American icon and songwriting giant Loretta Lynn has entered the very heart of what country music describes: hard times made good through sharing music. Her career has been an autobiographical journey of what is truly one of the toughest spirits at work in music. |www.jormakaukonen.com|www.lauracantrell.com|www.gesmith.com|www.jenchapin.com

Beginning in 1966 with his head-turning recording debut on Chico Hamilton’s album The Dealer, guitarist Larry Coryell became a true pioneer of jazz-rock guitar. We’re proud to present the four exceptionally talented musicians from India and the US known as Bombay Jazz as they explore the melodic richness and dynamic rhythmic interplay that characterize both great jazz and the finest Indian classical music. Spanning the musical globe, Ronu Majumdar (a Grammy Nominee) , Vijay Ghate and George Brooks have performed with such luminaries as Ravi Shankar, George Harrison, George Duke and Etta James.

Classical guitar students at the Manhattan School of Music will perform for the acclaimed Brazilian French guitarist Fabio Zanon. Zanon came to international prominence in 1996, when he won first prize in both the 30th "Francisco Tarrega" International Competition in Spain and the 14th GFA International Competition in the USA. The audience will have the opportunity to see and hear the fascinating process which normally takes place behind closed doors. An intimate view of a master’s technique and unique way of teaching.

On the second night of his New York Guitar Festival residency, Wolfgang Muthspiel offers a rare combination of accessibility and sophistication, melodicism and dazzling technique. His six-string “guru,” Mick Goodrick, one of the nation’s foremost jazz educators and author of the best-selling instruction book, The Advancing Guitarist, joins Wolfgang for this intimate duo performance.

Join Wolfgang Muthspiel – “a shining light of the contemporary jazz-guitar generation” (The New Yorker) – as he launches his New York Guitar Festival residency tonight. The internationally acclaimed guitarist and composer will perform with a dynamic trio featuring two longtime collaborators, bassist Larry Grenadier and alto saxophonist Chris Cheek. Writing in The Times of London, Chris Parker described Muthspiel music as “rivetingly original, thoughtful, and totally absorbing without being forbiddingly esoteric; firmly structured but allowing just enough space for free individual expression.”

Internationally celebrated photographer Ralph Gibson presents a preview of two works-in-progress; Ich Bin die Nacht --music for lens and guitar, featuring Gibson performing his own electric guitar compositions to accompany moving and still imagery from Berlin at night; and State of the Axe --his forthcoming book and exhibition of portraits of over 60 of the world’s most distinctive avant garde guitarists. Mr Gibson will discuss the role of Apple computers and software in the creative process and answer questions from the audience.

Our 4th biannual Guitar Marathon at the 92nd Street Y’s Kaufman Auditorium is co-curated by Sérgio & Odair Assad and the NYGF’s David Spelman. Today's Brazilian guitar masters explore the guitar’s rich history in Brazil, from bossa nova to the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos and other classical composers. The event runs from 2—10pm, with a break at 5pm. “An epic event” is how the The Wall Street Journal classified our first Marathon, and Jazz Times called it “a veritable guitar orgy.” Half and full-day tickets will be available. Presented in association with WNYC Radio and broadcast on 93.9 FM.

The improvisational music of this former member of Robert Fripp’s The league of Crafty Guitarists is a rich blend of Mediterranean roots, progressive rock, organic blues grooves and a psychedelic free-form approach to the heritage of acoustic finger style guitar.www.pietrorussino.com

Classical guitar students at the Manhattan School of Music will perform for the noted French guitarist/composer Roland Dyens. The audience will have the opportunity to see and hear the fascinating process which normally takes place behind closed doors. An intimate view of a master’s technique and unique way of teaching.www.rolanddyens.com

To conclude a dizzying three weeks of ‘guitarded’ (as Bill Frisell likes to say) behavior we invite you to come lift a pint of Brooklyn Lager with us at The Lakeside Lounge. This Alphabet City tavern sports a vintage black & white Asbury Park photo booth, and one of the best jukeboxes in the city (with lots vintage vinyl cut to cd). They also run a label for studio owner, guitarist, producer Eric Ambel's bands. No cover charge, but you gotta be at least 21 to enter.

