Rain and a packed parking lot couldn’t stop the St. Louis Cigar Box Guitar Club from hosting its 13th annual Cigar Box Guitar Music Festival on May 30 outside 21 Rock Grill & Bar in Arnold.
The festival drew an estimated 1,500 attendees to celebrate the unique musical tradition of cigar box guitars.
The afternoon event brought together more than two dozen vendors, including guitar makers and woodworkers, showing off their unique creations. The festival drew musicians and enthusiasts from around the world, some coming from as far as Belgium and Texas for the event.
The festival served as more than just a chance for enthusiasts to share their love of the craft. It also acted as a fundraiser for 6 String Heroes, an organization that provides guitars to veterans. Rain in the late afternoon forced the festival to move indoors, but they still hosted a live auction to benefit the charity.
Two guitars, one commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary and another signed by three famed cigar box guitar players, were sold by a live auctioneer, helping to raise roughly $2,000 for 6 String Heroes.
Michael Breedlove, owner of MGB Guitars, who donated the 250th anniversary instrument, said he enjoys seeing the tradition of handmade instruments live on.
“It’s a real unique little sub-category of music,” he said. “Way back, my grandparents, your great-grandparents or even older, they could have been in Arkansas, and they had no money, but they did have a Sears-Roebuck catalog to see the instruments. They’d think ‘I have a stick; I can make a guitar.’”
For event organizer Russell “Russ” Wellington, the event is about more than just a niche hobby.
“The music, the community, the love of music, I mean, it’s what we are,” Wellington said. “It’s like we have friends we see every year. It’s like a family, really.”
That family atmosphere was on full display as makers invited guests into their tents to show off their creations and even let them play. Each craftsman had unique pieces to show and, while many were made from cigar boxes, there were plenty of instruments made from other unconventional materials.
Joe Sears, a guitar maker who has built about 230 instruments in the last 12 years, brought instruments made with drawer pulls, plumbing hardware and even parts from a meat grinder.
“I call it upcycling; my way of recycling,” Sears said. “I’m a plumber by trade, so if you look at a lot of my stuff, that’s where a lot of it comes from. I use bolts, a lot of bolts and nuts. I use old silverware.”
Among his creations was a unique “canjo” made from an old under-the-sink instant hot water heater, a nod to his work in plumbing.
“It really is amazing seeing that someone else’s trash is someone’s treasure,” said Doris Kocher, who traveled from Galveston, Texas for the event.
Those interested in cigar box guitars can check the group’s Facebook page, St. Louis Cigar Box Guitar Club, or attend the club’s monthly meetings every third Saturday of the month at noon at 21 Rock, 1 Meramec Heights Shopping Center.
Wellington says the club is always eager to welcome new members willing to learn more and keep the tradition alive.
“If somebody comes in, we’re very good at providing them with everything they need and teaching them how to build,” Wellington said.
See more photos from the event here:
