Austin Steel Guitar Fest

SteelRadio and the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame are bringing the inaugural Austin Steel Guitar Fest to the Austin Airport Marriott South from Thursday, October 1, through Saturday, October 3. It's a three-day showcase of the steel guitar across Western Swing, Country, Hawaiian, Jazz and Blues, so you'll hear the instrument in a few different worlds over the course of the weekend.

Things kick off on Thursday with instructional seminars and a free welcome party featuring live steel guitar combos. From there, the following nights bring more than 50 performers across two stages, including members of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and some of today's best touring steel players. The program also makes room for Hall of Fame inductions, a Hawaiian Kanikapila Jam on Friday night, and a Nashville Steel Guitar Social Club Jam and a Honky Tonk Dance on Saturday night. Between the sets, there'll be steel guitar vendors and local artisans on site.

If you're not a player yourself, the jam sessions are still worth catching—the Kanikapila is the Hawaiian tradition of playing together in an informal, communal way, and the Honky Tonk Dance on Saturday is when the whole thing leans into the dance floor. The Hall of Fame inductions run through the weekend as well, so you'll see the instrument's history recognized alongside the live playing.

The festival runs from 10 AM to 11:59 PM on Thursday, October 1, Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3, at the Austin Airport Marriott South, 4415 S. I-35, Austin, TX 78744.