Guitar nights in Calgary.
Clinics with touring and session pros. Showcase nights with the city’s best players on one stage. A social room for anyone who plays, whatever your level. Every couple of months, all ages.
- Every 2 monthsa night somewhere good in Calgary
- 75 to 150players in the room
- All agescheaper tickets for under 20s
- $25 to $50most tickets, fees included
- Since Jan 2026started by Dan and Matty
CGC membership
Come to the nights? Become a member.
Membership is how CGC pays for the room, the cameras and the next guest, and it is the best seat in the house. $10 a month, $100 a year, $50 a year under 20.
- The drawsMember-only draws for guitars and gear from the sponsors, every night.
- $5 off every nightA member code for every CGC night, clinics and showcases alike.
- The recordingsThe sets, the finales and the clinics, shot and edited, members only.
- First in lineDates before the list hears, and early tickets on nights that sell out.
Christmas is coming. Give someone a year of CGC: a card to hand over, a code they redeem online.
Learn. Play. Connect.
Three kinds of night, one community. Most nights mix all three.
- LEARN
Clinics. Touring and session pros on technique, tone and the job, with questions from the room. Whatever your level, you leave with something to work on.
- PLAY
Showcase nights. The city’s best players on one stage with one band behind them, a different guitarist each set.
- CONNECT
The social room. Players, builders, techs, teachers and shops in the same place. Come for the music, stay for the people.
What a night looks like.
Two hours on a weeknight in a good room, every couple of months. Two kinds of night, and a social room either way.
- Clinic nightsA touring or session pro in two parts, with questions from the room. Doors and a mingle first, a short welcome with community spotlights, a social break in the middle, a door prize at the end.
- Showcase nightsThe Talent Show: the city’s best players over one house band, three songs each, a VIP meet and greet before doors, and everyone on stage for the finale.
- Every nightLive music and great players, a room full of people who play, sponsors with gear to try. All ages, and cheaper tickets for under 20s where we can.
Tickets are usually $25 to $50 with the booking fee included. The exact price depends on the guest. Members pay less.
Backed by people who play.
CGC runs on tickets, members, sponsors and patrons. Nobody is paying themselves yet. Sponsors get their brand in front of a room full of Calgary players, all year; patrons keep the lights on because they want the nights to exist.
Dan and Matty.
Two players who kept having the same conversation: Calgary has amazing players and industry folks, so why aren’t we in the same room more often.
Dan Clayton
Guitarist, teacher and the host of the Fret Success YouTube channel. Runs the cameras, the words and the planning. Has shared stages with Ash and Jon Fratelli.
Matty McKay
Five-time CCMA Guitar Player of the Year, producer and engineer, nearly two decades in the Canadian scene. Knows every player in the city.
FSX 2028
Canada’s Guitar Show and Expo. Calgary, May 2028. Two days, eighty exhibitors, clinics all weekend and live music both nights. Built by Dan and Matty, run under Fret Success, the Collective’s sister brand.
Not ready to join? Get the emails.
The mailing list is free: one email when there is something to say, the next date, tickets, who is on.
You will hear from Calgary Guitar Collective and Fret Success, both part of Fret Success Inc. Unsubscribe any time. Want the member price, the recordings and early tickets? Become a member.
