15th Annual Indiana State Fingerstyle Guitar Festival

The 15th Annual Indiana State Fingerstyle Guitar Festival features a morning guitar competition and an evening concert! Tickets are available separately for each, or an all-day pass is available.

Fingerstyle Guitar Competition:

11:00 AM – 2:00PM

Acoustic guitarists from around the world take the stage for the 15th annual Fingerstyle Guitar Competition. The competition features two rounds of performance, showcasing a wide range of styles, techniques, and original music. At the conclusion of the competition, the top three players will be awarded grand-prize guitars and earn the honor of performing in the Evening Concert.

Evening Concert:

7:30 PM

The Evening Concert features fingerstyle guitar legend Muriel Anderson, with special guests Tim Thompson and Jack Wilson. The concert will open with performances by the top three competition winners, giving audiences the chance to hear tomorrow’s guitar greats alongside established masters.

Muriel Anderson is internationally celebrated for her mastery of the 20-string harp-guitar, her versatility across musical genres, and her warm, engaging stage presence. She was the first woman to win the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship, and Guitar Player Magazine has named her one of the Top 50 Guitarists of All Time. Recently recognized among the Top Ten Female Guitarists, Muriel’s lasting legacy lies in her uplifting compositions and deeply expressive performances.
She has recorded with country legend Chet Atkins, performed with Les Paul and countless other greats in “Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night®” over the past 30+ years. Muriel’s CD Nightlight Daylight placed first in its category in 11 national awards, followed by Acoustic Chef, an international CD with cookbook. Muriel’s release Sailing Dreams exhibits new levels of creativity–she has even created a board game to accompany the music.

Jack Wilson is a Chicagoland-based guitarist and 2013 Indiana Guitar Fest Champion. He won 1st place at the 2016 International Fingerstyle Guitar Competition at the Walnut Valley Festival after placing second in 2015. Appearing multiple times as a featured performer on our stage, Jack is a chameleon of a player, being able to shift comfortably from acoustic to electric, pick or fingerstyle in a wide range of styles, and immediately gets your attention by producing a cowbell sound from the guitar from his version of “Low Rider”.

Tim Thompson is a Nashville-based fingerstyle guitarist and a two-time International Fingerstyle Guitar Champion. Long associated with our guitar festival, Tim’s career includes extensive session work and collaborations across genres, appearing with artists like Tommy Emmanuel, Crystal Gayle, and Hwy 101. He has recorded eleven CDs and two DVDs. He has been featured in the Taylor Guitar’s Wood and Steel, Just Jazz Guitar and Fingerstyle Guitar which said, “Tim Thompson is a Nashville based finger-stylist that burns!”

Ticket Information

Front & Center Tickets are limited to the first four rows in the center section of the theater and offer the closest possible view of the stage.