A Guitar Festival for Brooklyn

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (hosted by David First, guest host)
Episode: A Guitar Festival for Brooklyn
Air Date: June 12, 2026
Guests: Joel Harrison (Guitarist, co-organizer of Brooklyn Guitar Festival), Steve Cardenas (Performer, New School Jazz Faculty)

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Episode Overview

This episode showcases the inaugural Brooklyn Guitar Festival, featuring some of the world's leading guitarists, including Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Al Di Meola, Vernon Reid, and more. Guest host David First interviews Joel Harrison, the festival's co-organizer and performer, and guitarist Steve Cardenas. The discussion dives into the festival's origins, artist lineup, tributes to guitar legends, and the creative spirit of Brooklyn's diverse music scene. The episode is interwoven with live in-studio performances by Harrison and Cardenas.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Festival’s Genesis

• Joel Harrison credits festival creation to Eric Eckstein, not himself: Eckstein, a developer and passionate guitar enthusiast, involved his teacher Alex Skolnick and then Joel Harrison to build out the event.

“Actually, I’m giving you full responsibility. I was hired by a wonderful New York person who’s a developer and a lover of guitar, Eric Eckstein. He asked his teacher, Alex Skolnick, the guitarist, to help him organize this. And Alex brought me in.” — Joel Harrison [06:07]

• Initial plans to host the festival in Prospect Park were derailed due to city scheduling conflicts, specifically a Knicks viewing party and concerns about overlapping with the Philharmonic concert. The event was relocated to Warsaw (Greenpoint) and Arlo Hotel (Williamsburg).

“Unfortunately, we were moved from Prospect Park by our dear mayor who wanted to do a first, a Knicks viewing game on Saturday.” — Joel Harrison [07:14]

Programming and Lineup Philosophy

• The lineup is an intentional mix of generational icons and rising stars across genres:
  • Legends: Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Vernon Reid, Al Di Meola
  • Rising artists: Jackie Venson, Ali Vinal, Greg Koch, Eric Gales
• The aim was to reflect a broad spectrum—blues, rock, jazz—and elevate both national stars and NYC local legends.

“We wanted to honor some of the older legends...but we also wanted to fill the ranks with young, younger people and people who aren’t necessarily jazz players.” — Joel Harrison [08:30]

Special Tributes

• Two anchor tributes shape the programming:
  • Night 1: A tribute to Jeff Beck, featuring “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” by Charles Mingus (covered by Beck)
    • “Vernon Reed, Eric Gales, Greg Koch…one of the songs that we’ll play is Charles Mingus’s ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat’ that Jeff Beck covered.” — Joel Harrison [00:59]
  • Night 2: The “All Stars Play the Music of John Scofield” event, with five guitarists interpreting Scofield’s influential work.

Logistics and the Challenge of Curation

• Organizing a new festival in NYC comes with unforeseen hurdles, from venue politics to competing events.
• Harrison jokes about the difficulty:

“These things are harder to put together than people think...I’ll use a quote that the producer of this mentioned to me the other day. He said, ‘You know what? I build really big buildings in New York, and this festival is harder.’” — Joel Harrison [10:43]

Personal Connections: On Collaboration and Inspiration

• Harrison and Cardenas have a history dating back 35 years as musical collaborators.
  • “A long history? Yeah, 35 years now, probably.” — Joel Harrison [05:44]
  • “Since we were two.” — Steve Cardenas [05:50]
• Cardenas highlights his excitement for the Scofield tribute, both as a participant and a fan.
• When asked about Scofield’s influence, Cardenas says:

“He’s such a hero to so many guitar players. And, you know, when I first heard him way back when...he struck me. It just hit a nerve with me because he sounded like a synthesis of Joe Henderson and Hendrix to me somehow, like, swung like Joe Henderson. But had that edge, that raw thing that Hendrix had.” — Steve Cardenas [18:19]

Practical Info

• For tickets and updates:

“Just do a quick search on Brooklyn Guitar Festival. There’s a website with the ticket links and everything.” — Joel Harrison [10:25]

• Harrison assures listeners there's plenty of programming regardless of sports overlaps:

“It starts at 12:30, so you...could be out the door to the game and still see eight hours of music.” — Joel Harrison [19:17]
“Don’t miss Al Dimiola.” — David First [19:31]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being preempted by city events:
  • “Unfortunately, we were moved from Prospect Park by our dear mayor who wanted to do a first, a Knicks viewing game on Saturday.” — Joel Harrison [07:14]
• On the challenge of festival organizing in NYC:
  • “I build really big buildings in New York, and this festival is harder.” — Quote relayed by Joel Harrison [10:43]
• On Scofield’s style:
  • “He sounded like a synthesis of Joe Henderson and Hendrix to me somehow, like, swung like Joe Henderson. But had that edge, that raw thing that Hendrix had.” — Steve Cardenas [18:19]

