Over the past month, our instrument department has taken to the road and attended two Guitar Festivals and a Ukulele Festival. At the end of May, we had a very busy weekend where James and Chris were at Haydock Park Racecourse Exhibition Centre for the North West Guitar Show and Jen was at The Stoller Hall for the Manchester Guitar Festival.

The North West Guitar Show

The North West Guitar Show is in its 25th year and is the UK's longest-established guitar show. "The event brings together major retailers, distributors, manufacturers, luthiers, boutique specialists and even private collectors all with bargains in everything guitar related. It is a unique opportunity to buy, sell and trade new, vintage and second-hand guitars, amps, effects and accessories and to be entertained by live music from top guitarists in the 300-seater live music hall."

It was a pleasure to attend as always, and to catch up with what's new and exciting in the world of guitars!

Manchester Guitar Festival

The Manchester Guitar Festival is now in its second year, and it's wonderful to see (and help!) a new music festival develop right on our doorstep. This festival also included a series of workshops aimed at younger guitar players, so it's a great opportunity to encourage the next generation of musicians.

Grand Northern Ukulele Festival

More recently, James, Tom, and Frances were in Huddersfield for the Grand Nothern Ukulele Festival. Here we partnered with Ortega Guitars to show off their wonderful range of ukuleles and ukulele accessories. 'GNUF' was started in 2013 to bring a ukulele event up to the North of England.  It's a wonderful family atmosphere, with a series of performances and workshops for all levels of ukulele players!