SHEARER'S MASTERY | WORLD GUITAR CONGRESS | YOUR SONG MAY ALREADY BE A WINNER | TEN YEARS OF ACOUSTIC CAFÉ RADIO | ACOUSTIC OSCARS | MEET A.G.

"Mitch and Mickey" in A Mighty Wind.
See Acoustic Oscars.

Shearer's Mastery

RETURN TO TOP

Delve into the life and work of classical guitar teacher and author Aaron Shearer, renowned mentor to Manuel Barrueco and others, through the new DVD, Aaron Shearer: A Life with the Guitar. An hour-long documentary filmed at Barrueco's 2003 summer guitar master class, the film captures Shearer's reminiscences; testimonial appearances by David Starobin, Julian Grey, Ray Chester, Franco Platino, and David Tanenbaum ("No one has created anywhere near the kind of players that Shearer has"); and Barrueco performances of music by Scarlatti, Nazareth, and Rodrigo. The DVD is available through Michael Lawrence films at www.mlfilms.com.

World Guitar Congress

RETURN TO TOP

Ralph Towner, David Russell, Tony Rice, Albert Lee, Sharon Isbin, John Scofield, Dick Dale, and Pat Martino are just a few of the more than 40 guitarists scheduled to participate in the First World Guitar Congress, June 2—9, at Towson University and Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland. With Mrs. Andrés Segovia as honorary president and Les Paul as honorary chairman, the weeklong event will include classical and flamenco master classes; clinics in jazz, rock, blues, and other styles; and a half-dozen concerts featuring Benjamin Verdery, Eric Johnson, Dus¹an Bogdanovic´, John Hammond, Tuck and Patti, Derek Trucks, Robert Lockwood Jr., Jim Hall, and others. The complete schedule and registration information are available at www.towson.edu/worldmusiccongresses/guitar.html.

Your Song May Already Be a Winner

RETURN TO TOP

With the notes settling from the 2003 USA Songwriting Competition, and the victors—including overall grand prize winner Gabriel Mann of Los Angeles, California; Winnipeg, Canada's James Keelaghan; and Nashville, Tennessee's Jenn Adams—performing in March at SXSW in Austin, Texas, and May 12 at the Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennessee, it's time to put together your entries for the 2004 contest. Winning songs in 15 different categories will garner airplay on the nationally syndicated radio program Acoustic Café and XM satellite radio and be eligible for the grand prize of more than $50,000 in cash, merchandise, and exposure. The deadline is May 28. Go to www.songwriting.net for more information.

The deadline for entries in the Windrift Music Songwriting Competition 2004 is May 31, with more than $70,000 worth of prizes—including a publishing deal and a full recording and mastering system—at stake. The $20-per-song entry fee makes you eligible for a variety of early-bird and multiple-entry prizes and bonuses. Details and online entry forms are available at www.windriftmusic.com.

Ten Years of Acoustic Café Radio

RETURN TO TOP

Ani DiFranco, Rufus Wainwright, the Holmes Brothers, the Indigo Girls, and Bernie Leadon (Eagles, Flying Burrito Brothers) are among the special guests featured during Acoustic Café's tenth anniversary programming throughout 2004. Launched in 1994, the independently produced and syndicated acoustic music radio show is now heard on 65 affiliates throughout the US and the world. Having run nearly 500 shows (without repeats), Acoustic Café has assembled an impressive archive of more than 450 hours of interviews and performances (Richard Thompson, the Flatlanders, Dar Williams, Warren Zevon, Beck, Pat Metheny, Buddy and Julie Miller, the Be Good Tanyas, and many more) that can be accessed at www.acafe.com, where you'll also find a list of the stations that carry the weekly two-hour show.

Acoustic Oscars

RETURN TO TOP

Although Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's domination of the 76th Academy Awards ceremony on February 29 extended to even the Best Original Song award, acoustic music (and odd acoustic instruments) dominated the evening's performances of the Best Song nominees. Alison Krauss kicked off the live music with two songs from Cold Mountain, which is full of old-time and new old-time music. On "You Will Be My Ain True Love," Sting, the song's composer, sang background vocals to Krauss and cranked a hurdy-gurdy. Co-writers T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello, who played his Gibson Style O, accompanied Krauss on their song "Scarlet Tide." Mitch and Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara) strummed guitar and Autoharp as they sang the sweetly folky "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," written by their A Mighty Wind costar Michael McKean and his wife, Annette O'Toole (and yes, Mitch and Mickey did kiss). The energetic rendition of "Belleville Rendezvous" from The Triplets of Belleville was a welcome change from the usually staid Oscar performances, with Gypsy jazz guitar flourishes, sultry and swinging vocals, and musicians playing acoustic bicycle and an admittedly electric vacuum cleaner.

—Nicole Solis

RETURN TO TOP

Click here to meet the Acoustic Guitar team at a wide variety upcoming music events and trade shows. Listed below are some things happening in the next few weeks.