2005 - Year Five Wrap-Up
WNED celebrated its 5th Annual Buffalo Niagara Guitar Festival in style with five days of great guitar music. Held June 16-20, the Festival once again featured a vast array of artists for all musical tastes.
Guitar City, a two-day street jam, took place in the thriving Chippewa entertainment district on Saturday and Sunday, June 18 and 19. With over 15 artists on the bill, Guitar City showcased some of the finest international and local guitar talent. Some of the featured artists were: Kaki King, Grady, Popa Chubby, Agent Me, and the Matadors.
Classical guitarist David Russell displayed his Grammy Award-winning talents with a passionate concert recital at the Nichols School Flickinger Center. The Scottish guitar virtuoso thrilled the crowd with his six-string magic and unparalleled talent.
The North American Rock Guitar Competition reached new heights in 2005 as five talented guitar playing contenders arrived in Buffalo to compete for the Tommy Tedesco Award. More than 1,000 people and an outstanding panel of celebrity judges were on hand to witness the battle of the axes. In the end, John Mameli (who hails from Niagara Falls, but now resides in Florida) performed a stunning set that left no doubt as to who should be awarded top honors.
Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra, guitar legend (of King Crimson fame) Adrian Belew and Buffalo’s own The Great Train Robbery packed the Tralf for three diverse nights of great music.
Keeping with tradition, the Guitar Festival also featured performances in and around the community. Participants included: the M&T Bank’s Plaza Event Series, Howie Day at Thursday at the Square, Stringed Edition Guitar Ensemble at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, and classical guitarist James Piorkowski at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Buffalo.
Education always plays a large role during the Guitar Festival and 2005 was no exception. WNED’s Guitars in Schools program made visits to three area schools to teach the students about the roots of contemporary music and the importance of the guitar in music history.
WNED’s Education Amplified: A Day and Night in the Life of Music program provided ten high school students with an opportunity to participate in the live recording of the North American Rock Guitar Competition.
WNED President Don Boswell and Jim Kelly held a news event to announce the official kick-off of Guitars for Hope, a public art project to benefit Kelly for Kids, Hunter’s Hope and the WNED Buffalo Niagara Guitar Festival. The year-long project will culminate with a gala auction during the 2006 Guitar Festival.
The WNED Buffalo Niagara Guitar Festival continues to receive outstanding corporate support from many of the corporate leaders in Western New York including: BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York, Rite Aid, HSBC, and New York State Assembly Majority Leader Paul A. Tokasz. Additional support was provided by: McDonald’s, Fichte-Endl Eye Associates, Try-It Distributing, Labatt, Niagara Mohawk, Banco, and Gaines Kriner Elliott, LLP.
