Monthly Meeting Recap and News for February 2026

Greetings guitar fans,

On Thursday, February 12, at Paschal Winery, we had a lovely evening full of camaraderie and good music, including by some new performers, plus a presentation of special guitars by their luthier.

This is also the season to renew your annual membership (or become a new member) by visiting guitarsocietyso.org/become-a-member.

Read on!

The Monthly Meeting

PROGRAM

Francie Buckley – Der Mutige Seiltanzer, Nowhere, both by Angela Mair

Norm Fletcher – You Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman, Valentines Day by James Taylor, The Great Dancing Bear by Carl Zimmerman and Steve Ewert

Brian Parris – Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers, Turn The Page by Bob Seeger, When I Call Your Name by Vince Gill

~ Intermission ~

Andy Casad – Sojourn, Just Let Go (originals)

Nick Garrett-Powell – Seabeg and Shemore (trad. Irish), Prism/Diffraction (original) on baritone guitar

Grant Ruiz – Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, The Silence of a Candle by Ralph Towner (1940 – 2026)

Dan Fellman Grant (Canto Sol) – Chan Chan by the Buena Vista Social Club, Libertango by Astor Piazzolla

Matt Dorris – Levantine Suite by Dusan Bogdanovic

After the music, there was a presentation by local luthier Phleques (phlequesguitars.com), showcasing his classical style guitars that are built for steel strings, which produce almost twice as much tension as nylon strings. Matt, Norm, Andy, and Nick all tried the guitars and said they were very playable, and the sound was clear and bright, but not overly so. Phleques described how his later model removes the sound hole and places two in the upper bouts so there’s more reinforcement along the center line of the soundboard. See more below under Guitars for Sale.

AnnouncementsOn Saturday, February 28, Canto Sol (Dan and Grant) will play at the Jacksonville Library from 2 to 3pm. On Saturday, March 1, they will play a full house concert at the Ol’ Barney venue in Grants Pass from 3 to 5pm. Reservations are required, so to reserve your spot(s) and to get the address, please send an email to jeffersonjamsandpreserves@gmail.com. (You can also ask to get on their mailing list.) And do tell your friends in Grants Pass! Admission is paid by donation. On Saturday, March 7, Canto Sol will play at the Paschal wine club pick-up event from 3:30 to 5:30pm.

On Friday, March 13 from 7 to 9pm, the Fret Drifters (Andy Casad and Nick Garrett-Powell) will perform an intimate concert at Paschal Winery for their Candle Light Concert Series. You can get more tickets and information here.Guitar for saleLocal luthier Phleques builds classical-style guitars that use steel strings. The designs are beautiful, as you can see from the photos above. Matt Dorris noted that they were as easy to play as a nylon string guitar. You can check out the models and pricing (which is very reasonable for hand built instruments) at phlequesguitars.com/shop or click on the images above.

Chris Malloy has some interesting guitars for sale: a 6-string classical by Greg Miller, a requinto, and a 10-string classical by LA maker Tomas Delgado, and a Ramirez. (All but the Ramirez are pictured below.) He’s also interested in donating his guitars to schools or selling them at a low price to earnest students. Please contact Chris at cmalloy@ruralnetwork.net for more information and pricing.