Lulo Reinhardt, Luca Stricagnoli, Thu Le and Jim “Kimo” West are featured in the Friday, January 28 performance
Four guitar virtuosos from around the world take the stage at the Massey Theatre.
International Guitar Night returns to New Westminster on Friday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The annual touring show marks its return after a COVID-19-related hiatus in 2021. This year’s show features a new lineup of world-class international guitarists.
Local audiences can enjoy acoustic rock sensation Luca Stricagnoli from Italy, progressive classical guitarist Thu Le from Vietnam, slack master Jim Kimo West from Hawaii and Latin swing pioneer Lulo Reinhardt from Germany.
“For 22 years, we’ve slowly built a loyal and ever-growing following for International Guitar Night (IGN),” founder Brian Gore said in a press release. “Each tour offers a captivating view of the burgeoning acoustic guitar renaissance. Sales and callback requests are the norm for IGN, and each tour is its own unique musical experience. Every year is the best year yet, and this year is even better!
Stricagnoli, touring for the third time with IGN, may already be well known to local audiences. He has a huge following online, with over 200 million views of his music videos featuring his unique style of rearranging rock classics for acoustic guitar, playing instruments he invented himself, including the ” reverse triple neck” and the “reverse sliding neck”.
Le, who was the youngest student ever admitted to the prestigious Hanoi National Conservatory of Music, made her IGN debut on this tour. She has performed worldwide as a soloist and in collaboration with orchestras and string quartets and in duos with violinists and flautists.
West is one of the world’s greatest players of the iconic Hawaiian guitar style, “ki ho’alu” or “loose fingerboard guitar”. West wins a 2021 Grammy for his CD More Guitar Stories and nominated for the 2019 Grammy Awards for his album Moku Maluhia. This is his second participation in the IGN circuit.
Reinhardt is the great-nephew of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt. He carried on the family tradition while incorporating new Latin rhythms in a style he calls “Latin swing”. He’s appeared with four previous IGN lineups and is also hosting this year’s edition.
The popular show always sells out, so tickets ($35 to $45) must be purchased in advance.
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, jmaclellan@newwestrecord.ca.
