After a successful first year, the city of Varazdin looks to build on its guitar heritage with the second Flying Guitars Festival, which was presented on September 19, 2017 at Hotel Park in the city.
The second Flying Guitars Festival is due to be held in Varaždin from 13 to 15 October, envisioned as a top-notch guitar event to celebrate this musical instrument. Varaždin and the area have many excellent reasons to host renowned musicians and global guitar innovators, both instrument creators and musicians, starting with Varaždin native Ivan Padovec, reports RTL on September 19, 2017.
Varaždin native Padovec invented the ten-string guitar in the 19th century, and the enterprising Varazdin County Tourist Board and partners are seeking to use this as a springboard to establish the city as an international guitar centre. For an overview of last year's festival, click here. The city has a strong tradition of music and culture, with its core tourist events including Croatia's biggest street festival, Spancirfest, and Varazdin Baroque Evenings, which kick off for the 47th year this weekend.
“Visitors can expect three days of good fun, and already on the first day, Friday the 13th of October, one of the best blues guitarists Eric Gale will perform together with his band. Saturday is reserved for the American guitar music scene, while on Sunday we expect the performance of our own Nenad Resnik,” said Elizabeta Dolenec, Varaždin County Tourism Board director, adding the goal of the festival is to “promote the county and Varaždin town as the guitar capital of the world and bring here many guitar names, and in due time create a Hall of Fame.”
Friday will see the festival opening and the performance of the Eric Gales band, Saturday is reserved for the American guitar scene, and a novelty is an event in the Gallery Centre at 11h on that day – exclusive 24 hours of Bob Dylan. “Varaždin is fatefully connected with this artist, especially after his legendary 2008 concert in Varaždin. This year the intimate correspondence of Bob Dylan will be on display at the Gallery Centre, for 24 hours only,” said Ivan Mesek, director of the Varaždin Gallery Centre.
Two new ‘labels’ of this year’s festival are the Varaždin Flying Guitars Squad and Flying Guitar Forces United, with performances by Yogi Lonich, Robert Vnuk & Friends, Zack Dust and Jura Geci, The Fairpoint Station and others. “We want to bring great guitar names to Varaždin, so that one day guitar performances would be broadcast from the Varaždin National Theatre. This scene should be known in Croatia, but also beyond,” said Miroslav Ambruš-Kiš.
Programme
Friday, 13 October
FGF TAKEOFF 2017
20h Gala opening of FGF 2017
THE BAND OF GYPSYS RETURN
20:30h Eric Gales Band
Eric Gales, guitar; Nicholas Hayes, drums; Cody Wright, guitar
Saturday, 14 October
ALWAYS CHANGING
11h Exclusive 24 hours of Bob Dylan
11:10h Rolling Thunder Vojo
11:30h Hal for Hall
AMERICANA: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POND
12:15h Modern rock guitar and its place in popular American music, Yogi Lonich
13:30h Guitar, voice and banjo in country/western music, Zack Dust
19h Philadelhia Jerry Ricks / Črni Kastavec
20h Yogi Lonich, Robert Vnuk & Friends / A Tribute to Chris Cornell
21:30h Zack Dust and Jura Geci / Remembering Voodoo Lizards
Sunday, 15 October
VARAŽDIN FLYING GUITARS SQUAD
13h Blues/jazz guitar and its context in modern music, Nenad Resnik
14:30h Classical guitar, Ninoslav Plantak
18h Guitars
19h The Farpoint Station
Nenad Resnik, guitar; Neven Resnik, piano; Boris Beštak, drums; Ferdinand Buhanec, bass
FLYING GUITAR FORCES UNITED
20h Ratko Zjaca & ZZ Quarter
Ratko Zjaca, guitar; Simone Zanchini, accordion; Klemens Markh, drums; Martin Gjakonovski, bass
21h United Flying Guitar Forces
