Lakeside Guitar Festival 2025
Lakeside Guitar Festival is a free outdoor music festival set at the Historic Como Lakeside Pavilion, a lakefront community arts oasis in Saint Paul. LGF is run by community-conscious musicians and presents a diverse lineup of local and international acts across musical genres, focusing on encouraging new artistic collaboration and highlighting the world class small business and arts communities of Saint Paul. Previous headliners have included Keb Mo, Sunny War, and Steve Cropper performing alongside Minnesota greats.
LGF 2025 returns to Saint Paul, featuring Mark Whitfield , one of the world’s great creative jazz guitarists as Saturday’s headliner as well as midwest beloved guitar legends Joe and Vicki Price. We are honored to have come in from Mexico, Ehekatl Arizmendi playing traditional tunes with his own twist on Friday night, and great songwriter Mason Jennings, all at the Como Lakeside Pavilion and FREE. Minnesota treasure, Al Church will host a collaboration “stage” Saturday with other luminaries. This year we are thrilled to try out Swan Boat Song with test pilot Jeff Ray! With 15 acts across 3 stages, 2 days and 1 floating swan stage. Community activities from a pedal swap , vintage clothing and vinyl ( records!) pop ups, bike and walk paths, LGF 2025 offers fun for the whole family of music lovers. Saturday August 9th closes with Minnesota’s Last Waltz (ticketed) at the Como Lakeside Pavilion.
Kith + Kin will host this year's “Strum Along Sing A Song”. All levels are invited to create this giant community strum along! Bring your guitar and strum along to a couple songs or chords alongside your fellow humans. Sing along! ( any stringed instrument accepted even air guitars! )
LGF is Music Mission’s annual flagship event. Music Mission supports communities throughout the Americas in creating and sharing their music, providing quality and visionary arts programming, scholarship and education opportunities, and instruments and basic needs support to communities in Minnesota and Mexico. More information is at www.musicmissionmusic.com
Lakeside Guitar Festival is funded, in part, by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund.
This activity is supported, in part, by the City of Saint Paul Cultural Sales Tax Revitalization Program.
Friday Aug 8th
Promenade Stage -Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
6:00-6:45 Hemma
7:00-7:45 Ehekatl Arizmendi
7:45-810 Jeff Ray Live from a Swan Boat
8:15-9:15 Mason Jennings
Saturday Aug 9th
Grand Lawn-
11:00-11:45 “Strum Along/Sing a Song” led by Kith + Kin
Promenade-
12:00-1:00 El Diablo Pedal Swap
Promenade Stage -Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
12:00-12:45 Cassandra Johnson
1:00-1:45 The Neighborhood Quartet
2:00-2:45 Joe and Vicki Price
3:00-4:00 Mark Whitfield
Cafe Stage (inside Dock&Paddle)
11:15-12:00 The Daily Norm
12:15-1:00 Liz DeYoe
1:15-2:00 LaPlant Road
2:15-3:00 Duo CORDA
Waterfall Stage-
11:00-11:45 Paul Metzger Improvised Modern Banjo
12:00-3:00 Improv Waterfall Orchestra w/ Al Church
Gates Close at 4:15
6:00-9:00 The Last Waltz (ticketed show)
2025 LGF Lineup and Schedule
Friday Aug 8th 2025
Friday Aug 8th 6:00-6:45pm Promenade Stage-Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
Hemma- With lyrical prayers performed as songs, finds her voice as a balladeer, reflecting on themes of love spanning distance and finding the courage to recognize ancestral addiction as a shadow to befriend, as well as a curse to break.
Hemma is a moniker for Hannah Hebl, who performs with a full band, trio and as a soloist, where she is known to captivate the audience with unique and stunning vocals that paint an ethereal, pastoral longing passed down from artists like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
Friday Aug 8th 7:00-7:45pm Promenade Stage-Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
Ehekatl Arizmendi -a gifted composer, interpreter, and custodian of string music traditions from the Costa Chica of Guerrero, Mexico. His music feels old and new at the same time. Stark, folk-derived songs built on brittle acoustic guitars that conjure the image of a fire burning in the distance on a dark night.
Friday Aug 8th 7:45-8:10pm On Como Lake!!
Jeff Ray is an avant-garde resonator slide-guitarist and songwriter based in Minneapolis, MN. His music is rooted in the traditions of acoustic blues and American fingerstyle guitar, but Ray quickly departs from tradition: his songs integrate flavors of Indian classical music and West-African guitar under the cryptic guise of alternate guitar tunings. So let’s put him in a Swan Boat and paddle him around Como Lake!
