About Us
The Indiana State Fingerstyle Guitar Competition, started in 2012, takes place in Nashville, Indiana. The event brings some of the finest fingerstyle guitar players in the United States to the Brown County Playhouse to compete for the grand prize – hand made Guitars, the opportunity to play in the evening concert, and bragging rights of being the winner of the Annual Competition.
The event takes place over three days. Friday Night kicks off the event with a big tent party, featuring an open mic with many of our competitors.
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar by plucking the strings directly with fingertips, fingernails or picks attached to the right hand fingers. The term is often used synonymously with fingerpicking, classical, or thumb style. Prominent fingerstyle players include Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Tommy Emmanuel, and Andres Segovia. You can hear samples of this style of playing by watching the YouTube videos posted below of our Evening Concert performers.
Past Events
Our Co-Producers
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Chuck Wills Founder, Co-ProducerChuck is a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He is a member of the bands Cari Ray & The Loaners, The Acre Brothers, as well as several other collaborations with regional musicians. He spends time on the other side of the microphone as Producer and Engineer for WFHB’s Brown County Hour radio program. Long-time residents of Brown County, he and his wife Teresa spend time outdoors, binging on Netflix and baking pie.
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Kara Barnard Founder, Co-Producer
Kara is a singer-songwriter, nationally competing multi-instrumentalist, instructor and talented visual artist from Nashville, Indiana. When Kara’s not playing or creating art, you’ll probably find her hiking or biking through the hills of brown county. She is Co-Founder and Co-Producer of the Indiana State Fingerstyle Guitar Competition, as well as Co-Owner of Weedpatch Music Company.