Premier Guitar Presents 30th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival

Press release
Source: Endicott & Company Public Relations

The 30th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival, the world’s largest and longest-running festival of its kind will be held April 20, 21 and 22, 2007, at Dallas Market Hall (2200 Stemmons Freeway, www.guitarshow.com ).  This truly global event blends musicians, fans, collectors, and celebrities together into one remarkable extravaganza.

Presented by Premier Guitar, this year’s show will feature the never-before-seen Holy Grail Guitar Exhibition sponsored by PRS Guitars. This exclusive and historic production will serve as the “icing on the cake” for the Dallas show’s 30th Anniversary celebration.  This year’s keynote speaker will be Smithsonian guitar historian, award-winning author, Rolling Stone writer, and former editor-in-chief of Guitar Player Tom Wheeler. The festival will be photographed by Chief Photographer of Washingtonian Magazine Matthew Worden, and commemorated for a new hard bound book, featuring photographs of the multitude of collectable guitars and commemorating the historic Holy Grail Guitar Exhibit.

World renowned guitarist and creator of PRS Guitars, Paul Reed Smith says, "This could quite possibly be the best assemblage of vintage instruments, vintage amplifiers and the associated historical archives of the vintage musical instrument business.  When you consider that the first electric guitar ever made by Lloyd Loar, the first amp ever built by Marshall, the “Blackie” Clapton Strat, the first Tune-A-Matic bridge built, many of the original early electric guitar patents...the list goes on and on... will be in one room on display at one time only once in our lifetime, this event takes on historical significance.  If you enjoy the electric guitar, the acoustic guitar, amplifiers, the history of the vintage guitar world or any of the music that comes from these instruments, this Holy Grail exhibit at the 30th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival should not be missed."

A museum-quality offering, the historic Holy Grail Guitar Exhibition will star, Eric Clapton’s coveted “Blackie,” a custom Fender Stratocaster, designed by Clapton, with a 1956 Black alder-body and 1957 neck, auctioned by Christie’s in 2004 and purchased by Guitar Center for $959,500, making it the most expensive guitar of its kind in the world to ever be auctioned thus far. It will be shown along with his 1956 Fender Stratocaster “Brownie,” also courtesy of Guitar Center, and his venerable 1964 Gibson ES 335 that he played extensively with Cream.  Other notable attractions will include guitars owned by Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana, Leo Fender’s original designs, as well as, the first Marshall amplifiers ever produced.

This special 30th Anniversary year will feature the most comprehensive dream collection of rare and historic guitars, instruments, equipment, and associated memorabilia ever assembled under one roof.  The number of booths, exhibitions, and clinics will top a whopping 800 this year. 

The event, co-founded by Jimmy Wallace and Mark Pollock, convincingly earns its name as a true festival by providing no less than five live music stages that will feature simultaneous performances by artists such as Dallas’ Andy Timmons, Austin’s Junior Brown, Paul Reed Smith, Phil Keaggy, George Lynch (Dokken and Lynch Mob), Rick Derringer (Johnny Winter, Steely Dan), Johnny A, and Joe Bonomassa.

The 30th Year Anniversary show hours are:

Friday, April 20-2:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. with live music on the Beverage Concept’s Jimi Hendrix The Liquid Experience Stage until 11:00 p.m. which will officially launch the new beverage line, The Liquid Experiences’ debut

Saturday, April 21-10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., followed by an All Star Jam on the MusicFest Indoor Stage

Sunday, April 22-10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A one-day ticket for Guitar Festival and MusicFest is $20 for adults with free admission for children 10 years and under. Two-day passes are available for $35, and three-day passes are $45.  Three-day passes include admission to the All Star Jam, held Saturday night on the MusicFest stage at 7:00 p.m. All tickets are available at the door. Discount tickets can be purchased at Guitar Center locations.

Visitors are welcome to participate in the buying, selling, and trading of instruments, equipment and memorabilia in a virtual sea of guitars, basses, amps, banjos, mandolins, accessories, keyboards, drums, and much more.  Each day’s browsing may also provide the opportunity to rub elbows with guitar legends and the legends of tomorrow.

More than 18,000 people attended last year’s event at Dallas Market Hall, with more than $3 million of instruments and memorabilia trading hands, and this year’s 30th Anniversary Dallas International Guitar Festival is geared-up to be a record-breaking show.  The Dallas Market Hall, at 2200 Stemmons Freeway, provides ample free parking. For more information, call the Dallas International Guitar Festival 24-hour hotline, Metro 972-260-4201, or visit their website at www.guitarshow.com

The 30th Anniversary Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival is presented by Premier Guitar magazine and sponsored by Guitar Center, Gibson Guitars, PRS Guitars, Fender, Transpecos Guitars, Jimmy Wallace Guitars, and Beverage Concepts, LLC, makers of the new beverage line that carries the image of Jimi Hendrix called The Liquid Experience.

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