Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness

Founded in 2025 by Oregonian classical guitar virtuoso and Artistic Director Tye Austin, M.M., Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness is a fiscally sponsored nonprofit arts organization dedicated to presenting world-class classical guitar performances staged in some of the Pacific Northwest’s most inspiring wilderness areas.

A portable pop-up stage is installed at each wilderness venue—state and national parks, old-growth forests, coastal bluffs, river gorges, volcanic caves, red rock canyons, wineries, farms, ranches, and urban woodlands. Audiences are invited into a fully immersive listening experience through our signature Wilder Sound: guests enjoy the music through wireless headphone technology while exploring the surrounding environment up to a quarter-mile radius from the stage. This concert model is curated in a direct dialogue with each landscape—where the wilderness serves as both concert hall and co-composer.

Through our Fret Not Program and Free Frets Initiative, Wilder Frets expands access to both live performance and music education by providing free and subsidized concert tickets, complimentary classical guitars, and pre-concert masterclasses for at-risk and foster youth throughout the Pacific Northwest.