Lowertown Guitar Festival Returns To St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Lowertown Guitar Festival returns to St. Paul next month.

The free day of outdoor music will be held Aug. 9 in downtown Mears Park.

McNally Smith College of Music is holding the second annual event. Last year's inaugural festival drew nearly 2,000 people.

Instead of other music festivals that focus on jazz or blues, the Lowertown Guitar Festival celebrates the guitar and all the artists who play it.

This year's festival features Robben Ford, Fender clinician Greg Koch, Jim Campilongo, Rosie Flores and national fingerstyle guitar champion Phil Heywood.

McNally Smith also will host free guitar workshops on its nearby campus before the concerts. Guitarists ages 15 to 19 can enter a teen guitar competition that takes place in the morning before the clinics.

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