This could not possibly have been anything but a sell out performance with the line-up of guitarists listed to play for this Grand Finale to the Festival.
From the moment that they walked onto the stage at the Space Theatre the Mason Rack Band held the attention of the audience. This was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, by one of Australia’s top bands, for lovers of the blues/rock genre.
Multi-award winning guitarist, Aleksandr Tsiboulski, joined forces with popular Soprano, Jane Edwards, to present a wonderful concert of music spanning four centuries.
Once again, this was a double bill, with Manuel Barrueco for the first half and Yamandú Costa after the interval. These ‘two for the price of one’ concerts, with related but contrasting performances, were a great idea and definitely proved very popular with patrons.
This concert was another double bill, with Guitarissimo presenting the first half and the Melbourne Guitar Quartet the second half. The Melbourne Guitar Quartet opened their part of the concert with one of the best known and most loved pieces in the Baroque repertoire, J. S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor.
Karin Schaupp divided her concert in half, the first being Australian music, the second more closely relating to the title of the concert. Both halves finished with works featuring the Adelaide Chamber Singers and her special guest for the opening piece in the second half was the renowned Flamenco guitarist, Oscar Guzmán.
Wolfgang Muthspiel and Dhafer Youssef opened the concert,the combination of oud and guitar working amazingly well, and The Richard Bona Group then took to the stage for the second half, with his own, inimitable style of bass playing and singing.
Guitarist/composer, Anthony Garcia, presented a concert of his own works, including several world premieres. Songs from the Divine Wilderness, for guitar and violin, from which the concert took its title, was written especially for himself and Niki Vasilakis to play as a part of this concert.
When Shawn Mullins walked onto the stage at the Dunstan Playhouse the audience broke into spontaneous applause and after his first number Summer Time they were enraptured.
There was no shortage of applause for everything that both groups did during the evening. This was a performance that thrilled and amazed.
It was not surprising that this concert, like so many others, was sold out well before the Festival started.