From the 2026 New York Guitar Festival: Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque, and Pierre Bensusan

Soundcheck | Aug 24

Listen to a sampling of some of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival, with pieces by the duo of Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque and Pierre Bensusan recorded live in August at Bryant Park.

Guitarist Goran Ivanovic is Croatian-born, while Fareed Haque is of Pakistani and Chilean descent.  Both now live in Chicago, and their music is a deep dish pie of South Asian, Latin, and Balkan ingredients, liberally spiced with improvisation. Hear some of their Balkan-South Asian-Latin fusion, recorded live at the first night of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival.

  1. Topansko oro 2. IndoBalkan 3. Gypsy Circus

Then, Algerian-born French guitarist Pierre Bensusan plays in the open tuning system known as DADGAD. Bensusan draws on Celtic traditional and North African music, adding improvisation, vocalise, and electronic effects to create his own sonic world. Listen to some of his set from the second night of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival.

  1. Hekimolu 2. The Alchemist 3. Intuit

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