THE MISBEHAVING GUITAR

The New York Guitar Festival Brings A World Of Music To Bryant Park, August 14 and 15, 2026

On August 14 and 15, the New York Guitar Festival returns to Bryant Park with two free events that will be typically eclectic, occasionally electric, and always electrifying.  From classical guitar favorites to Brazilian popular music, from punk-jazz to folk-based improvisations, the 27th annual NYGF will turn the Bryant Park stage into a showcase for the range of the instrument and the creativity of the people who play it.  

The festivities begin on Friday evening, August 14, with “A Carnival Of Classical Guitar.”  Star guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre will play some of the core pieces of the classical guitar repertoire, but the concert will expand to include Argentine tango from the duo Ziggy & Miles, and the Balkan-South Asian-Latin fusion of Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque.  Of course, no carnival is complete without a trip to Brazil, so Gabriele Leite will play a set of Brazilian favorites.

Saturday evening, August 15, brings “The Misbehaving Guitar,” a concert that features musicians who color outside the lines.  It promises to be a wild ride with The Messthetics offering their fusion of guitarist Anthony Pirog’s avant-jazz with the rhythm section of the punk band Fugazi; Pierre Bensusan playing open-tuning explorations of Celtic, North African, jazz, and electronics; and Gyan Riley’s cosmic mix of psychedelia, minimalism, and contemporary classical music. 

Since it began in 1999, the NYGF has presented guitarists from every inhabited continent and in a huge range of styles.  The festival certainly hasn’t ignored the legends of rock (like Andy Summers of The Police), classical music (Sharon Isbin), and jazz (Bill Frisell), but NYGF shows also feature up-and-coming stars, thematic shows, tribute concerts, as well as guitar-adjacent instruments like the Arab oud, the Chinese pipa, and the Indian sarod. 

The New York Guitar Festival was founded by David Spelman, and the concerts are hosted by WNYC’s John Schaefer, and recorded for future broadcast on WNYC’s “New Sounds.”

BIOS:

The Messthetics are a trio – that much is clear.  Everything else is up for debate.  Guitarist Anthony Pirog has played avant-rock, ambient, and freely improvised music, often in his own projects and in his duo Janel & Anthony.  Bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty were the rhythm section of the famed punk band Fugazi.  When the three of them get together, you can expect to hear all of the above, or none of the above.  

Pierre Bensusan is an Algerian-born French guitarist who first came to attention 40 years ago with his own interpretations of Celtic music, with occasional forays into North African and other forms of global music.  He’s since added improvisation, vocalise, and electronic effects to create his own sonic world.  But he still plays guitar exclusively in the open tuning system known as DADGAD.

Gyan Riley and David Cossin play guitar and drums, respectively.  Riley is the son of the groundbreaking minimalist composer Terry Riley, and began as the guitarist in his father’s All-Star Band.  Gyan plays all the guitars - electric, classical, and bass– with chamber music elegance and brilliant virtuosity.  David Cossin is the longtime drummer of the Bang On A Can All-Stars, making this an all-star All-Star lineup.