"Midnight Special Blues" Jonathan Stout + @Rikmacmusic /John Monteleone Exhibition at LIM
On September 12, 2024, Erik McIntyre and I had the honor of playing at the Long Island Museum's exhibition of the work of John Monteleone, and presenting a concert centered around the history of archtop guitars.
While we couldn’t take ALL of the guitars out of the exhibit, among the instruments we played were these two:
- "Midnight Special" (2022)
- "Scarface" (2021)
The Monteleone Midnight Special is a 12-string 18” archtop guitar, the last and final example of guitars that were made for the limited edition of Monteleone’s train guitars. It is tuned a whole step lower than standard tuning. It harkens back to the low-tuned, long scale 12-strings of players like Lonnie Johnson, and Leadbelly.
The Scarface guitar was a project that Monteleone started intentionally in the “embrace of imperfection.” The spruce top of the guitar has a knot and the maple back has prominent dark scarring that hasn’t been buffed away, as might be a customer’s usual preference. Rather, the beauty of nature’s signature is being celebrated here.
John's guitars are among the finest instruments ever built, and it was an honor to be asked by John to be a part of the celebration of John's work.
You can find Erik McIntyre at:
You can find me at:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/campusfive/
- www.campusfive.com
- facebook.com/jonathanstoutswingguitar