The four days of music and entertainment that is Hellys International Guitar Festival kicks-off on Wednesday, August 23.

The opening lunchtime recital includes rarely heard music for vihuela and solo viol da gamba music, by Jennifer Bliss-Bennett. Thursday lunchtime features the exceptional lute song duo of Lucile Clitherow and Denys Stephens, performing frotillas, villotas and chansons, while Friday sees Allen Maher perform flamenco, and local gypsy jazz outfit Gwelhellin, fronted by Jonathon X Coudrille, round off the lunchtime concerts on Saturday.

The afternoon is FREE each day at Hellys, with demonstrations of guitars, stalls, free lessons for people of all ages and abilities and a chance to meet some of the performers, too.

On Wednesday and Thursday the exceptional, prize-winning face and body painter Jenny Marquis will be available; while on Friday and Saturday children’s book illustrator Russell Ayto will lead free workshops for little ones.

The afternoons move into evening with Roughly Relevant Poetry from Bob Devereux, before Teatime Talks get underway at 6pm, with author and playwright Jeni Whittaker on Wednesday, Civil War writers Steph Haxton and MJ Logue on Thursday, Andrea Dieci talking about the music of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos on Friday and Patricia Finney telling the story of her forthcoming book, on Saturday

On Friday young Polish performer Rados?aw Wieczorek makes his UK debut, followed by the dynamic Austrian virtuoso Florian Palier.

There will be two seventy-minute concerts per night, beginning at 7.30pm and 9.15pm, with support acts at 9pm.

The opening night features distinguished Danish guitarist Carsten Grøndahl with his alto guitar performing Bach, Albéniz and Joabim, followed by Galician master Pablo Rodriguez, performing his acclaimed programme of sensual Latin and Mediterranean music.

On Thursday, you can hear early music with a difference with Circulus, the psychedelic baroque rock group, followed by one of Europe’s acclaimed lute music duos, featuring Italian maestro Andrea Dieci and local legend Ben Salfield.

Each day ends with the Pro-Am Jam, led by Jonathon X Coudrille, a session where members of the public join with some of our performers and play some music together.

Tickets for all the concerts are on sale now, from billetto.co.uk/en/e/hellys-international-guitar-festival-2017-tickets-172453 and until the end of July, if you buy three tickets for one time of day, you will get a fourth absolutely free.