London Acoustic Show
10 to 11 September, Olympia, London
For anyone with a passion for acoustic instruments and playing, the London Acoustic Show aims to tickle your tuners with a bespoke weekend of worldclass talent and brands, plus there’s a widened scope this year for instruments including banjo, mandolin and ukulele. We caught up with Acoustic magazine editor Steve Harvey to discover what the September show has in store for us… What does the show offer for players? “The London Acoustic Show is unique because it’s a multi-feature event. There are principally three main areas. Firstly, we have an exhibition hall that’s bunged tight with all the latest gear from some of the world’s best manufacturers and luthiers. We also have a 450-seater, purpose-built auditorium for our main stage where show visitors can watch some of the best acoustic bands, virtuosos and performers around today. Lastly, there’s a 300-seater masterclass room, which is more of an intimate clinic/workshop setup. Show visitors can learn from and question key educators and clinicians. Pretty much everywhere you turn there will either be acoustic guitars and related gear, or live music – not least of all at the Acoustic Cafe, which is a buskers-type stage where breaking artists play throughout both days.” Apart from the wider acoustic instrument scope, what else is new this year? “We’ve got a first for the Saturday of this year’s show, which we’re calling the ‘Acoustic Jam’. Acoustic columnist and guitarist extraordinaire Chris Woods has composed a piece comprising four separate ‘layers’, ranging from very easy to fairly challenging. We’re encouraging readers of the magazine and show visitors to choose one of the four layers (see the July issue of Acoustic mag for tab), learn it, and come to the show with their own guitar to play it on the main stage with Chris for one big performance.” Who is performing this year? “Following the release of their new album, Turin Brakes will be playing a special acoustic set on the main stage. Fingerstyle wizards Clive Carroll and Stuart Ryan are performing on the main stage, and Stuart is also holding an additional masterclass. The founder of percussive-style playing, Preston Reed, will be at the show on the