Cheltenham Guitar Festival

The International Guitar Foundation is moving its world-famous festival to Cheltenham this summer, providing two weeks of performances from acclaimed musicians and a host of workshops.

If you know your Stratocaster from your C.F acoustic, you will no doubt be one of the UK’s many music fans heading for the very first Cheltenham Guitar Festival – the renowned International Guitar Foundation’s two week festival and summer school.

Hosted at the University of Gloucestershire’s Park Campus in Cheltenham, the hotly anticipated event promises to offer musicians a fortnight of guitar-themed entertainment from Saturday 24 July to Friday 6 August 2010.

The festival, which has been based in Bath for the past 17 years, is set to feature performances from a wide range of acclaimed guitarists, covering all genres from rock and blues to classical and jazz.

Early highlights will include live sets from Grammy-winning classical guitarists David Russell and Scott Tennant, as well as finger-picking legend Tommy Emmanuel and Jamiroquai’s Rob Harris.

And despite its name, Dave Mackintosh of Dragonforce fame and Troy Miller, who regularly plays for Amy Winehouse, will both be showing off their skills on the drums.

While the full fortnight’s programme is still to be confirmed, early announcements suggest that the Cheltenham Guitar Festival is set to be an essential event for music lovers and apprising musicians from across the UK – including a performance by the acclaimed Tommy Emmanuel and adding to the town’s already impressive calendar of festivals.