2_1_ScanMag_79_August_2015_Text.qxp_Scan Magazine 1 06/08/2015 15:17 Page 26
Scan Magazine | Event of the Month | Uppsala International Guitar Festival
Crowd at 2014 festival’s Jennifer Batten performance. Photo: Henry DIltz
Event of the Month, Sweden
Uppsala International Guitar Festival: a phenomenal musical delight There are few instruments as widely used as the guitar. Across genres, levels of training and ambition, the guitar is something most people come into contact with, whether it is from being part of an enthusiastic audience, a happy amateur practitioner or a professional musician. Here to celebrate the instrument in all its glory is the annual Uppsala International Guitar Festival.
solutely nothing. Behind the success are people whose love for the instrument shines through in every single thing they do, something that does not go unnoticed as people start to flock and gear up for one of the top musical events of the year.
By Astrid Eriksson | Photos: Press images
Uppsala International Guitar Festival is one of the biggest of its kind, and the likes of which are unprecedented in the Nordic countries. “We are thrilled to be able to welcome people to one of the greatest celebrations of guitar music in the world,” says the passionate founder and executive director of Uppsala International Guitar Festival, Klaus Pontvik. “We started in 2003 as a meeting place where people were allowed to share their knowledge
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and passion amongst the likeminded and today we are the hosts of an event that world famous artists are lining up to be associated with.” The reviews from previous years speak for themselves as they read like never ending streams of impressed and bewitched voices pouring with utter delight and amazement. Uppsala International Guitar Festival leaves you wanting for ab-
As the 12th International Guitar Festival is getting ready to open its doors in the lovely town of Uppsala, we take a closer look at some of the line-up’s highlights. They are indeed making us count the days until 7 October. A tribute to two Swedish music legends Musicians Monica Zetterlund and Jan Johansson are celebrated at the festival’s grand opening on 7 October. In a unique cooperation, Uppsala International Guitar