This one was almost as fun to put together as the event itself was! As much footage as I felt like I had to piece through, I still feel like I didn't capture enough. Chicago's Fretboard Summit was a huge whirlwind of reconnections and overdue IRL meetings!

Then of course: the many, many stunning guitars. Hoo, boy.

As I say in the video, I was there to support Jeff Jewitt, so I didn't cover the entire festival. Instead, I focused on a few key people.

I got a nice overview of the four guitars Jeff brought - a veritable feast of Redwood and Cypress! I captured some short demos featuring Tony Polecastro, and Matt Thomas on his brand new baritone. I also filmed a longer chat Jeff had with Richard Hoover of Santa Cruz Guitar Co. (I'll let him share the full thing, but there's a snippet in here.)

Listen to the Jewitt 00 Cypress here // Purchase info here

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I was also delighted to finally meet Virgile Pilon of Blind Guitars in person! He brought his 100th guitar, an incredible Ditson-inspired model made with Ancient Cypress and The Tree Mahogany. Getting to see his evolution of design and appointments over the last few years is really exciting. Much like Jeff, he's always pushing forward and innovating.

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Both Jeff and Virgile showcased guitars with Ancient Cypress, a beautiful, intriguing tonewood that's relatively new to the guitar market. Conveniently, the source himself, Aaron Lucas of Dark Forest Cypress, was in the same room with us! Naturally, I had to get a chat in with him to get the back story on this storied wood. (SCGC has also been building with it.)

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Guitar nerds, enjoy!

Music featured:

• Intro: Matt Thomas - "Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song" (Jewitt OMC Mahogany)

• After Virgile's interview: "Nothing's Fifty-Fifty" (Blind B-26 Mahogany)

• Outro: "The What Was & the What If" (Blind B-26 Indian Rosewood)