Friday Aug 8th 8:15-9:15pm Promenade Stage-Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
Mason Jennings has a new record out this summer. Jennings writes that the songs from Underneath The Roses were, “Written in an unprecedented burst,” following the birth of his son, Western, in March 2022. Jennings explains, “I hadn’t written any songs in about a year. I had been dealing with the psychological after effects of the pandemic as well as the loss of my dad. So, when Western was born I didn’t expect to be writing much. But immediately he was responding to music in a very intense way. For this album, between May and November 2022, I wrote 48 songs! They certainly uplifted me and connected me with the creative spirit, and spirit in general, again. They cover all kinds of ground but, when I listen back, I think the central theme is overcoming fear with love.”
Saturday Aug 9th 2025
Saturday Aug 9th 11:00-11:45am Grand Lawn
Gather up/tune up 11:00
Strum Along/Sing a Song 11:15-11:45
All levels invited to create this giant community strum along! Bring your guitar and strum along to a couple songs or chords alongside your fellow humans. Sing along! (any stringed instrument accepted even air guitars!)
Kith + Kin- an uncommon choir in the Twin Cities that strives to build community, spread joy and give in service of others through harmony.
Saturday Aug 9th 11:00am-11:45 Waterfall Stage
Paul Metzger - Improvised on Modified Banjo, elegant with rustic audacity (ethereal)
Saturday Aug 9th 12:00-1:00 Promenade
LGF 4th Annual Gear Swap, sponsored by El Diablo Amps and Guitars. Gather your unused/unloved gear and swap them out for something new and exciting! Trade with your fellow Twin Cities pedal junkies, or trade with El Diablo himself! This event is free and open to the public. Register for a chance to win a FREE Chase Bliss Audio pedal! For more info, visit the El Diablo Amps Facebook Page
Saturday Aug 9th 11:15-12:00 Cafe Stage (Inside Dock N Paddle)
The Daily Norm is the solo project of Kae Layne, a guitarist from Connecticut, started in 2022. His fingerstyle technique is described as delicate, atmospheric, and thought-provoking. Inspired by the likes of Lindsay Buckingham, Bruce Cockburn, and Doug Smith, he takes what he learns and adds it to his style. His hope is that through his playing and his music, he can reach and connect with others.
Saturday Aug 9th 12:00-12:45 Promenade Stage -Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
Cassandra Johnson-During the early months of lockdown in 2020, Cassandra decided to distract herself by learning guitar. Youtube and self discipline became her teachers. Initially the intention was to learn the basics in hopes to find her songwriting instrument. However, her passion for the guitar set ablaze so deeply that she has spent much of her time playing the instrument and exploring various styles including neo-soul, jazz, funk, indie-pop, alternative, folk, country-folk, and americana. Each one of these flavors have been effortlessly balanced to create a sound all her own.
Along with live performance, Cassandra has a rich online presence through her Instagram. She is the founder of Friday Riffday, a project that started as a joyful and lighthearted way for her to track her progress while learning guitar. It has grown into a successful online community, reaching individuals from around the globe and inspiring authenticity in music representation on social media. Over 1000 posts have been shared to #fridayriffday.
Saturday Aug 9th 12:00-3:00 Waterfall Stage
Al Church is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who fronts his own solo project and plays guitar/sings in various projects. His experience recording guitar, voice, percussion, and keyboards yields great results quickly. Seriously, he brings so much commitment and talent to any stage he is on. A fierce guitarist, joyous drummer, angelic singer, really the drum major for the MN musical marching band.
Saturday Aug 9th 12:15-1:00 Cafe Stage (inside Dock&Paddle)
Liz DeYoe is a guitarist, composer and teacher living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. She is known for blending fingerstyle, jazz and classical techniques in her solo compositions. Liz is currently endorsed by the Canadian acoustic guitar builder House Guitars , is the guitarist in The Foxgloves and is a private instructor for Fretboard Biology. She has gained recognition through video demos showcasing the guitar collection of the high-end guitar store Paramount Guitars. She released her first full length album The Fool’s Journey: Major Arcana Part 1 on 1/6/2023 featuring compositions inspired by tarot cards.
Saturday Aug 9th 1:00-1:45 Promenade Stage- Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
The Neighborhood Quartet—featuring guitarist Dan Schwartz, w/ vibraphonist Steve Rohm, bassist Nick Salisbury, and drummer Greg Schutte—play music as varied as its members’ impressive résumés. As improvisers, they’re adept at navigating jazz harmony; as writers they understand the shape of folk like melodies. On their self-titled debut album, they play sticky melodies laid on top of supple funk, ideal for cruising the streets of the group’s native Twin Cities; and ethereal ballads that could soundtrack a drive through nearby prairie. Each member is an in-demand player in and beyond the Twin Cities. Their collective credits include work with the New Standards, Chastity Brown, Ryan Bingham, and Dan Navarro. Together, they play with a sympathy born both of deep listening and true friendship.
