“Ring the Golden Bells: Celebrating 101 Years of Sister Rosetta Tharpe” kicks off New York Guitar Festival on May 8
Who: Luther Dickinson, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dom Flemons, Ruthie Foster, Como Mamas, John Medeski, AJ Ghent, Nels Cline and Julian Lage, Dave Douglas with Camila Meza, Min Xiao-Fen, Alberta Khoury, Vernon Reid & Laraaji, Kid Millions, many more
What: New York Guitar Festival, including the Alternative Guitar Summit
Where: Brookfield Winter Garden, National Sawdust, DROM, the Greene Space, the Met Cloisters, the New School
When: May 8 – 15, free – $25
Why: An annual celebration since 1999 of the six-string and many of its manifestations and possibilities, the New York Guitar Festival begins May 8 at 8:30 at the Brookfield Place Winter Garden with “Ring the Golden Bells,” a tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, with Luther Dickinson, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Valerie June, Dom Flemons, Ruthie Foster, Rachael Davis, Trixie Whitley, Como Mamas, John Medeski, Daru Jones, Dominic John Davis, and AJ Ghent. On May 9 at 7:00, “Beauty and Noise” at National Sawdust brings together David Torn, Dither Guitar Duo, Elliot Sharp, Anthony Pirog, Ben Monder, Mike Baggetta, Dither Guitar Duo, and Patrick Higgins. On May 11 at 7:30 at DROM, “While We’re Still Here: Honoring Joni Mitchell + Carla Bley” features Nels Cline and Julian Lage, Dave Douglas with Camila Meza, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Sheryl Bailey, Leni Stern, Joel Harrison, Monder, and Baggetta. Rez Abbasi, Derek Gripper, Kaki King, and Glenn Jones will perform on May 12 at 7:00 at the Greene Space. The Met Cloisters will host an immersive guitar marathon on May 14 with more than a dozen performers at different locations, including Min Xiao-Fen in Early Gothic Hall, Alberta Khoury in Langon Chapel, Colin Davin in Fuentidueña Chapel, Dylan Carlson in Pontaut Chapter House, and Vernon Reid & Laraaji in Trie Cloister Café. And on May 15, the NYGF Academy at the New School comprises seven panel discussions and conversations, from “Contemporary Improvisation and the Electric Guitar” and “A Conversation with Kid Millions, Don Bikoff + Jeff Conklin” to “Nigel North: The French Lute of the 17th-Century” and “Saul Koll in Conversation with Ed Keller.”