Acoustic Guitar (magazine)

Acoustic Guitar is a monthly magazine published in the United States since July/August 1990 by String Letter Publishing.^[1] The magazine offers information, inspiration, and instruction related to acoustic guitars for players of all levels from beginners to teachers. Each issue includes three or so songs with notation and tablature, lessons, product reviews and interviews of prominent acoustic musicians. The magazine boasts a readership of approximately 54,000 and a social media audience that numbers more than 490,000 likes on Facebook, and is widely available throughout North America.^[2]

History

Acoustic Guitar was founded in the summer of 1990 under the editorial direction of Jeffery Pepper Rodgers as a publication of String Letter Publishing of Richmond, California.^[3] String Letter had previously been established in 1985 as the publisher of Strings, a magazine oriented towards players of bowed string instruments.^[4]

The first issue featured the first in a series of columns written by Sharon Isbin, a biography on Robert Johnson, a profile of Bruce Cockburn's song craft, and commentary on the "new" MTV Unplugged series. The issue also included musical works for guitar in various styles including folk, classical, and jazz.^[5] In its first year of publication, Acoustic Guitar won the Western Publishing Association's "Maggie Award" for Best New Consumer Magazine of the year.^[6]

The magazine has seen a number of staff changes over the years. Rodgers remained with the magazine through its tenth anniversary collector's edition in 2000.^[7] In the summer of 2005, Dan Gabel was named associate publisher of the magazine.^[8] And In 2006, Phil Catalfo became the editor of the magazine. He was followed by Scott Nygaard and Greg Cahill, who relanched the magazine in 2014. Later that year, Mark Kemp^[9] served as editor for several months. The magazine's current editor is Greg Cahill, who also served until 2016 as editorial director of Stringletter Publishing. Cahill is the creator of the publication's popular online video series called Acoustic Guitar Sessions," featuring interviews and performances by the likes of Richard Thompson, Ed Sheeran, the Milk Carton Kids, Ani DiFranco, Robert Earl Keen, Valerie June, Bruce Cockburn, and many others.

Event sponsorship

The magazine is sponsor or co-sponsor of a number of music festivals, workshops, and trade related events, including MerleFest, the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase, and the Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration.^[10]

References

1. ↑ String Letter Publishing web site
2. ↑ Acoustic Guitar advertising information (includes estimated readership)
3. ↑ Jeffery Pepper Rodgers bio from his web site
4. ↑ Strings magazine web site
5. ↑ Contents (first issue), Acoustic Guitar, 1, July/August, 1990.
6. ↑ "About us", Acoustic Guitar web site
7. ↑ Contents (tenth anniversary collectors edition), Acoustic Guitar, 91, July 2000 (see also this excerpt from Rodgers web site)
8. ↑ "Dan Gabel named associate publisher (Acoustic Guitar Magazine), The Music Trades, July 1, 2005
9. ↑ Acoustic Guitar Names Mark Segal Kemp as Editor
10. ↑ "A Guide to events where you'll find Acoustic Guitar magazine, Acoustic Guitar web site

External links

• Acoustic Guitar Central, official website