Goolwa, Mount Compass, Strathalbyn and Kangaroo Island will all be included in the On the Road program for next year’s Adelaide Guitar Festival.

This year’s festival was cancelled due to COVID-19 but has been rescheduled for 2021 and will now be an annual event rather than every two years.

It will present an exciting line-up of ticketed shows at Adelaide Festival Centre venues during its official dates of July 4 to 25.

From February onwards, the On The Road program will see regional and community-based events delivered across South Australia.  

The program will reach audiences in Lobethal, Kangaroo Island, Mount Compass, Goolwa, Yorke Peninsula, Strathalbyn, Auburn, Mintaro, Riverton, Port Augusta and Eyre Peninsula – making Adelaide Guitar Festival the state’s most widespread curated music festival.

Adelaide Guitar Festival Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan says: “I'm so overjoyed that after years of expanding our programs, including increasing activity in our years between official Adelaide Guitar Festival dates, we have reached the point where we can program this jewel of a festival annually! 

“With our winter schools, competitions, community events, regional performances and of course our flagship performances back at the Festival Centre, 2021 will mark a new era in our continued celebration of this beloved instrument. 

“We are all absolutely ecstatic that we can build on inspiring and connecting with so many people across SA on an annual basis.”

Adelaide Guitar Festival’s popular music and well-being program Resonance, educational workshops, activations and community concerts will also travel to regional communities, reaching audiences with limited access to live music experiences.

The festival previously presented a full program every two years, with the first held in 2007 and has since grown to be the most significant guitar festival in the Southern Hemisphere.

Adelaide Guitar Festival Winter School will return, bringing together some of Australia’s finest guitar players to present an intensive program of tuition across two separate streams of blues & roots and classical genres for all ages and skill levels.

Expressions of interest are now open for the celebrated Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition for 2021, with more information available online. 

First prize is $10,000 along with a handcrafted guitar by South Australian Master Luthier Jim Redgate, valued at $23,000, and an invitation to perform at the next Adelaide Guitar Festival.

The full program for Adelaide Guitar Festival 2021 will be launched next year. For more information and to register for email updates, visit the website.