An organization on Franklin Street will attempt to break the Guinness World Record this Saturday for most guitars played in an ensemble.
Chris Howard, marketing director for Every Chord Counts said the event will help unite the Evansville area.
“We wanted to make a statement that Evansville is a great community with lots of culture,” Howard said.
Every Chord Counts is put on by the Franklin Street Events Association and was created by Amy Rivers-Word, president of the association, and Karen Sue-Conaway.
The goal of the event is to beat not one, but two records – the national record of 1,352 people set in Nashville and the international record of 6,500 people that was set in Poland.
Logan Dyer, owner of a local instrument store called Music First, is helping organize the event.
“Our goal is not to break the record once, but for people from around the world to travel to Evansville to break the new record every year,” Dyer said.
The event is free, and even those without a guitar can still participate. Moore Music will lend out guitars the day of the event. The Franklin Street Events Association decided to provide free lessons every week during the Franklin Street Bazaar with the help of Music First and Mike Boren, Evansville Music Academy owner.
They even offered a free guitar as a prize for anyone who attended eight out of 13 lessons, Howard said.
Howard said he’s happy with the amount of people who showed up to the weekly lessons.
“The turn out to the free lessons this year was amazing,” Howard said.
Boren and Dyer have conducted many of the lessons themselves, along with other instructors from the Evansville Music Academy.
Every Chord Counts is a true community effort and it’s not too late to join in,” Boren said.
Boren was introduced to the event when it was first attempted last year, but didn’t have a chance to get as involved as he wanted to. He said he plans on taking a more active role this year.
“For me, it’s watching the students gain confidence and the enjoyment they get from playing,” Boren said. “Seeing that many musicians playing together is pretty cool, too.”
Attendance was around 320 last year. Organizers from the Franklin Street Events Association are hoping to greatly exceed that number this year.
Guitarists will perform “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley, “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley and “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin. The songs were chosen because they are popular and easy to learn. After the record breaking attempt, local bands will take to the stage, including The Beat Daddy’s.
Every Chord Counts will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday on the West Branch Library lawn at 2000 West Franklin Street. The event will start with a clinic for people to learn the music. The record breaking attempt is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.