Steve Morse and 6,346 Guitar Players Take to the Streets in Poland

by Staff.

It wasn't a May Day uprising but an up-raising of every type of acoustic and electric guitar imaginable after Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse led a guitar-wielding crowd of 6,346 through "Hey Joe" and "Smoke On The Water" in the historic center of Wroclaw, Poland, on May 1, 2009, at what organizers call the Thanks Jimi Festival. "At the end of the song, they all held up their guitars, mostly acoustic, and it looked like we were in a forest. Nothing but guitars for as far as you could see," writes Steve Morse in his blog describing the city's attempt at an entry in the Guiness Book of World Records for Largest Guitar Ensemble.

Founded and directed by well-known Polish musician and educator Leszek Cichoński in 2003, this gathering of guitarists has become an annual event for the city of Wroclaw, which has been dubbed Wroclaw Guitar City. It also receives the support of the city's mayor Rafał Dutkiewicz who has played at each year's festivities.

While Wroclaw serves as the May 1 epicenter, guitar players from around the world took part online and in coordinated events in Sweden, the United States, Canada and Australia (though they do not count towards the record). One of the objectives of the organizers is to establish May 1 as World Guitar Day and more coordinated simultaneous events are planed for next year and beyond.

Though the festival more than tripled 2008's event participation of 1,951 guitarists, stiff competition is on the horizon as Germany will attempt to beat Wroclaw's record on May 10 in Mainz.

Related Links
Leszek Cichoński's Thanks Jimi Festival webpage
Thanks Jimi Festival on MySpace
Steve Morse's tour blog

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