Sometimes the best way to tell a story is by using no words at all.
Guitarist, composer, and curator Joel Harrison has spent much of his life telling six string stories —serving as both artist and ambassador for his favorite instrument.
“I enjoy the infinity of sounds that is possible with the guitar,” he says. “Unlike so many other instruments, the guitar is an orchestra.”
But his love for the guitar is not merely aesthetic. For Harrison, it represents something much deeper.
He explains, “The guitar embodies much of the history of American music. I like to say the story of our country can be told through guitar and voice.”
Joel has devoted his career to illuminating that legacy. His annual guitar camp connects some of the most accomplished guitarists in the world with students and aficionados. He’s also the force behind the AltGuitar Summit—now in its fifteenth year—where he brings together innovative players in unexpected pairings and boundary-pushing configurations. His most recent book, Pity the Genius, is an exploration of American guitar music and the lives of the musicians who shaped it.
Guitarist, composer, and curator Joel Harrison
Through all of this, Harrison has become one of the keepers of the guitar’s deeper truths—not just the technical ones, but the philosophical and human ones as well.
“I feel like I’ve become kind of an encyclopedia of guitar knowledge,” Joel remarks. “I’d love to teach at a college about guitar and life—what the guitar means in our country, what it means to improvise, and how improvisation is true democracy. It’s a model for living. I’m just a better person from all that I’ve learned from these people, and I try to apply it to my guitar playing.”
Earlier this year, Harrison did just that with Guitar Talk Vol. 2, an ambitious double album exploring the full expressive range of the instrument and featuring duets between him and a who’s-who of genre-defying guitarists including: Nels Cline, Camila Meza and Adam Levy.
But his devotion to the guitar isn’t just about his playing—it’s tied to a higher calling and a desire to give something back.
“We all need to make the world a better place,” he says. “That’s partly what we’re here for. And sometimes the only thing we can do is choose what we’re closest to and the niche that we know best to do that. It’s a small corner of the world, guitar players. But I like to try to add something to the scene and not just feel as if the scene needs to give something to me.”
This month, Harrison brings that spirit to Brooklyn’s Barbes with a Saturday evening residency: Joel Harrison’s Guitar Choir.
Each week offers a different take on the instrument—from the ethereal to the explosive.
On June 21st, he'll be joined by four of his favorite collaborators—all guitarists—for an evening of exploratory, conversational music.
And on June 28th, he’ll close the month with Joel Harrison’s Stardust Reunion Band, a new songwriting project featuring vocals by Harrison and special guest Everett Bradley.
It promises to be a gathering of guitarists huddled around the music as if it were a bonfire. And for Harrison, that’s still the magic of the instrument.
“That’s the beauty of the instrument,” says Joel. “When you’re around a campfire, what are you going to play? A saxophone? No.”
Joel Harrison’s Guitar Choir plays Saturdays in June from 6 to 7:30 pm at Barbes, 376 9th Street in Brooklyn. More info at barbesbrooklyn.com.
