Enhance your guitar skills with three masters, Oct. 17 in Morris Township

This post is sponsored by The Folk Project

By Olga Alvarez

Calling all guitar players! Three masters are coming to Morristown to perform and share their secrets with you at the Third Annual Guitar Summit.

Renowned guitarists Beppe Gambetta, Suzie Vinnick, and Stephen Bennett will spend the day teaching local guitarists of all levels, and perform an evening concert, this Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026.

Internationally known Beppe Gambetta is a guitar guru. He developed a concert presentation style that brings American and European Roots together to speak with one voice. His performances not only engage the audience through his music, but he also sings and weaves stories that are both jovial and entertaining.

Beppe is a flatpicking master. He fell in love with the music of Clarence White, Norman Blake, and Doc Watson, and embraced Bluegrass and Americana Roots music. The combination results in performances that are warm, heartfelt, and supremely skilled.

Video: Beppe Gambetta: ‘Wise Old Man’:

Mark Schaffer, who programs the Troubadour Concerts in Morristown, explained that the popularity of this summit, sponsored by The Folk Project and co-produced with Gambetta, has encouraged them to make it a yearly event.

“It’s really been an inspiring and uplifting experience for guitar players of all levels,” Mark said. “What makes it special is that amateurs and professionals alike get to interact, learn, and experience up close three international award-winning guitar masters.”

The all-day workshop costs $148 and includes lunch, dinner, and the concert. If you just want to attend the concert, tickets are $35.

Suzie Vinnick brings emotion, joy, and funk to every song. She has a beautiful voice, strong guitar and bass skills, and a candid performance style. Suzie is a three-time Juno nominee, has won 12 Maple Blues Awards, two Canadian Folk Music Awards, and received a 2024 East Coast Music Award with her project A’Court, Spiegel and Vinnick. She has also won the International Songwriting Competition twice in the Blues category.

Video: Suzie Vinnick: ‘Crazy ‘Bout Lovin’ Me:

Stephen Bennett, called “the Jedi master of fingerstyle guitar” by the Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar Association, plays the harp guitar. He has released 37 albums, worked on many collaborations, and produced instructional videos.

He also organizes the annual Harp Guitar Gathering, which draws people from the U.S. and around the world. Over his career, he has received many awards, most recently winning the 2024 International Finger Style Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival.

Video: ‘Elephant’s Dance,’ Stephen Bennett:

The instructors detailed their goals for workshop students:

SUZIE VINNICK

Beginner Level:
This workshop will focus on the basic rhythmic patterns of blues fingerpicking, chord progressions, and simple blues-style phrasing. It is designed for students who are new to this style.

Intermediate Level:
This course will take a close look at a blues song and explore techniques like bending or muting strings, using open tunings, playing with a bottleneck, and more.

Advanced Level:
This class will focus on practical ways to develop songs, starting from your first ideas and working toward finished pieces. Suzie will talk about “writing for objects,” a method for generating ideas and musical language, and she’ll share how she collects and organizes fragments in her ongoing archive of “songwriting fragments.” The workshop will also show how blues song structures can help you write your own songs and make them more personal. You’ll get practical writing exercises and tips for turning fragments into complete song ideas.

STEPHEN BENNETT:

Beginner Level:
Stephen will begin with a scale exercise that gets to the heart of fingerstyle guitar. After that, he’ll show you other ways to help you progress with this style.

Intermediate Level:
Stephen will begin with a helpful scale exercise for fingerstyle guitar. He’ll also teach you how to play an arrangement of a well-known tune. By the end of the session, his goal is for everyone to play each part. You’ll get a transcription to take home and practice.

Advanced Level:
Stephen will begin by sharing some of his own fingerstyle guitar journey. Then he’ll talk about and show different creative tuning and capo options. In the final part of the session, Stephen will introduce you to the harp guitar.

BEPPE GAMBETTA

Beginner Level:
This class will introduce the main features and style of Flatpicking, a technique developed in the American tradition by great artists like Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, and others. Beppe will cover the key technical skills, from picking single notes to strumming, arpeggios, crosspicking, and how to combine them.

You can look forward to exercises and tunes, with a balanced practice that covers both traditional material and more modern developments. We’ll explore the style’s potential in many ways.

Intermediate Level:
In this class, Beppe will show you how to find, rearrange, or write a special song and bring it to life. From introductions and rhythmic patterns to scales, riffs, solos, and counterpoints, he’ll talk about the key choices you can make on guitar to perform a great song or a lively fiddle tune.

Advanced Level:
In this class, we’ll focus on advanced techniques and how to develop and shape your own musical ideas. We’ll talk about finding inspiration from the music of the masters, rhythms from around the world, and the music you imagine.

The Third New Jersey Guitar Summit, featuring Beppe Gambetta, Suzie Vinnick, and Stephen Bennett, is presented by The Folk Project and Beppe Gambetta. It will be held at the Morristown Universalist Unitarian Fellowship (MUUF) on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. until the concert at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for the summit and concert are $148. Registration is limited to 60 attendees. You can purchase summit tickets here.

If you only want to attend the concert, tickets are $35. You can buy concert tickets here.

Do you prefer to stay home and enjoy the concert online? Snatch a ticket for $20 here.

Children 16 years old and under can attend the summit for $95, but they must be accompanied by a paying parent or guardian. If there is no adult ticket on the same or a previous order, the 16-and-under ticket will be removed. This rule helps us keep track of total capacity.

MUUF is located at 21 Normandy Heights Road in Morris Township, New Jersey. Parking is free.

The Folk Project is New Jersey’s leading nonprofit acoustic music and dance organization and has showcased acoustic and traditional music in North Jersey since 1971. For more information about The Folk Project, visit its website.