Concord Breaks Guinness World Record

Concord broke the Guinness Book World Record last night for largest guitar ensemble when musicians from all over the Bay Area converged on Todos Santos Plaza for the evening festivities. The event drew 2,052 registered guitarists plus families and friends who joined Country Joe McDonald in playing their way into the record book with a rousing rendition of the Woody Guthrie classic “This Land is Your Land.”

KPIX CBS-5 News was on hand to cover the attempt and capture video footage of the record-breaking event.

The city and the Todos Santos Business Association coordinated the event to celebrate 20 years of summer music concerts in downtown Concord.

The previous record was set on June 23, 2007 in Leinfelden, Germany (near Stuttgart) when 1,802 players performed “Smoke on the Water.”

Special guests included the “Eyewitness Blues Band” made up of CBS5 radio and TV staffers Mike Sugerman, Doug Sovern, Joe Vazquez, Stan Bunger, Patrick Sedillo and Zach Heene.

The park was filled with participants wearing free “I Was There” t-shirts created for the event.

“What an amazing turnout by the community,” said Downtown Manager Florence Weiss. “This is what we mean when we say ‘Concord, Where Families Come First.’ We had all ages participating from tiny preschoolers to teenagers and all the way up to grandmas and grandpas.”

The event kicked off a new series of Tuesday evening acoustic concerts on the Todos Santos stage from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. through July. A mini-Farmers’ Market will also be in the park.