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CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) \u2014 A biennial guitar festival is kicking off at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts\u00a0on Thursday.<\/p>\n
ELLNORA: The Guitar Festival is celebrating 20 years this year. This will be the 11th year of the biennial festival and organizers said attendees can expect all kinds of music to be played at the event.<\/p>\n
On Thursday<\/a>, there will be four free shows, featuring a blues and funk guitarist, jazz, a drag tribute to the Grateful Dead and more. The festival also includes multiple featured performances, including:<\/p>\n U of I students presenting new plan to transform Rose Bowl parking lot <\/a><\/p>\n Singer-songwriter\u00a0Rosanne Cash<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Guitarist and lead singer for the band Wilco\u00a0Jeff Tweedy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Blues artist Samantha Fish<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Blues, rock and soul artist Gary Clark Jr.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Flamenco guitarist and composer\u00a0Daniel Casares<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Strings for Peace, with Grammy Award-winning guitarist\u00a0Sharon Isbin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Indian classical musician\u00a0Amjad Ali Khan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n You can find tickets for the ELLNORA events and performances here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Organizers said one thing that makes the event so unique is that attendees can go from one performer to the next.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have an amphitheater outdoors that we\u2019ll use tonight for Bertha. Which is a Grateful Dead drag show. It\u2019s just gonna be phenomenal. Stage 5 is behind me, which a lot of people recognize, and we use throughout the year for lobby events and live music. Stage 6 is another big stage in our lobby\u2026 [Thursday night] those three stages will be in action,\u201d said Community Engagement Director Emily Laugesen.<\/p>\n You can find out more about the event on Krannert\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/i><\/p>\n\n