Department of Music Partners With International Guitar Festival in Arkansas

The University of Arkansas Department of Music has partnered with Fretmonkey Records and Candyrat Records to host the first-ever Fingerstyle Collective Guitar Festival, Sept. 13-18. The festival will be held at Camp Mitchell on Petit Jean Mountain in Morrilton, Arkansas. 

The event includes three days of concerts from acclaimed artists from all over the world, a guitar instruction camp with masterclasses and workshops, and an international guitar competition. Additional sessions will be hosted by major music industry executives and music business professionals.

The Department of Music is a co-sponsor of the festival and will be offering a guitar scholarship to the winner of the international guitar competition, for future study in the UA Guitar Performance Program. Additionally, several UA music students will participate in festival internships to gain experience in festival production.

"It's a thrilling opportunity to be a part with this amazing festival," says UA Senior Instructor of Guitar Jake Hertzog, who will also be an adjudicator at the guitar competition. "It's an incredible event for all of Arkansas, to host so many renowned guitarists, students, and fans. We are so excited to be able to showcase our program at the festival and offer the contest winner an opportunity to study at the University of Arkansas.

The artist line-up and workshops include:

Don Ross, Kaki King, Antoine Dufour, Alexandr Misko, Muriel Anderson, Trace Bundy, Alexander "Sasha" Boldachev, Van Larkins, Kevin Blake Goodwin, Spencer Elliott, Adrian Bellue, Christie Lenée, Travis Bowman, Peter Ciluzzi, Daniel Voth, RD King, Daniel Champagne, Jake Hertzog Trio, Javier Sepulveda, Donovan Raitt, Sandro Norton, Joseph Lyle, Anthony Troy, Ryan Ayers, and more.

All ages and levels of interests are welcome to register for all events! Registration gives you access to all three events—live music festival, international guitar competition, and masterclass series. Want to attend the live music events and not the camp? A 3-day music festival pass can be purchased separately for $50. All musicians wanting to compete in the guitar competition must complete a separate competition submission form. Food vendors are on-site, and meal service plans and great nightly lodging options at Camp Mitchell are available to the public starting at $35 USD pp per night. Don't want to stay on the campgrounds? We've made arrangements with local hotels for discounted rates.