open tunings and 'stream of consciousness' improvisation - www.guitarpoet.com

Cecilia Zabala - Cecilia is a guitarist, singer and songwriter from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who draws on a rich mixture of influences, from Argentinian folklore to contemporary languages of the twentieth century including jazz, tango, and Brazilian music - www.ceciliazabala.com

Andy Sheppard - Andy is a steel string guitarist, singer and songwriter from Toronto, Canada. Influenced by a range of North American, Asian and African music, Andy is a master of fingerstyle, slide and laptop techniques - www.andysheppard.com

Local Performers:

Maggie Adamson & Brian Nicholson - Multi award winning fiddle and guitar duo who need no introduction to Shetland audiences! Brian is one of the finest exponents of the 'Peerie Willie' guitar accompaniment style - www.myspace.com/maggieandbrian

No Sweat - Classic rock from the rock! The finest wielders of Yell guitar

Concerts:

Friday 19th September - Garrison Theatre, Lerwick - 7.30pm (£12/8)

Featuring: Redmond O'Toole, Miguel De La Bastide, Brian Gore, Cecilia Zabala, Andy Sheppard

Saturday 20th September - Mid Yell Hall - 7.30 (£12/8)

Featuring: Redmond O'Toole, Miguel De La Bastide, Brian Gore, Cecilia Zabala, Andy Sheppard

Dance to: No Sweat

Sunday 21st September - Bigton Hall (informal acoustic session) - 3pm (£6/4)

Featuring: Miguel De La Bastide, Brian Gore, Cecilia Zabala, Andy Sheppard

Sunday 21st September - Garrison Theatre, Lerwick - 7.30pm (£12/8)

Featuring: Martin Taylor & Alison Burns, Redmond O'Toole (alternative set), Maggie Adamson & Brian Nicholson

Workshops:

Public Workshop - Thursday 18th September - Iselesburgh Centre, Lerwick - 7pm (£10)

Featuring: Miguel De La Bastide, Brian Gore, Cecilia Zabala, Andy Sheppard

Schools workshops - Thursday 18th, Friday 19th and Monday 22nd

Aith, Sandwick, Scalloway, Brae and AHS secondary schools (contact the relevant school music departments for detailsd)

Tickets: Islesburgh Box Office - 01595 692114

Further info: Call Shetland Arts on 01595 743 843 or use the contact form

Sponsors:

iTalk Guitar website

RESEARCH Fishing Company Ltd

History and background:

The "Peerie Willie" Guitar Festival is another Shetland Arts' Music Development promotion and, in local festival terms, thebaby of the lot with the first event being held in 2005.

John Goldie at the 2005 Peerie Willie Guitar Festival

Shetland is, more often than not, musically associated with the fiddle for very obvious reasons. However one of our best-loved, not to mention internationally acclaimed, musicians was guitarist 'Peerie' Willie Johnson - who sadly passsed on in 2007 at the grand old age of 86.

Willie himself was well enough and sprighlty enough to attend two of the festivals that were held in his honour and the memories of those evenings will live with us all for a very long time - probably forever.

Spanish guitar at the 2005 Peerie Willie Guitar Festival

In honour of his already assured place in Shetland music history and in recognition of what he did for guitar music in general this festival focuses on guitar music in all its forms, including workshops on the accompaniment style Williehimself 'invented'.

Again encompassing a range of workshops and concerts, this event will allow you an 'up close and personal' opportunity with some of the world's finest exponents of the instrument, a boast perhaps very few other festivals of this kind and quality can make. Surely having no less a patron as Martin Taylor (a great personal friend of Willie's) just about says it all.

Steve Kaufmann, Peerie Willie, John Goldie and Martin Taylor

Previous performers:

Our first event in 2005 featured Martin Taylor, Steve Kaufmann (USA), Eduardo Niebla (Spain) and John Goldie - what a start.

The 2006 event again featured Martin Taylor with Neil Stacey, Tony McManus (Scotland / Canada), Duck Baker (USA) Terje Rypdal(Norway), Juan Martin (Spain) and Shetland's own guitar hero Ian Bairnson.

Guitarists at the 2007 festival included J P Cormier (Cape Breton), Martin Taylor's Spirit of Django and clasical guitarist Simon Thacker. There was also a tribute concert to Peerie Willie, who had passed away earlier in the year, featuring a host of local talent.

Martin Taylor on stage at the Peerie Willie Guitar Festival

Links:

Review of the 2006 Guitar Festival - The Shetland Times

Photos of the 2006 Festival - Billy Fox Photography

Review of the 2007 Guitar Festival - The Shetland Times

Peerie Willie Guitar Festival page - Visit Shetland