Saturday Aug 9th 1:15-2:00pm Cafe Stage (inside Dock&Paddle)
LaPlant Road is the fondly named group for two childhood friends, Emily LaPlant and Liz Ashworth who grew up in the tundra of Northern Minnesota. They found warmth and purpose in the music that captivated the dwellers of LaPlant Road, a place named after the early settlers who established themselves in the Grand Rapids area a century prior. Together, Liz and Emily work to create new sounds, incorporating influence from their favorite genres, to craft an audio ode to many of the best things in their childhood: music, family, and friends. Both ladies are multi-instrumentalists with harmonious vocal blend that often transports listeners to a peaceful and beautiful listening space.
Saturday Aug 9th 2:00-2:45 Promenade Stage- Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
Joe and Vicki Price- A husband and wife that sound like they like each other is a pretty big event right there. About the music this duo makes? It doesn't get any more duo that this, they both pick guitar formidably with the heavy lifting done by Joe while Vicki does the heavy lifting on vocals sounding like a thrush from a speakeasy on the wrong side of town in the 1920's. Serving up blues based roots music throughout, this is one of those little treasures we've been hiding out here in the heartland waiting for the rest of you to catch up with what people with the blues in Iowa can deliver.
Saturday Aug 9th 2:15-3:00pm Cafe Stage (inside Dock&Paddle)
Duo CORDA - a new project on the Twin Cities' music scene. Cellist Jacqueline Ultan and guitarist Pavel Jany blend together elements of jazz, classical music and a variety of international music styles. Their repertoire includes some original material combined with works from Astor Piazzolla and Joaquín Rodrigo to Django Reinhardt and Jaco Pastorius.
Saturday Aug 9th 3:00-4:00 Promenade Stage- Presented by Baird- The Jandric Antkowiak Group
Mark Whitfield- “For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver”, a recording by the Christian Mcbride Big Band featuring Mark Whitfield and Joey Defrancesco has received the 2022 Grammy Award for “Best Large Jazz Ensemble”! This is the most recent collaboration between Whitfield and McBride, a musical relationship that began over 30 years ago when they were both featured members of the “Jazz Futures”, an All-Star Jazz Band that also launched the career of the late Roy Hargrove. Mark Whitfield graduated from Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, the world’s foremost institution for the study of Jazz and modern American music in the spring of 1987. Shortly thereafter, he returned to his to his native New York to embark on a career as a Jazz Guitarist that has afforded him the opportunity to collaborate with such legendary artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Carmen McRae, Gladys Knight, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Smith, Clark Terry, Shirley Horn, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Joe Williams, Stanley Turrentine and his mentor, the great George Benson. In 1990 the New York Times dubbed Whitfield “The Best Young Guitarist in the Business”. Later that year, Warner Bros. released his debut album “The Marksman”. The success of his debut release led to a recording career that has produced a total of 16 solo recordings and a myriad of collaborative efforts with some of the most important artists in recent years; Sting, Steven Tyler, D’Angelo, Mary J. Blige, John Mayer, Chaka Khan, Jill Scott, Diana Krall, Chris Botti, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Robert Glasper and the aforementioned Christian Mcbride. Mark Whitfield remains extremely active as a performer, recording artist and sideman and as a highly sought after instructor and master clinician. Along with this most recent Grammy nomination, 2022 will see the release of several new projects that feature Whitfield talents as a guitarist, composer and producer.
The Last Waltz
Saturday Aug 10th 6:00-9:00 Promenade Stage
This is a ticketed show
What would anybody leave so quickly for?
History of LGF: Founded in 2013 with major backing by McNally-Smith Collage of Music and help from the STAR grant. Chris Osgood ( punk rock guitar slinger, scenester and all around angel of arts ) asked that Molly put together an afternoon of guitar hero music that would bring folks of all ages and genre loving music fans to Mears Park in the heart of the warehouse district of St. Paul . Under the dynamic guidance of Chris and the many hats he wears, Lowertown Guitar Festival, the big FREE fest was born.
Not only was it 8 hours of exceptional guitar skills spanning 2-3 stages, it also included free workshops in the morning at McNally-Smith covering technical skills like guitar effects, tone and other more gear focus topics.The college hosted a teen guitar seminar in the morning, culminating in a teen guitar challenge at the site starting at noon where kids had an opportunity to shred and compete for gear donated by major manufacturers like Fender and Martin Guitars. Over the years we have added a "market place”, and in 2016 included a luthier's showcase.
2018 found us at the historic Como Lakeside Pavilion, a venue that hit many high notes for our growing team. Todd Clouser came aboard providing added support and a broader reach. We were able to keep the festival free, adding another stage, more vendors and a covered area from the elements keeping us outdoors.
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