2012 Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop & Festival August 26 – September 2

The Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop & Festival at luxurious Flathead Lake Lodgein Bigfork MT is a rare opportunity to take intimate guitar workshops in a glorious natural setting with eight world-renowned and Grammy-winning Artists In Residence (AIRs): Sonny Landreth, Lee Ritenour, Patty Larkin, Julian Lage, Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, Dennis Koster and Melvin Davis. Top guitar instructors from the National Guitar Workshop fill out the faculty: Jody Fisher, jazz; Andrew Leonard, classical; Matt Smith, blues; and Doug Smith, acoustic.

Workshops are offered in bass plus seven guitar genres: jazz, rock, blues, classical, singer/songwriter, acoustic and beginner. Students develop their performance skills in constant jam sessions with the teachers plus additional master musicians like Academy-award-winning pianist Dave Grusin; Chaka Kahn bassist Melvin Davis, standup bassist Jorge Roeder (Zakir Hussein,  Medeski, Martin and Wood and Gary Burton); drummer Sonny Emory of Earth, Wind and Fire; and percussionist Tupac Mantilla.  Both students and public can attend the nightly Crown of the Continent Festival–five evenings of public performances by the Artists in Residence, plus the World Finals of the Lee Ritenour/Yamaha International Six String Theory Guitar Competition.

Workshop registration is limited to keep classes small, and closes July 27. Festival tickets go on sale June 17, in select Flathead Valley outlets and through Tix.comTo register, or for more details, please visit www.cocguitarfoundation.org or call 406-407-5962.

2012 Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop: The Artists in Residence

Sonny Landreth –pioneering Louisiana bluesman who has released 11 albums, plays frequently with Eric Clapton and performs annually at the Crossroads Festivals. Has recorded or toured with Jimmy Buffett, John Hiatt, Mark Knopfler and Bonnie Raitt.

Lee Ritenour –Grammy-winning rock/jazz/blues guitarist has recorded over 40 albums, including 35 chart hits. Ritenour will host the World Finals of the Lee Ritenour/Yamaha Six String Theory International Guitar Competition, featuring six finalists vying for the Grand Prize.

Julian Lage–protégé of vibraphonist Gary Burton; hailed as a “giant in the making” by All About Jazz..

Dennis Koster—classical/flamenco guitar master whose Carnegie Hall debut was praised by The New York Times as a “brilliant, aptly, fantastic performance.” Author of the best-selling “Keys to Flamenco Guitar.”

Patty Larkin–this “guitar-driven songwriter” fills the singer/songwriter slot.  Rolling Stone praises her “evocative, subtle sonic shading.”

Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen— Hillman spent years with such influential bands as The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, before forming Manassas with Stephen Stills. Pedersen is a legendary vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who fronted The Laurel Canyon Ramblers for 40 years and has collaborated with Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, The Dillards, and Dan Fogelberg.