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POLAND OBLITERATES PREVIOUS WORLD RECORD FOR "LARGEST GUITAR ENSEMBLE"

May 1, 2009 saw 6,346 guitar players join together at the "Thanks Jimi Festival" to play the Jimi Hendrix hit "Hey Joe" and more than tripled the standing record for "Largest Guitar Ensemble" of 2,052 set last year in Concord, California. The event took place in the historic center of Wroclaw, Poland (formerly Breslau) - a city which has taken on the title of "Wroclaw Guitar City" - a title that seems merited. In fact the Mayor, Rafał Dutkiewicz, was among those playing, as was Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse and festival founder and director, Leszek Cichoński. Cichoński is a well-known musician and music educator in Poland and the festival was an outgrowth of one of his educational programs and has taken place - and grown - annually since 2003. Beyond the 6,346 guitar players, there were thousands of spectators and supporters in the Wrocław city center as well as other guitar players taking part online and in coordinated events in Sweden, the US, Canada and Australia (though those do not count towards the record). One of the objectives of the organizers is to establish May 1st as "World Guitar Day" and more coordinated simultaneous events are planed for next year and beyond.

Now it's the German's turn as they make their attempt on May 10th in Mainz.

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A few words from Steve Morse's blog:

http://www.stevemorse.com/tour_blog.html

We just got back, and I mean, JUST got back from our gig in Poland. It was so unusual in so many ways. The crowd was basically sold out, solid from the stage to as far as we could see, outdoors. And it wasn't raining! Our opening act, Leszek Cichonski feat. Stan Skibby, was incredibly good. I had a great time reminscing with Stan, who does a Hendrix-like set with them, singing and playing. Everybody played so well, and was so down-to-earth.

Earlier today, I played onstage with them at a town square, for the Guiness book of World records. The most guitar players playing "Smoke on the Water". For sure, if they don't get the world's record, something is seriously wrong, because there were 6,000 people in front of us, with guitars, playing it! At the end of the song, they all held up their guitars, mostly acoustic, and it looked like we were in a forest. Nothing but guitars for as far as you could see. We also played "Hey Joe", which Stan sang, and everybody played along with that one. Last year, they had 1800 plus people playing along with that song. In the middle of the song today, they brought the volume way down, and you could only hear the background singers and the thousands of acoustics playing C,G,D,A,E.......

After that, I don't know how the gig could be any more intense. But, it was. The crowd was totally into everything, and when they sang along on "Smoke" it was the loudest ever. A lot of them were at the town square earlier, and they knew it for sure! Fantastic crowd. Don played some Chopin, which they all seemed to recognize, and knew he had Polish roots.

Thank you to everyone who took part!

Play with us! May 1, 2010!

Join us in person in Wroclaw or on-line Thanks Jimi Festival - or contact us if you want to create a simultaneous event!

This year's event included TOP Polish guitar players Leszek Cichonski, Krzysztof Jaworski, Marek Raduli, Sebastian Riedel and his group Cree, Mietek Jurecki, Ryszard Sygitowicz, Andrzej Malcherek, Jacek Krzaklewski, Radek Chwieralski, Krzysztof Misiak, Zygmunt Janiak, David Price (USA), and Chicago's own Stan Skibby.

We were also joined this year by Todd Wolfe (USA - guitarist with Sheryl Crow), Feedback Family (Sweden), Massimo Ormea (Italy) and Steve Morse of the legendary band DEEP PURPLE - you can play "Smoke on the Water" and "Hey Joe" with us! This is a free event, open to all, in the beautiful historic center of Wroclaw.

GUITARISTS OF ALL COUNTRIES UNITE!!!

Read about the 2007 record on the BBC.

Founded in 2003 by Polish guitarist Leszek Cichonski in tribute to Jimi Hendrix, and an annual event since, the "Thanks Jimi Festival" takes place in the Rynek (Old Town Square) of the beautiful medieval city of Wroclaw (aka Breslau), Poland. The festival has grown into the largest guitar event in the world after securing the Guinness World Record for the Largest Guitar Orchestra in 2006 with 1,581 confirmed guitar players (including Wroclaw city mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz who participates every year) all playing together simultaneously (and official estimates of an additional 15,000 people in attendance). The event is transforming into the center of an annual 1st of May "World Guitar Day" and is expanding significantly with satellite events happening simultaneously around the world as well as private individuals and smaller groups being able to also take part in real time via the web.

Please join us every May 1st in a day of universal, positive creative celebration of music, the inspiration of Jimi Hendrix, and a new UNION and solidarity (this is Poland after all...) of guitar.

Please join us!

Learn to play the songs here.

If you can't make it to Wroclaw, you can join us live online.

"With the power of soul, anything is possible" ~ J. Hendrix

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the city of Wroclaw in making this event happen! It would not be possible otherwise.

WROCLAW GUITAR CITY!

Please join us! Contact us at: festival@cichonski.art.pl

Leszek's original tribute to Jimi "Thanks Jimi" with special guest Marek Raduli:

More info here:

http://www.cichonski.art.pl/eng/record.htm

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