Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Annual Cigar Box Guitar Fest

Yesterday, I traveled to the big city of Huntsville, Alabama to attend the 11th Annual Cigar Box Guitar Festival at the Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Center.  It is an old mill that has been turned into an arts & crafts mall with the individual artists' studios right there where they sell their wares as well.  There were several people there to sell their guitars, but I was there mostly to learn from these guys and see some acts perform.

A lot of us were walking around with our guitars on so that we could play and learn.  I had my new First Place trophy guitar with me.  A lady from the local paper was doing a piece on the festival and wanted to get several people who had their guitar to tell just a little about it.  Well, guess who made the video?

The video can be watched here:  http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/05/what_makes_your_cigar_box_guit.html#incart_river

I am somewhere around the 2:50 second mark.  Watch the whole thing, though, and you'll see some eclectic builders and players of cigar box guitars.

I watched it over on Facebook.  Congrats!

Very cool!  Looks like it was a fun event.

It was a lot of fun, and the crowd was pretty diverse.  It is definitely a movement where the builders and musicians definitely want to take full control of their art from the instrument they play to how they perform on those instruments.  Its very cool in that aspect as no one really wants to get picked up by a major label, but some of the acts have performed at major festivals like Tennessee's own Bonneroo.

AFter attending the festival, I have plans now for a Batman guitar and an upright electric bass that can also have the leg removed so that it can be played in the tradional form on a strap around your neck/shoulder.  I also want do a cowboy guitar for a young man at our church who does rodeo and is leaving for college soon.

alldatndensum wrote:

It was a lot of fun, and the crowd was pretty diverse.  It is definitely a movement where the builders and musicians definitely want to take full control of their art from the instrument they play to how they perform on those instruments.  Its very cool in that aspect as no one really wants to get picked up by a major label, but some of the acts have performed at major festivals like Tennessee's own Bonneroo.

That is until one or two of the artists do get picked up by a major label and experiences some success.  Then they cigar box community will be divided into two groups: 1. The purists who disdain the commercialization of their art or 2. Those seeing the opportunity for fame and success for themselves and see nothing wrong with it.