Jon Gomm, Pino Forastiere, Thomas Leeb, Chris Woods. This sounds great! I think we should go! https://jongomm.com/bootcamp?srsltid=AfmBOoqnp4d0XjJROBtFIVGc73CviBgzc6tXI4826ulJNUrp-trt1IYG … [Read more...] about Jon Gomm Acoustic Guitar Bootcamp, August 26-30, 2026, The Asha Centre, Forest Of Dean, Gloucestershire, UK
Leo Kottke and Julian Lage Concert, August 20, 2026, Brookfield, WI
Leo Kottke and Julian Lage will share the stage in a rare joint concert at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, Wisconsin, on August 20, 2026. Kottke brings a deeply personal musical language shaped by decades of exploration; Lage brings an open-ended musical curiosity and an … [Read more...] about Leo Kottke and Julian Lage Concert, August 20, 2026, Brookfield, WI
The Music of Leo Kottke Workshops at Interlochen, July 27–31, 2026
John Stropes will join the Interlochen Acoustic Guitar Retreat, July 27–31, 2026, to present two workshops devoted to the music of Leo Kottke. The sessions will explore “The Last of the Arkansas Greyhounds” and “Cripple Creek,” drawing on the research and transcriptions developed for Leo Kottke/6- … [Read more...] about The Music of Leo Kottke Workshops at Interlochen, July 27–31, 2026
The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast 535: John Stropes
A long-form conversation with Jason Verlinde is now available. We talk about Leo Kottke/6- and 12-String Guitar: A Companion—how it came to be, why we approached the 1969 album as an important cultural document, and what it takes to preserve music with real fidelity (not just the notes, but the … [Read more...] about The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast 535: John Stropes
“Because It’s There,” harp guitars, The Shape of the Land, 植村直己物語, 冰峰物语, and Lost in the Wilderness
Michael Hedges’ composition “Because It’s There,” first released on the recording The Shape of the Land in 1986, was a milestone in guitar literature — a major event. The harp guitar was fashionable in the US in the early 1900s, but it was rarely used in virtuosic music. While its photogenic … [Read more...] about “Because It’s There,” harp guitars, The Shape of the Land, 植村直己物語, 冰峰物语, and Lost in the Wilderness
Joseph Spence
by John Stropes and Justin Segel Joseph Spence is an artistic paradox. His music is powerful, captivating, and unique, yet he has never composed a song. He lives in the Bahamas, but describing him as a “Bahamian guitarist” is both inadequate and misleading. Spence has drawn upon the Bahamian … [Read more...] about Joseph Spence
Titles/Tunings Database — Phase 2
In the 1970s, it seemed like if you knew about dropped D tuning, open G and open D, and maybe even open C and DADGAD, you had alternate tunings covered. Today, with the great profusion of alternate tunings and the great music that has sprung from them, they have become a mainstay of contemporary … [Read more...] about Titles/Tunings Database — Phase 2
“Some additional thoughts …” on “Aerial Boundaries,” “Hot Type,” “Rickover’s Dream,” and “Ragamuffin” — now available online.
This series of essays — written in 1995 and 1996, following the publication of the first extensively-edited transcriptions of compositions by Michael Hedges — provides further background information and analysis of these groundbreaking compositions. “Imagine This!”Some additional thoughts on … [Read more...] about “Some additional thoughts …” on “Aerial Boundaries,” “Hot Type,” “Rickover’s Dream,” and “Ragamuffin” — now available online.