For the 19th year, the Fretboard Festival returns to Kalamazoo to celebrate the city’s stringed-instrument legacy and musical heritage. Join us in person at the museum this year or watch online through our streaming platform. This free event also invites visitors to meet instrument designers and learn about their trade, attend workshops for a variety of stringed instruments, and hear live performances from area musicians.

Schedule:

Friday, March 1, 2024

Festival Kickoff Concert with El Ballet Folklórico Estudiantil Mariachi
Members from El Ballet Folklórico Estudiantil Mariachi will discuss the history and importance of Mariachi in Mexican culture at 7 p.m.
Performances at 6 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m
Location: Mary Jane Stryker Theater

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Doors Open at 9:30 a.m
10:00 a.m - 11:00 a.m: Grace Theisen Band at Mary Jane Stryker Theater
11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m: Basic Comfort at Anna Whitten Hall
12:00 p.m - 1:00 p.m: Mattijane Brooks at Mary Jane Stryker Theater
1:00 p.m - 2:00 p.m: Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra at Planetarium Lobby
1:00 p.m - 2:00 p.m: The Mickeys at Anna Whitten Hall
2:00 p.m - 3:00 p.m: Rene Meave Trio at Mary Jane Stryker Theater
3:00 p.m - 4:00 p.m: Luke Lenhart and the Green Valley Boys at Anna Whitten Hall
4:00 p.m - 5:00 p.m: Joel Mabus at Mary Jane Stryker Theater
5:00 p.m - 6:00 p.m: Djangophonique at Anna Whitten Hall

Saturday Special Events:

Guitar Care and Maintenance at Vendor Booth - Museum
Visit the Heritage Guitars vendor booth, where their technicians will be on site providing 20-minute guitar general maintenance demos throughout the day.

Pop-up Performances at Museum 2nd Floor
Look for surprise pop-up performances from special guests on the second floor of the museum on Saturday.

Saturday Workshops:

11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m: Rene' Meave: Fretboard Chord Sound (by ear) Recognition at Anna Whitten Hall
This workshop will show attendees how to recognize the difference between major and minor chords, and sounds by ear for playing and development. Participation is encouraged!

12:00 p.m - 1:00 p.m: Joel Mabus: Banjo Overview at Anna Whitten Hall
Join award-winning singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and teacher Joel Mabus as he leads a workshop on all things banjo. Joel will demonstrate banjo technique and review the different styles for attendees.

1:00 p.m - 2:00 p.m: Djangophonique: Preamplification Plectrum Technique & the Music of Django Reinhardt at Anna Whitten Hall
Come learn the elusive rest stroke technique utilized by Django Reinhardt and the ensuing generations of guitar players keeping Hot Club music alive. We will learn the building blocks of tone production using this powerful technique and apply it to rhythm guitar and single note melodies. We will explore the uses of this technique in and outside of the style. This will be part lecture, part musical examples and part interactive group learning/playing. The exact direction will be tailored for the needs and interests of the participants, with the goal of sparking inspiration to learn this incredibly fun, energetic and social music.

2:00 p.m - 3:00 p.m: Allen Bates: Introduction to Dobro Resonator Guitar at Anna Whitten Hall
This workshop will cover the resonator guitar, focusing on the basics, a primer on tuning, right and left-hand techniques, and a few tunes to demonstrate the versatility of the guitar.

3:00 p.m - 4:00 p.m: Marion Koleski: Ukulele Overview at Anna Whitten Hall
This workshop covers basic knowledge of the instrument itself, chord families and elementary music theory, as well as exercises that will make your practice more purposeful and efficient, whether Uke is your first instrument or you are transitioning to it with musical experience. This is not a jam session/play along, but you can join Kalamazukes, which meets 10 a.m. 2nd Saturdays of the month at Broughton Music.

4:00 p.m - 5:00 p.m: Mattijane Brooks: Upright Bass and Bass Guitar Techniques at Anna Whitten Hall
This workshop covers advanced techniques for the upright base and bass guitar. Attendees will also learn techniques for writing for bass across different styles of music.

Date: March 1 - 2, 2024

Location: Various Venues in Kalamazoo, MI 49007

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