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The Montreal Guitar Show
and the Healdsburg Guitar Festival
team up to promote guitars and lutherie

Montreal, Wednesday, November 9, 2011 — Organizers of the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in California and of the Montreal Guitar Show are pleased to announce their alliance, combining their forces to better promote the guitar, the craft/art of lutherie, and the exceptional creative talents of the people behind it. As a result, the two events will henceforth be held alternately: as of 2012, the Montreal Guitar Show will be held every second year in Montreal, alternating with the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in Santa Rosa, California, which will be held in odd-numbered years.

The idea of presenting the two events in alternating years was conceived to allow luthiers to better present their products in successive turns rather than divide them between the two events. This association will be a major asset for the luthier milieu, opening up new horizons for the artists and craftsmen involved and encouraging exchanges and networking between the many diverse players in lutherie worldwide. Moving forward, each of the shows will promote the other event, increasing their impact and value.

The Healdsburg Guitar Festival (held in Santa Rosa, California) and the Montreal Guitar Show are the two most renowned and prestigious hand-made guitar shows in the world. They offer luthiers and musicians, both amateur and professional, the opportunity to meet, exchange thoughts and feelings on their art, and build professional links. Guitar enthusiasts meet to admire, try out and purchase the world’s most beautiful guitars, all of them hand-made by expert luthiers. A wide variety of instruments are available: acoustic, classical, archtop, gypsy and electric. Present also are vendors of a wide variety of guitar accessories plus concerts and workshops by some of the world’s most respected and sought after guitarists and instructors.

The 6th edition of the Montreal Guitar Show, presented as part of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, will be held in Montreal from June 29 to July 1, 2012. The 7th will be held from June 27 to 29, 2014. The next Healdsburg Guitar Festival is slated for mid-August of 2013 at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek hotel in Santa Rosa, Ca (firm dates have not yet been determined).

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

This is great news for me!! This year was just too hectic with three different shows AND the ASIA symposium.

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jw ( o)===:::

I agree Joe, I think its great news for most folks! Trying to finance two week long trips in one summer, let alone 6 weeks apart is hard.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

It is probably good news for the luthiers who make the shows, but not for the customers/visitors/etc...
The results are basically that people here, in Montreal, will see the guitars only every 2 years.

''To promote the guitar''
We don't have to promote the guitar for the luthiers, I think they already love and know it.
We have to promote it to the clientele, the local dealers, the visitors, the beginner luthiers that don't make the shows, etc...

So, I'm sorry, maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but that's not good news for me.

Francis

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Francis,
The Montreal and Healdsburg shows are indeed shows that "showcase" the independent luthier/guitarmaker.
The are a vehicle for guitarmakers to show that there is a very viable choice to the bog box stores and mega guitar companies.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I understand your point Francis. It's going to be a challenge for the organisers of the MGS to make sure the visitors will know that the show is now held every two years, otherwise some might think it's dead.

I beleive that the MGS was loosing some high shot luthiers every year that the Healdsburg festival was held, since they had to choose between them and Montreal. I know for sure that some of the visitors I saw there (I was exibiting this year) did tell me that they had the impression that the show was going downhill, with more and more newcomers instead of world renound luthiers. Maybe the MGS directions got a feel of that and decided to make the move they made in order to bring back to big shots to the MGS. No one from the MGS told me that, but I just have a feeling that is what lies behind the decision.

Nonetheless, the advantage for visitors here in Montreal is that they should see more renound luthiers, albeit once every two years.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

I understand the benefit for those trying to juggle doing the shows. However, it's seems that it would be better "promotion" to the public and for luthiery to have them both every year since they are on opposite ends of the continent and as a result likely serve nearly totally different audiences. Kinda like saying that because Montreal has the Jazz Festival, there shouldn't be a jazz festival in CA or Atlanta in the same year. (I get that there are differences, but ....) Overall seems like more of a loss than a benefit. Also, what's wrong with developing more regional markets for more regional makers?

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Chuck Kish