Like the late guitar innovator Michael Hedges, Italian guitarist and composer Pino Forastiere employs a dazzling blend of slapping, tapping, strumming, altered tunings, and harmonics. However, he also combines those elements with classical phrasing and a focus on distinct and addictive melodies.www.forastiere.it

Carrying the mantle for country music forward into the rock era, Merle Haggard is the embodiment of how it’s done right. With forty number one hits in his career Merle continues to tour in his 70th year. |www.jormakaukonen.com|www.mojomusic.com/alvin|www.jimlauderdale.com

When Teddy Thompson, whose parents are British folk-rock legends Richard and Linda Thompson, released his 2005 Separate Ways, the Times of London exclaimed, "not since Jackson Browne issued from 1970s California a succession of mournful masterpieces has a songwriter so completely nailed the sense that, in every celebration, the sense of imminent regret hovers... Brilliant..". In 2006, he participated in Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man, a film tribute to the legendary Leonard Cohen.www.teddythompson.com

Virtuoso guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell was a member of Bob Dylan's "Never Ending Tour" band from 1997 until 2004, and has performed and recorded with Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Little Feat, Lyle Lovett, B. B. King, Levon Helm, Little Feat, Cyndi Lauper, k.d lang, Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Phil Lesh and many others. A rare chance to hear Larry perform with some favorite musical friends and also play solo acoustic guitar pieces from his album “Rooftops.”http://members.cox.net/larrycampbell2000/

Chocolate Genius, Inc. is a loose collective of musicians centered around Marc Anthony Thompson, a singer-songwriter/guitarist from New York City. Thompson released two albums in the 1980s under his own name, and was signed to V2 Records for Black Music, his ‘98 debut under the name of Chocolate Genius.  He’s been compared to a wide variety of musicians, including Tom Waits, Prince, Jeff Buckley, and Lenny Kravitz. In 2006,  he was a member of Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions Band, playing guitar, providing backing vocals and sharing lead vocals on several songs.www.chocolategeniusinc.com

Referred to as “one of the contemporary guitar’s most gifted stars”by Classical Guitar magazine, Michael Nicolella is recognized as one of America's most innovative classical guitarists. His concert will include music for classical and electric guitar by Domenico Scarlatti, Jacob ter Veldhuis, Isaac Albeniz, Jimi Hendrix and Nicolella; including music from his latest album, Shard, described in a recent issue of Frets magazine as“an exciting textbook on how to honor the classical tradition and kick it in the ass at the same time.”

Guitarist/composer Jon Diaz will play music from his debut CD, Circling From Above. He will be joined by Pietro Russino on guitar, Mazz Swift on violin and Mathias Kunzli on percussion. This quartet will be exploring the thread that connects music from America, North Africa & Asia. The quartet will debut some newer pieces as well.www.jondiaz.com

Over thirty years ago Lefty Frizell left us with a legacy of country music that inspired generations of singers and songwriters. Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison and Willie Nelson among others claim lineage to this early country and rockabilly legend. Lefty’s sound continues to be imitated today as we reinvent this legendary music on the concert stage.

The zeitgirl of instrumental guitar, Kaki King could hardly be expected to just stand still.  Lately she’s swapped her acoustic for an electric and her own voice.  Still fully capable of jaw-dropping pyrotechnics, King is self-assured and irreverent but not afraid to be vulnerable and disarmingly sweet. The New York Times said King’s earlier “percussive, super-fluid style” was “the kind of thing that makes people say ‘Wow’ as an involuntary reflex,” going on to note, “now she’s making music that more often sounds like the abstract, dreamy and hypnotic end of alternative rock.”www.kakiking.com

Dan Zane picked up the guitar when he was only eight and started listening to Lead Belly records as soon as he could snag a library card. In the 80s, he found fame with the Del Fuegos, a group dubbed the “Best New Band” by Rolling Stone in 1984. But it wasn’t until a few impromptu jam sessions with other musical fathers and their kids that he discovered his latest calling — creating music that could be enjoyed together by every member of the family.www.danzanes.com