Guitarists
Want to play in Zihua? See submission details below as well as our terms & conditions…
The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival is a non-profit festival that brings together musicians from all over the world. The festival provides airfare, food and hotel accommodations but no pay. Musicians are allowed to sell merchandise, the festival retains 10% of sales.
Many of our artists are internationally renowned, some are even winners of the music industry`s highest honors. Musicians love the festival and many apply to come back every year – the friendships and musical partnerships that have been born from our late night jam sessions are legendary. International tours, recording projects, artist exchanges and residency scholarships all bear witness to the extraordinary talent that the ZIGF attracts and the wonderful music that is created here. The ZIGF is a unique cultural exchange, unlike any festival that you have ever been to.
Sound like something you might enjoy?
Before submitting your application, please read our Terms & Conditions. All invited artists will be required to acknowledge and sign these terms before acceptance to the festival.
PLEASE NOTE:
The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival is a GUITAR festival for GUITARISTS only.
Submissions by musicians other than guitarists will not be considered.
In other words, full bands, even if they have 1 or more guitarists, will not be considered. Singers or other artists who wish to accompany a guitarist but that do not play guitar themselves will not be considered.
We welcome applications from guitarists from anywhere in the world, in solo, duo or trio configurations and from any genre including flamenco, classical, blues, folk, jazz, pop, singer-songwriter, rock, etc.
Artists must be available for the entire duration of the festival.
Artists under representation are welcome to apply, but we reserve the right to negotiate and coordinate directly with the artist.
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW SUBMISSION DATES
Artist submissions open April 1 and close June 30.
Artist Lineup is announced in the fall.
Before submitting please read our Terms and Conditions. If you agree and would like to apply, submit the following materials by email to: [email protected].
*EMAIL Subject line should be your name: Artist or Act Name*
1. LINKS to (as many as you have): your official website, Public Twitter page, Public Facebook page, YouTube Channel, etc.
2. PROGRAM BIO – (100 words MAX) – Short Artist Bio for our printed program.
If you are selected for the festival, this bio will be used word-for-word in our program and anything over 100 words will be cut off.
3. EMCEE BIO – (1-5 pages) – General Bio and Background Information.
Please include fun facts, tidbits, career achievements, notable people you have worked with, anecdotes, if you have ever been to Mexico / Zihuatanejo before, etc. This information will be used extemporaneously by the emcees when they introduce you at different concerts throughout the week.
4. TWO (2) PRINT QUALITY PHOTOS – (300 DPI resolution, should be at least 250KB in size and not larger than 5MB) – 1 Horizontal orientation, 1 Vertical orientation.
For use in both our printed program and on our website. (Having both horizontally and vertically oriented images gives us design flexibility.)
5. ONE TO THREE (1-3) MP3s – Music Samples
At least 1 (preferably all 3) need to be of the artists or the complete act in the configuration they are applying. This means guitar only, no non-guitar accompaniment, performing only with the artists you are applying with. Should you be selected for the festival, these clips will be played on our radio promotion.
6. (ONE TO THREE (1-3) YouTube Videos – Links to videos showing artists or act performing live.
At least 1 (preferably all 3) need to be of the artists or the complete act in the configuration they are applying. This means guitar only, no non-guitar accompaniment, performing only with the artists you are applying with. These videos are sent to the selection committee so pay particular care to your choice of videos to share!
7. Print out, sign, scan and return a copy of the Terms & Conditions
8. Fill out Artist Submission / Questionnaire (see below) — Please copy and paste the following questions into a WORD document, answer the questions thoroughly and return as an attachment with your application.
ARTIST QUESTIONNAIRE
1. NAME of Artist or Act (if different than appears on passport):
2. PASSPORT INFORMATION — Full Name of Artist(s) (as it appears on passport), Issuing Country, Passport #, Birth Date (Month Day, Year — ex. March 15, 1970). Without this information, we cannot buy your plane ticket! Please confirm that all of your information is complete and correct!!!
3. List all Artists names who are submitting together:
4. Are you a (Select one): Guitar SOLO, Guitar DUO, or Guitar TRIO
5. What is your PRIMARY GENRE:
6. Do you perform cover songs, what percentage of your act is cover songs?:
7. Our audiences are small and most attend multiple (repeat) performances. Do you have enough material for (2-3) 45-minute sets with a varied repertory?
8. NATIONALITY of all artists:
9. We require artists to be in attendance for the full festival week and a day or two before and/or after for flexibility in airline scheduling.
Are you available for the full festival week? If not what dates are you available?:
10. CLOSEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (Airport Code, City, State, Country) to you during March:
11. Will you need to return to a different airport? If so, please indicate which one (Airport Code) here:
12. How did you hear about us?:
13. We are a non-profit, low budget, volunteer-run festival that raises money for arts & cultural programs in the community. Are you willing to assume any of your travel expenses in exchange for spending a week with us in Zihuatanejo? If yes, how much?:
Submissions close JUNE 30 and all artists will be contacted by October. Meanwhile, you can keep up with us via our website or Facebook page.
Thanks very much for your time and for sharing your music with us!
— Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival Selection Committee