Adelaide Guitar Festival Axed After 18 Years

The Adelaide Guitar Festival has been axed after 18 years as part of a “new strategic direction” by the new CEO of the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust (AFCT).

Kate Gould, who took over as Adelaide Festival Centre CEO in July, confirmed the “Adelaide Guitar Festival will not return as a standalone festival.”

“However, (its) regional touring program On The Road will continue in 2026 and guitar projects will be a feature of the new year-round music programs,” she added.

The festival was founded in 2007 by the Centre’s former CEO Douglas Gautier.

It highlighted performances from stylistically diverse axe-shredders as Tommy Emmanuel, Derek Trucks, Xavier Rudd, Hoodoo Gurus, and this year John Butler, Lior, Karin Schaupp, Troy Cassar-Daley, Nancy Bates, Abbe May, Mick Thomas, Gwyn Ashton, Béla Fleck, Daniel Champagne, Matt Walker, Paul Dempsey, Thelma Plum, Ali Barter, Killing Heidi ,and Darren Hanlon.

Mesmerising six-string features included star-studded tributes to Jeff Beck’s catalogue, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, and Spinal Tap.

Other standouts over the past 18 years included an orchestra of 50 guitarists aged from 10 to 79 alongside guitar expos, the screening and Q&A of the documentary of late flamenco icon Paco de Lucía, death metal showcases, a deep dive of Spanish music by Seville Guitar Festival’s Artistic Director Francisco Bernier with Spanish cuisine, and performances of Brazilian, Italian, and Cuban composers.

Workshops covered improvisation, flamenco technique, being green-friendly, and songwriter’s introduction to slide.

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Offshoot

An offshoot of the festival covered the Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition, On The Road which took activities to regional South Australia working with councils and community groups to present workshops and performances, Guitar Winter School, Resonance where musicians played in hospital wards and old folks homes, and Guitars In Bars where 300 local rock, jazz, blues, and folk guitarists performed in 100 venues across the state.

There were also opportunities for emerging players including 15 Minutes Of Fame, and guitar competitions where winners returned to play a concert on the main stage.

Classical guitar virtuoso Slava Grigoryan, who was Artistic Director since 2010, told this writer a few years after he took over, “I get a thrill looking at the program before the festival starts, because the guitar is such a diverse instrument and fits in with different styles, and I know magic is going to be created every night.

“As music became more cross-pollinated and players kept breaking into new boundaries, the guitar kept up with that, and so did the festival in reflecting that,” he added.

“The performances were stunning, because the nature of the guitar is to provide such a strong bond between the player and the audience.”

Strategic

The new strategic direction by Kate Gould after her arrival from senior executive positions at Brisbane Powerhouse, Adelaide Festival, and Dark Mofo, is focused on growing audiences, increasing diversity and celebrating distinct voices.

The Centre will host a year-round performing arts project called CentreStage, and an experimental program aimed at the young.

Gould is currently overseeing Adelaide Festival Centre’s re-opening in February 2026 following a $35 million redevelopment including new theatre seating, upgraded foyer fit outs, upgraded access, and a new themed restaurant.

Gould says: “By 2030, Adelaide Festival Centre’s venues will be destinations for arts, entertainment and culture, open to all, night and day, attracting both local patrons and new visitors through its programs and offerings. 

“We will extend Adelaide Festival Centre’s commitment to children and young people with an ambitious new goal: to deliver quality arts and cultural experiences to every South Australian school-aged child by 2035.” 

OzAsia, another Gautier festival initiative, will be “reimagined”, while Adelaide Cabaret Festival and First Nations program OUR MOB return next year, and the biennial DreamBIG Children’s Festival in 2027.

As part of the announcement of the axing of the Guitar Festival, the AFCT acknowledged “the significant work and passion” of its executives through the years. 

These included Grigoryan, Sarah Bleby who served twice as Executive Producer, early developers as Adelaide guitar maker Jim Redgate, classical guitarist Dr Paul Svoboda, and current Music SA CEO Christine Schloithe and Adelaide Jazz Festival board director Andrew Dundon who served as Executive Producers.

Also getting a nod was Gautier, who after leaving the Adelaide Festival Centre after a 17-year term, took over as CEO of the 500,000 square metre Royal Arts Complex at King Salman Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a mix of fine arts, performance, entertainment, cinema and cuisine.