Politics & Government

GuitarTown Showcase Acts Announced

Waukesha's GuitarTown kicks off publicly June 1 during Freeman Friday Night Live.

Editor’s Note: The following information was provided to Patch via a news release.

The Les Paul Trio, Rusty Paul, and Sammy Llanas will headline the upcoming festivities to celebrate Waukesha, the birth and resting place of Les Paul, and the latest Gibson GuitarTown. The events will also showcase the finalized guitar art created by 30 visual artists.

 The musicians will perform during a private evening reception on May 31 at the Rotunda in historic downtown Waukesha where several of the playable Les Paul guitars will be auctioned off in person and online. A public event will be held during Freeman Friday Night Live the evening of June 1 in historic downtown Waukesha. 

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The Musicians

The Les Paul Trio performs every Monday night at the Iridum, a popular jazz and rock club in New York.  The Trio’s music pays homage to the music of Les Paul and often features guests like Ted Nugent, Jeff Beck, Zakk Wylde and Steve Miller.

The Rusty Paul Band features Les Paul’s son Rusty and perform blues, funk and rock music at a variety of locations and venues.

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Sammy Llanas, a Waukesha native and former member of the BoDeans, is known for his distinctive and is now a solo musician.

Waukesha GuitarTown

The Waukesha GuitarTown Project is a public arts endeavor that will feature a display of ten 10-foot tall fiberglass Gibson Les Paul model guitars and 20 playable Les Paul guitars. The guitars will be artistically designed by visual artists from Southeastern Wisconsin. Playable guitars will be sent to Gibson for the addition of strings and hardware April 13 and then returned to Waukesha for indoor display and charity auction. Finished guitars will be displayed as part of a walking tour of downtown Waukesha landmarks June 1.

Funding from the project is provided by the Gibson Guitar Foundation and local sponsors. Sponsorships are available. Other Gibson GuitarTown cities include Hollywood, Cleveland, Miami, Orlando, London, Austin and Nashville. Call Waukesha GuitarTown at 262-547-1060 for more information.


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