GP Presents Pat Metheny, November 3-5 in Berkeley, CA – win tickets!

Pat Metheny performs onstage at the 58th Donostiako Jazzaldia Jazz Festival in San Sebastian, Spain on July 24, 2023
(Image credit: Gari Garaialde/Redferns)

Jazz icon Pat Metheny is like an old friend to the GP audience, having won practically every accolade in Readers Polls and appearing numerous times in the magazine pages, including multiple covers. Guitar Player is thrilled to help welcome him back to the Bay area for six shows over the course of the first weekend in November at the impeccable Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

This time it’s just Pat and his guitars, which promises to be special. Metheny is supporting his new solo guitar album, Dream Box, with solo shows in smaller venues, offering an intimate look and listen to his signature style.  

Dream Box is an unusual recording for me – a compilation of solo tracks recorded across a few years that I discovered on my laptop while listening on tour,” Metheny says. “I never played any of these initial tracks more than once. Every track but one reflects a recording method where I lay down an initial harmonic part with the chords followed by a second track of melodic and improvisational material.

“The focus here is on quiet electric guitar. A goal has always been to have a touch on the electric that might get me as close to the kind of phrase-by-phrase dynamics that can occur naturally with an acoustic instrument. 

“Regarding the title, box is musician slang for a hollow-body electric guitar, and there are some super cool Dream Box instruments represented on this recording, including the prototype of a new instrument I have been working with Ibanez on that reflects my interest in pre-war Charlie Christian-style pickups.

“But dreams in their broadest sense make up the vibe with this set. Music exists for me in an elusive state, often at its best when discovered apart from any particular intention. I hope folks might find some dreams of their own in this music.”

If you’re planning to be in or around the San Francisco/Bay Area over the first weekend in November, call a friend and make plans to be present. There are two shows each date from Friday, November 3 through Sunday, November 5. GP Presents will be on site with free magazines and Martin strings for players to pick up in the lobby on Sunday. Get your tickets now here

Win Tickets

For a chance to win a pair of tickets to see GP Presents Pat Metheny, send an email to gp@jimmyleslie.com with “Metheny” in the subject and simply include a sentence about yourself and why you want to go. 

Phone contact is greatly appreciated for confirmation. 

Winner must provide their own transportation to the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California on Sunday, November 5, and have their own accommodations in the Bay Area. 

Best of luck! 

Event Details

Guitar Player Presents Pat Metheny

Sunday, November 5 

Freight & Salvage – 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94704

Doors at 8:00pm, show at 8:30pm; All Ages – Free GP magazines and Martin strings

Buy tickets

Jimmy Leslie has been Frets editor since 2016. See many Guitar Player- and Frets-related videos on his YouTube channel, and learn about his acoustic/electric rock group at spirithustler.com.