About Us

Established in 2006, Big Guitar Weekend is unlike any other guitar festivals in the world. Drawing from the success and experience of the University of Strathclyde’s GuitarFest and the Dundee Guitar Festival, BGW moves from strength to strength and as it brings together community education and a concert series of international standard to Glasgow. 

BGW offers students of all ages and abilities the opportunity to spend one weekend devoted entirely to the guitar; learn all about the instrument though a series of workshops and tutorials taught by leading industry professionals; get involved and share ideas with performance opportunities for guitarists across the stylistic and performance spectrum; and enjoy a variety of performances from stars from around the world, including Pavel Steidl, the Scottish Guitar Quartet and Martin Taylor.

The roots of BGW lie in University of Strathclyde’s GuitarFest. Established in 2001, the festival grew from the BA Applied Music Guitar Ensemble Concert and rapidly became an important event in Scotland, providing a stage for the best of Britain’s emerging talent whilst creating a vital artistic and educational-research link between the University of Strathclyde and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.  As it grew more successful the festival also began to attract top artists from both home and the United States.

The principal aim of Big Guitar Weekend is to introduce the guitar to audiences across Scotland and promote Scotland to the rest of the world as a centre of excellence for the guitar & plucked string performance and teaching.  Further educational programmes will include CPD for classroom teachers, East Dunbartonshire Guitar Orchestras and the Edinburgh Youth Guitar Orchestra, the guitar in relation to other instruments and the guitar within the world of music.

Click here for the weekend schedule