Free Edgar Cruz Concert

Popular classical and finger-style guitarist Edgar Cruz will play a variety of musical selections along with popular fan favorites. Mr. Cruz has been voted 6 times the Best Guitarist and Entertainer in Oklahoma and has been named the Oklahoma’s Top Performing Artist and/or Acoustic Guitarist for more than 15 years by the Oklahoma Gazette. Each year , Edgar Cruz performs over 200 concerts throughout America, Europe and South America. He has been a headliner at The Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville, TN since 1995 and is a strong icon at most festivals in Oklahoma including the Festival of the Arts, Paseo Festival, Sunfest, Global Oklahoma, and more. Those who have witnessed Cruz’s performance immediately become entranced at the precision, speed and complexity with which his fingers strike the strings of his guitar to create a symphony of sound unusual to just one instrument. Cruz offers an incredible live repertoire of “The Greatest Hits of the Guitar” which wows audience members of all ages. A few of the songs to be played will include : Malagueña, Classical Gas, Bohemian Rhapsody, In the Mood, Dueling Banjos, and Hotel California . Latin favorites, originals compositions, and medleys on the fly are included as well. Audience interaction and participation by clapping, singing, and dancing are all encouraged. Mr. Cruz has 17 CDs and 2 DVDs currently available which includes musical genres such as Latin, Classical, Rock, Jazz, Mariachi, Christmas and original compositions. Country, Western, Beatles, Inspirational, Celtic and Broadway are just a few more in the works.

In addition to his musical talents, Mr. Cruz has received numerous civic acknowledgments for his contributions to various charitable events. Edgar Cruz holds a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance from Oklahoma City University, the first person to do so. He was recently added to the Hispanic exhibit at The Oklahoma History Center and was also honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Oklahoma City University in 2010. His You Tube video of “Bohemian Rhapsody” has more than 14,000,000 hits worldwide. For more information, visit Edgar’s website at www.edgarcruz.com

Michael Kelsey is a rhythmic, inspired guitarist and performance artist who blends many musical genres with fervor and grace. When he hits the stage to perform, he plays every inch of his guitar pulling out every part of it or anything else an arm’s length or foot kick away. Kelsey’s abilities have enabled him to be noticed by many. A finalist in Guitar Player Magazine’s national competition and winner of Guitar Center’s "Guitarmageddon," chosen as best unsigned guitarist out of over 3000 entrants nationwide says it all. This allowed him to be part of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads 2004 performance where he shared the stage with many of the guitar legends such as Santana, Steve Vai, Eric Clapton. He has toured nationally with Blind Melon and Dishwalla and has opened shows for many artist of many styles including The Doobie Brothers, 38 Special, Rodrigo and Gabriella and the California Guitar Trio. Kelsey was born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, where he began his musical journey by weaving in and out of successful area bands as lead guitarist or bassist. Later he opened and ran a thriving recording studio, which after five years he retired in order to enable him to embark freely on his career as a solo artist. For more information on Michael, please visit his website at www.michaelkelsey.com or go to Youtube to see some of his performances.

This presentation is made possible with the assistance of the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Ponca City Arts and Humanities Council also receives financial assistance from individual donors and local businesses such as Phillips66, Martin Jean and Jackson Attorneys at Law, RCB Bank, Ponca City Tourism, and the Osage Casino. For more information, please visit the Council’s website at www.poncacityarts-humanities.org, or their Facebook page, or call 580-765-3966.