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Performance Highlights

• Live in-studio tributes:
  • [00:59–04:50] “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” (Charles Mingus, as played by Jeff Beck)—performed live by Joel Harrison and Steve Cardenas
  • [09:58–16:44] “Strange Meeting” (Bill Frisell)—performed live by Joel Harrison and Steve Cardenas

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:59] Discussion of festival origins & first performance
• [05:44] Harrison and Cardenas reflect on their 35-year musical partnership
• [06:07] Detailed explanation of festival's creation and production
• [08:06] Festival lineup philosophy and overview
• [09:58] Introduction and performance of Bill Frisell’s “Strange Meeting”
• [17:09] Cardenas on anticipation for the John Scofield tribute
• [18:19] Cardenas describes the impact of John Scofield’s sound
• [19:17] Harrison reassures about seeing music and sports

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Summary

This episode offers a lively and revealing look at the debut Brooklyn Guitar Festival, weaving together behind-the-scenes anecdotes, artistic philosophy, and personal reflections on the power of guitar music. The in-studio performances and camaraderie between guests celebrate both the technical mastery and communal spirit at the heart of the city’s vibrant music culture. Whether a seasoned fan or a newcomer, listeners are presented with a festival that aims to honor legends, nurture rising stars, and make Brooklyn a center for guitar innovation.

Transcript

[Commercial Announcer]

Foreign.

[David First]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm David first filling in for Alison Stewart. Tonight is the first night of the very first Brooklyn Guitar Festival. Leading guitar players like Bill Frizzell, Al dimiola and Vernon Reed will perform at two locations, Warsaw and Greenpoint, Brooklyn, tonight, and the Arlo Hotel in Williamsburg tonight. The festival was organized by Joel Harrison, a guitar player himself and a Guggenheim fellow who will be performing. And he's here with us to preview the events. And also with us is another one of the performers, Steve Cardenas, guitarist and new school jazz faculty. Welcome.

[Joel Harrison]

Thank you.

[Steve Cardenas]

Thanks.

[David First]

And can we. Can we get started. Can we start off with some music?

[Steve Cardenas]

Absolutely, we can do that.

[David First]

What are we going to hear?

[Joel Harrison]

Well, we're going to hear one of the songs that will be performed tonight. It's a tribute to Jeff Beck that we're doing and Vernon Reed, Eric Gales, Greg Koch. And this is one of the songs that we'll play. It's Charles Mingus's Goodbye Pork by Hat that Jeff Beck covered.

[David First]

Okay, great.

[Commercial Announcer]

Sa.

[David First]

Joel Harrison and Steve Cardenas live here in Studio 5 on all of it. Thank you for that. Do you guys have a history of playing together?

[Joel Harrison]

A long history? Yeah, 35 years now, probably. Really?

[Steve Cardenas]

Since we were two.

[David First]

Right, since. Right, since you're 37 now. That's great. So tell us about this festival. This is the first year of the Brooklyn Guitar Festival. What gave you the idea that this was a new festival that needed to launch?

[Joel Harrison]

Okay, I need to first clarify something. You were kind in your introduction and you said I was responsible for organizing this. Not true. Actually, I'm giving you full responsibility. I was hired by a wonderful New York person who's a developer and a lover of guitar, Eric Eckstein. He asked his teacher, Alex Skolnick, the guitarist, to help him organize this. And Alex brought me in. So, yes, we both booked this together, Alex and I, and. And Eric is the producer of the festival. And he just felt that because he had the lease to a space in Prospect park called the lafrac Pavilion that he wanted to put music into the city. He loves music. He wanted to start a whole festival series. And so this is the first one. Unfortunately, we were moved from Prospect park by our dear mayor who wanted to do a first, a Knicks viewing game on Saturday.

[David First]

That's right. It was bumped right to make room for another Knicks watch party.

[Joel Harrison]

And also Friday night, we were bumped because they were afraid that since the Philharmonic was playing over in the band shell, that we would sort of infiltrate their Sound space with loud guitar music. So we ended up at the Warsaw Beautiful venue in Greenpoint and also at the Arlo Hotel in Williamsburg, which is also a wonderful place. But I think that the idea that there could be an annual festival based in Brooklyn that brings in people from around the country as well as celebrating kind of local legends, if you will, is a powerful one. And there's just all kinds of possibilities that I see if we can continue this.

[David First]

Let's talk about the lineup for this year's first festival. It includes Vernon Reed, who is probably best known as a member of the band Living Color, jazz guitarist Bill Frizzell, John Schofield, jazz fusion master Al Dimiola, Alex Skolnick, you already mentioned these are some big names. How did you think about this lineup?

