“A pretty awesome line up” was how one Shetland musician put it, as the full line-up for this years ‘Peerie’ Willie Johnson Guitar Festival, which runs from Friday 3rd November to Sunday 5th November 2006, was announced by promoters Shetland Arts, who say that this years event will once again, perhaps appropriately, focus on a strong jazz flavour, but also with an international approach into the bargain.

The festival, named in honour of Shetland’s legendary guitarist, kicks off on Friday 3rd November when the opening concert will feature American guitarist Duck Baker, a long time friend of Willie himself, who will be making a much anticipated return to the islands after a number of years.

Duck’s early years were spent in rock and blues bands, which led to an increasing interest in the original acoustic blues. His live shows are eclectic to say the least, covering a wide range of finger-picking styles ranging from blues to traditional and bluegrass styles, but with particularly strong jazz emphasis. His 1997 jazz orientated album ‘Spinning Song’ was said by ‘Acoustic Guitar’ magazine to be “one of the best guitar records ever recorded by anybody”.

Also on the bill on the first evening will be another returning favourite Tony McManus from Scotland (now resident in Canada) acclaimed by many to be the finest Celtic / traditional music guitarist in the world today. Tony’s self-taught style is certainly unique, and although it takes it line from a centuries old idiom, he still manages to produce a startlingly original sound and approach. Over the past few years he has been nominated as Musician of the Year in both the BBC Folk Awards and the Scottish Traditional Music Awards and is, almost uniquely, invited annually to attend the Chet Atkins Guitar Festival in Nashville. He also recently appeared at the world famous Ryman Auditorium in the same city on a bill headlined by guitar legend Les Paul.

Saturday will certainly be a night for jazz officiados when Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal appears on the bill along with the Scottish based Nigel Clark Trio. A stalwart on the international jazz fusion scene since the mid 1970’s, Terje’s style incorporates jazz, rock and strong classical influences and he has recorded with many of the world’s leading jazz musicians over the years, including fellow countryman, saxophonist Jan Garberek. He has been signed to the leading European jazz record label ECM for the past 30 years, surely a measure of his enduring talent and appeal, if indeed any such proof were required. For his first Shetland appearance Terje will be joined by Ketil Bjornstad to perform as a duo.

Nigel Clark is another familiar face to Shetland audiences, having appeared here over the years with a number of acclaimed guitar acts, including the Hot Club of France and the Scottish Guitar Quartet. Audiences can again expect an incredibly eclectic and jaw dropping performance from Nigel, who is well known for his mixture of speed, accuracy and dexterity on the instrument.

Sunday night’s final concert will herald the return to the islands of two of the world’s leading acoustic guitarists, both of whom have already performed in Shetland to great acclaim over the past year or so. Martin Taylor (another great friend of Willie’s and patron of the festival) returns to headline the event again, following his spellbinding appearance at the inaugural festival last year. This year he will be joined by fellow guitarist Neil Stacey from London. “Wherever the name Martin Taylor appears on any bill, nothing more need be said” said Shetland Arts Music Development Officer Davie Gardner. “Suffice to say if you have not witnessed a performance by Martin before – prepare to be amazed”

Also appearing the same evening will be celebrated virtuoso of the Spanish flamenco guitar Juan Martin, who is hailed as one of the top three guitarists in the world by the influential US magazine ‘Guitar Player’. Having additionally performed with the likes of jazz legend Herbie Hancock, and also the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who could possibly disagree with their opinion.

“Juan appeared with his full flamenco show at our ‘Culture Clash’ event earlier this year and literally blew everyone away” said Davie “He personally enjoyed the experience so mush he asked if he could return in a solo capacity for our guitar festival. When someone of the international standing of Juan Martin asks if he can come back and play for you again it’s pretty hard to say no”.

In addition to the concerts there will be a number of workshops featuring many of the guitarists appearing at the festival, with perhaps the most notable of these delivered by returning Shetland musical exile Ian Bairnson.

After he left Shetland Ian had a number of hits with the Scottish band ‘Pilot’, including a No 1 in the mid-70’s. He has been a long term member of the ‘Alan Parsons Project’, not to mention making many appearances with other famous artists over the years including Kath Bush, Tom Jones, Sting, Cockney Rebel and Kenny Rogers to name but a few. He will appear at the festival on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons to run workshops especially aimed at the islands up-and-coming musicians.

‘I’m delighted that Ian has agreed to make an all too rare visit back to Shetland from his home in Spain especially for the event” said Davie. “Very few people in the islands are aware of just how internationally famous and acclaimed he is, so this will be a unique opportunity to meet one of our own who has ‘made it big’ so to speak. Over and above his musical talents he has an incredibly knowledge of the music industry as a whole, so any aspiring musicians in the islands should make a point of attending his workshops on both accounts.

All concerts will be held in the Clickimin Centre bowls hall and Shetland Arts hope to hold at least one event in the north isles on Saturday the 4th May, featuring Duck Baker and Tony McManus.

Full details of all the concerts and ticket availability will appear in the press very shortly.

For further details contact Davie Gardner on 07748-153574