String Things
Composer Phil Kline (of Unsilent Night fame) anticipates the University of Illinois's September 13-15 Wall to Wall Guitar Festival with a free performance today at 3:30. Kline's World on a String will transform the school's Krannert Center lobby into a ginormous meta-guitar. The festival officially kicks off next Thursday with a party featuring Toubab Krewe, Sonny Landreth with Cindy Cashdollar, the Campbell Brothers, the Yohimbe Brothers with Vernon Reid and DJ Logic, Bob Brozman, and Led Kaapana—which is to say, an eclectic assortment of afropop, blues, gospel, Asian, and Hawaiian styles. Friday night's Global Guitar event features Iraq's Rahim AlHaj, India's Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and French-Algerian Pierre Bensusan. Latin rock giants Los Lobos perform at 10 p.m., and rowdy electric blues benders the North Mississippi Allstars at midnight. Sunday's events include classical guitarists the Romeros; India-influenced blues guitarist Harry Manx; a Wood, Steel, and Beyond event featuring experimentalists Kaki King, Tony McManus, and Alex de Grassi; a rare US appearance by John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension; and an Evening Blues show with Malian guitarist Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Hot Tuna's Jorma Kaukonen, and Chicago legend Buddy Guy. And, yes, I really wish I could be there.
I'd also have liked to attend the Banff International String Quartet Competition, which wrapped up Monday night in beautiful Banff, Alberta. Australia's TinAlley String Quartet won the contest, which consisted of quartets by Haydn, Beethoven, Webern, Bartók, and a new quartet written for the competition by Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy. The good news is that you can listen to all thirty-two performances via the CBC's Concerts on Demand, which contains many other great performances from across Canada.