New Sounds Live: New York Guitar Festival 2025
New Sounds Live, the New York Guitar Festival, and World Music Institute co-present two nights of the 2025 NYGF on June 13 and 26. June 13th is a double bill of duos: legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell with Icelandic bass player Skúli Sverrisson; and Mary Halvorson with drummer Tomas Fujiwara. June 26 is South African guitarist Derek Gripper, together with Rahim Al-Haj. Both shows will be hosted by John Schaefer and recorded for later broadcast.
NYGF Night 1 - June 13: Bill Frisell and Skúli Sverrisson
Mary Halvorson and Tomas Fujiwara
at First Unitarian Congregational Society, 8PM
Legendary American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell will perform in a duo setting with Icelandic bass player Skúli Sverrisson in the festival’s first-ever event in the beautiful 19th century Gothic revival building that houses the First Unitarian Congregational Society. The concert will also feature another pairing, as the adventurous guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson joins drummer Tomas Fujiwara. Between the two duos, you can expect to hear a kaleidoscopic evening of sonic shape-shifting.
NYGF Night 2 - June 26: Derek Gripper and Rahim Al-Haj
at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, 8PM
On Thursday, June 26, New York audiences will have their first opportunity to hear the new duo of Derek Gripper, the South African guitarist, and Rahim Al-Haj, the Iraqi-born, American-based master of the Arab oud. That meeting of related string instruments will take place at Merkin Hall, where the Guitar Festival began in 1999.Â
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FREE SHOWS in Bryant Park (Not New Sounds Live, although hosted by John Schaefer):
July 3: Pedro Cortes Flamenco, Big Lazy, Marel Hidalgo
Bryant Park, 7PM. FREE
Flamenco guitarist Pedro Cortes leads a quartet; Downtown cinematic noir group Big Lazy; and 16-year old phenom Marel Hidalgo.
July 4: Louis Cato, Jackie Venson, Jontavious Willis
Bryant Park, 7PM, FREE
Guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Louis Cato who leads the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; Texas Blues guitarist Jackie Venson; and Grammy-nominated bluesman Jontavious Willis.
