Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) Department of Music, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, will present the 21st annual GuitarFest from March 16th-17th, 2026. All events are free and open to the public, and guest artists will perform at 7:30pm on both days in the APSU Art + Design Building’s Heydel Hall.
This year’s guest artists are alumni of APSU’s graduate guitar program: Fingerstyle guitarist and composer Bryce Mullins, and classical guitarist and composer Alan Mearns.
On Monday, March 16th, Mullins will perform selections from his recent album Breakthrough, along with his arrangements of popular classics.
On Tuesday, March 17th, Mearns will present a program of virtuosic solo guitar arrangements and original compositions, including music from his Billboard Top 10 CD of Bach transcriptions and his recently released album of Spanish music, Lorca.
To learn more about GuitarFest, contact Dr. Stanley Yates at yatess@apsu.edu. To learn more about future CECA events, productions, and performances, visit www.apsu.edu/ceca
About the APSU Department of Music
The Austin Peay State University Department of Music hosts more than 100 performances each semester. Events take place in the 600-seat George & Sharon Mabry Concert Hall, the Recital Hall in MMC 147, Heydel Hall in the Art + Design Building, and other venues across campus and in the local community.
Performances include APSU student and faculty soloists, chamber, and large ensembles. They also showcase guest artists sponsored by the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts.
About the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts
Since 1985, the Austin Peay State University Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA, or “seek-ah”) has been providing students, the Clarksville community, and the Middle Tennessee region with engaging experiences through the Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, and Theatre & Dance programs at APSU.
CECA brings as many as 85 guest artists to Clarksville each year and presents up to 100 public arts and culture events annually, including concerts, exhibitions, artist lectures, master classes, artist residencies, and more.
In addition, CECA provides the arts faculty at APSU with research opportunities to enhance their professional growth as well as numerous student scholarships each year to support APSU’s own emerging artists.
To learn more about CECA, contact Dr. Andrea Spofford at spofforda@apsu.edu.