[Joel Harrison]

Well, there were all kinds of people that we envisioned having to this. And we wanted it to have an identity and sort of based on who was available and what our budget was. It started to come together. And in this particular iteration, we felt we wanted to honor some of the older legends who had been so important to so many people. And in this case, that's John Scofield, Bill Frizzell, Verne, and the people you mentioned. But we also wanted. Wanted to fill the ranks with young, younger people and people who aren't necessarily jazz players. There's a strong blues rock component. Young lady named Jackie Vinson, Amazing Ali Vinal from Texas, Greg Koch from Milwaukee, and Eric Gales, who is really quite popular now as an amazing blues player. So we wanted to. To give it a kind of a blues rock, jazz identity and tried to cover as much of a spectrum and that is possible, including our tribute to John Scofield, where five guitarists are playing his music on Saturday, including Steve.

[David First]

That's right. There's two tribute events. Right. The one for Jeff Beck is tonight.

[Joel Harrison]

Yes.

[David First]

And the one for John Scofield tomorrow. And John Scofield also performing at the festival himself.

[Joel Harrison]

Yes.

[David First]

Well, it sounds like a lot of fun. Can we hear some more music? Sure.

[Joel Harrison]

Well, we thought we'd honor our dear friend Bill Frisel and play one of his songs.

[David First]

That sounds great. What's the name of this piece?

[Joel Harrison]

This is called Strange Meeting. I think it's one of his most well known pieces.

[David First]

Okay. Joel Harrison and Steve Cardenas live here on all of it. And we're having a quick. A quick tuning. So while we're having a quick tuning, let me ask you the all important question. If someone wants to find some more information about the Brooklyn Guitar Festival, it's just I just do a quick search on Brooklyn.

[Joel Harrison]

Brooklyn Guitar Festival will come right up. Yep, it's. There's a website with the ticket links and everything.

[David First]

And as far as you know, you haven't been bumped out of the Warsaw yet for another Knicks party, have you?

[Joel Harrison]

Oh, please. You know, these things are harder to put together than people think. For sure. I'll say. And I'll.

[Steve Cardenas]

I'll.

[Joel Harrison]

I'll use a quote that the producer of this mentioned to me the other day. He said, you know what? I build really big buildings in New York, and this festival is harder.

[David First]

There's a lot going on in the city. Okay, let's hear some music.

[Commercial Announcer]

Satan.

[David First]

That Strange Meeting by Bill Frizzell, performed by Joel Harris and Steve Cardenas. All. All three going to be part of the Brooklyn Guitar Festival. Steve, is there a particular show that you're looking forward to in the festival? Well, you just have to pull your mic a little bit closer. Sorry, sorry.

[Steve Cardenas]

Yeah, we're not just in a living room.

[David First]

It feels pretty chill, though.

[Steve Cardenas]

I mean, I'm looking forward to hearing. You know, I'm not going to be there for every moment, you know, but I'm looking forward to hearing everybody I can. And I'm very much looking forward to the Schofield tribute because not only am I a part of it, but there's friends and great players that are part of that tribute. It's going to be really fun. And we have to jam it in an hour and 15 minutes.

[David First]

Oh, it's a lot to get in.

[Steve Cardenas]

We can do it.

[David First]

You can do it. That's right. John Scofield is playing with his trio tonight, and there's also that tribute event called All Stars Play the Music of John Scofield tomorrow night. Incredible musician, John Scofield.

[Joel Harrison]

Yes. Well, yeah, tell us what he's meant to you, Steve, because, you know, this is something that. With the Alternative Guitar Summit, you know, this organization that I run, I'm really. It's very important to me to honor some of the people who have made our lives so much better with their direction and music. And so Steve has known John and known his music for so long. Maybe you could tell us just a little bit about.

[Steve Cardenas]

Well, he's.

[David First]

We're in the last few seconds, so. Yes.

[Steve Cardenas]

Okay. He's such a hero to so many guitar players. And, you know, when I first heard him way back when, I just. He struck me. It just hit a nerve with me because he sounded like a synthesis of Joe Henderson and Hendrix to me somehow, like, swung like Joe Henderson. But had that edge, that raw thing that Hendrix had. So I mean, and I just kind of followed him ever since.

[David First]

Well, you can check out John Scofield in person playing tonight. And you can check out the John Scofield tribute that is happening tomorrow night. Do a quick search, find out more information about the Brooklyn Guitar Festival. The two day festival starts tonight with events at Warsaw in Greenpoint and the Arlo Hotel in Williamsburg tomorrow. And we'll say go Nicks as well. Let's be Joel Harrison and Steve Cardenas, thank you so much for joining us and have a great festival.

[Joel Harrison]

Yeah, well, it's all day tomorrow, so don't, don't feel as if you have to miss the Knicks game. It starts at 12:30 so you can be, you know, you'll miss Aldemyola, but you could be out the door to the game and still see eight hours of music.

[David First]

Don't miss Al Daemiola.

[Joel Harrison]

Yeah, well, I agree.

[Commercial Announcer]

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