{"id":23793,"date":"2025-04-02T13:43:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T12:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=23793"},"modified":"2025-04-02T13:44:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T12:44:00","slug":"get-ready-to-rock-ards-international-guitar-festival-is-almost-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2025\/04\/get-ready-to-rock-ards-international-guitar-festival-is-almost-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Ready to Rock: Ards International Guitar Festival is Almost Here!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ards International Guitar Festival rocks into Newtownards next week, bringing an exciting lineup that showcases both local and international guitar talent. From classical to rock, the diverse programme offers something for every music lover. Presented by Ards and North Down Borough Council, the festival runs from Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 April.<\/h4>\n

\"\"Highlights of this year\u2019s programme include viral guitar sensation Luca Stricagnoli<\/strong>, widely regarded as one of the most unique guitarists in the world. With nearly 30 years of music-making and global touring, Luca\u2019s innovative style has redefined guitar playing. His groundbreaking inventions, such as the Reversed Triple Neck Guitar and the Reversed Slide Neck, have pushed the boundaries of modern acoustic guitar. Luca will take the stage at The Queen\u2019s Hall, Newtownards, on Friday April 11, with support from John Tracey<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Renowned guitarist Gary Lucas<\/strong>, praised by Rolling Stone<\/em> as “one of the best and most original guitarists in America,” will be performing at Ards Arts Centre on Friday 11 April. With a career that includes collaborations with legends like Lou Reed, Captain Beefheart and Jeff Buckley, Gary is known for his genre-defying performances on both acoustic and electric guitar. He will be joined by Irish singer Ellen Lyons<\/strong> to perform some of his most iconic works, including songs by Jeff Buckley and more.<\/p>\n

Classical fans won\u2019t want to miss the Eire Guitar Duo<\/em>,<\/strong> a dynamic classical duo dedicated to expanding the classical guitar duo repertoire. Oscar Montague<\/strong> and Santiago Kodela<\/strong> will be performing at Ards Arts Centre on Saturday 12 April with support from the Classical Guitar Society of Northern Ireland.<\/em><\/p>\n

With performances from The Rob Strong Band, Gary Lutton, Megan O\u2019Neill, Amanda Agnew<\/strong>, Gr\u00e1inne Hunt, Emma Langford,<\/strong> Craig Ogden <\/strong>and more, guitar fans are in for a treat with this year\u2019s impressive line-up!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking about the festival, Ards Guitar Festival Director, Emily Crawford commented:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s festival is a superb line-up showcasing the best of local, national and international guitar talent in intimate venues in Newtownards. From blues and rock to classical and contemporary there\u2019s something for everyone; I\u2019d encourage everyone to grab a ticket while you can and enjoy the best of live guitar music!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For ticket details or to view the full programme please visit: www.ardsguitarfestival.co.uk<\/a><\/u>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ards International Guitar Festival rocks into Newtownards next week, bringing an exciting lineup that showcases both local and international guitar talent. From classical to rock, the diverse programme offers something for every music lover. Presented by Ards and North Down Borough Council, the festival runs from Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 April. Highlights of … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23793"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23793"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23796,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23793\/revisions\/23796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}