Escondido, Ca. 2020 – Making its way back to Escondido is our International Guitar Night show which will be on for one-night only at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 7:30pm in the Center Theater.
Each year, International Guitar Night’s founder Brian Gore invites a new cast of guitar luminaries from around the world for special concert tours of North America highlighting the diversity of the acoustic guitar.
They are proud to celebrate their 20th year of touring the U.S. For their special Anniversary Tour, Brian has put together his most eclectic lineup yet: Guest host Mike Dawes and his incredible two-hand contemporary style is joined by Cenk Erdogan and his intriguing, exotic style and engaging on-stage personality; electrifying jazz virtuoso Olli Soikkeli from Finland and Hawaiian Slack Key master Jim Kimo West.
Mike Dawes is an English guitar player known for composing, arranging and performing multiple parts simultaneously on one instrument using unique extended and micro-techniques. He is hailed as one of the world’s finest and most creative modern fingerstyle guitar performers. His debut record with CandyRat Records gained strong critical acclaim and spawned a variety world tours and singles, notably a viral virtuoso arrangement of “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye. The lead single on Dawes’ second release ERA, an arrangement of “One” by Metallica, went viral with over 30 million hits in its first week of release.
Born in Istanbul, guitarist and composer Cenk Erdogan graduated with First Class Honors from the Music (Composition) Department at Istanbul Bilgi University. In October 2004, at the invitation of David “FUZE” Fiucynski, Erdogan held a workshop at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA on fretless guitar and modes in Turkish music. Cenk recorded his first album, “WITH,” for Baykus Music in 2008. The same year, he composed and arranged the soundtrack for the movie “Issız Adam,” written and directed by Çağan Irmak, winning the Yeşilçam “Soundtrack of the Year 2009” prize.
Olli Soikkeli was born in Nurmes, Finland in 1991. Now based in New York City. He started playing guitar at age of 12. After a few years of playing Olli was introduced to the music of great Django Reinhardt and Gypsy Jazz has been Ollis main focus ever since. Soon Olli was playing in jazz clubs and festivals all around Finland.
Having never even seen Waikiki, Jim “Kimo” West came right to Hana, Maui in 1985 and spent much of his time there for many years. It was in Hana where he first heard the music of Gabby Pahinui, Sons Of Hawaii, Sonny Chillingworth and Atta Isaacs. Already familiar with alternate tunings, the sound of ki ho’alu became his favorite “soundtrack”. Best known as long-time guitarist for the world’s most successful musical comedy artist, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Kimo is regarded as one of the world’s foremost “ki ho’alu” or Hawaiian “slack key” guitar artists and his music has garnered many millions of streams on Spotify and Pandora.
Tickets for International Guitar Night are $35-$45 and are on sale online at artcenter.org or at the Center ticket office at 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, Ca 92025, or by calling 800.988.4253. The ticket office is open Tue. – Sat. 12–6 PM, and Sun. 12–5 PM.
Get more information about the show including the show program as well as purchase tickets here: http://artcenter.org/event/international-guitar-night-4/
Make sure to follow the California Center for the Arts, Escondido on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by searching for TheCCAE.
About California Center for the Arts, Escondido
With a mission of bringing people together to discover, create and celebrate the arts, California Center for the Arts, Escondido is the cultural center of North San Diego County.
The Center’s unique campus includes a 1,523-seat concert hall, a 404-seat theater, a contemporary art museum, art and dance studios, and a full-service conference center with meeting and banquet facilities.
The Center also runs an extensive education program and produces free community events. San Diego Magazine named the Center the “Best Limited Engagement” in North County. The Center was named in the Top Five for U-T San Diego’s Readers Poll for “Best Live Music Venue” and the Top Five for “Best Place to Get Married.” In 2016, the Center was named “Organization of the Year” by the Escondido Chamber of Commerce. In 2018, the Center was chosen as one of fifteen cities from all over the country to be awarded a grant known as the Levitt AMP [Your City] grant. The Center received $25K in matching funds to present the Levitt AMP Escondido Music Series, which is a minimum of 10 free outdoor concerts presented over 10 to 12 consecutive weeks during 2018.
The Center is located at 340 N. Escondido Blvd. in Escondido. The Ticket Office can be reached at (800) 988-4253. Tickets can also be purchased online. To learn more, including performance dates, times, and ticket information, visit artcenter.org
