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The International Guitar Foundation (IGF) is set to take over the ancient town of Cheltenham, UK, for a comprehensive celebration of guitar playing as it marks 31 years of summer school events. With unique masterclasses and performances dedicated to improving each attendee’s skill sets and confidence levels, the IGF is vastly expanding its offering for a milestone event open to all players.
IGF Guitar Festival and Summer School brings together guitarists eager to improve across a dizzying range of genres and playing styles for an immersive experience tailored to players from all walks of life and playing levels.
Taking place 11-16 August 2026, courses are split between classical, flamenco, and contemporary styles, and players can benefit from 30 hours of hands-on tuition across five days. There will also be jam sessions, an array of concerts to learn from watching the pros in action, and opportunities for players to get on stage themselves.
Beginners wanting to wade into the unchartered waters of guitar playing are catered for with carefully planned foundational courses. Intermediate and advanced players, meanwhile, can test their mettle in the challenging but friendly and nurturing environment of its advanced course. IGF promises that every player will leave feeling far more accomplished at their craft.
As the organizers champion, “the guitar is the instrument of the people,” due to its ability to metamorphose its voice and transcend class, race, and gender. Guitar heroes have risen through the ranks from an array of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and the event looks to reflect and celebrate its inclusivity.
Each tutor has been hand-picked to deliver best-in-class lessons, with many renowned contributors from Guitar World, Guitarist, Guitar Techniques, Music Radar, and educational platforms.
A brand new course for singer-songwriters, from multi-award winning Holly Carter, looks at various different guitar techniques and ways they be used to keep arrangements diverse and interesting. From Doc Watson to Nick Lowe, students will get an idea of the different available approaches; anything from solo fingerpicked arrangements to more basic strumming patterns.
Contemporary course leader and ex-Guitar Techniques editor Jason Sidwell, who has also written instructional books plus courses for the Guardian and Observer newspapers will dedicate his time to teaching the groove course. His lessons will cover soul and funk, from James Brown and Nile Rodgers to Prince and beyond. With modules on picking, emulating synth lines, jazz funk vocabulary and how to function in a rhythm section, this is a fun 'deep dive' course.
Jon Bishop, known for his tours with Shakin’ Stevens and film and orchestra performances such as Love Actually, will run the Rock & Blues foundations course for beginner electric guitar players focusing on the fundamentals from major and minor chords, the pentatonic scale, string bending, and blues rock riffs. From Hendrix to the White Stripes, improvement and understanding of the basics is guaranteed!
Blues award winner Chris Corcoran will hone in on the glory of vintage electric blues. This will include the licks and phrases of T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian, Freddie King and B.B. King as well as sophisticated jazz blues chords that'll make your playing authentic and ear catching.
Andy Saphir, who regularly contributed to Guitar Techniques will lend his creativity to the blues and country course. He'll not only be covering Eric Clapton and Robben Ford style soloing but also Chet Atkins and Brent Mason inspired hybrid picked riffs and string cascading runs. And if you're hankering for modern pentatonic vocabulary with a country rock twist, you're in for a treat!
Esteemed musician and author John Wheatcroft will offer his expert advice on the jazz course. In this he will focus on players like Wes Montgomery and George Benson, popular American songbook standards through to gypsy jazz approaches favored by greats such as Django Reinhardt. With plenty of licks, 'adult chords' and modal soloing ideas, this will be a fun and extensive course.
Meanwhile, Chris Quinn’s acoustic course will stretch from Celtic and folk through to bluegrass and pop stylings to help attendees unlock the versatility of fingerpicking and Travis picking techniques. Artists under the spotlight will include Bob Dylan to James Taylor via Ed Sheeran so there's a lot to enjoy and learn!
Flamenco and classical courses set to be run by Samuel Moore and Francisco Correa respectively.
Moore's generational talents have seen him tackle flamenco’s most complex arrangements alongside his tradition-honoring originals at prestigious venues like New York’s Carnegie Hall and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London.
Francisco Correa leads the classical course, hailed as a “truly remarkable performer,” by BBC Radio 3, and “virtuosic and heartfelt” by Classical Guitar Magazine. Guest tutors include international stars Xuefei Yang from China and Francisco Bernier from Spain.
The festival will also feature concerts by international artists and jam nights offer students the chance to perform with the house band. As esteemed shredder Marty Friedman once said, performing before an audience is vital to developing as a guitarist.
First-class accommodation at Dean Close school is available, with meal options included. Tickets are open to residential and non-residential students. There are also scholarships available for young players of modest means.
Tickets start from £485, and guitarists aged 18 and under will receive a 35% discount.
Head to IGF to learn more and see each tutor’s video.
