Queset Garden Concert Series: Gladius
![Gladius with guitar](/sites/amesfreelibrary.org/files/styles/crop_image_3_4/public/2024-05/7.png?h=cde91c4d&itok=9VHCWVY6)
Queset Garden Concert Series is excited to welcome Andrew Connors, better known as Gladius, for this bonus concert event!
Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, pupiled by Andrés Segovia’s protégé, and driven to obsession by Eddie Van Halen—Gladius is an award-winning composer and "accomplished classical/flamenco style guitarist" who soulfully “shreds on the electric" (Phil Keaggy), sharing the bill with Grammy winners and mesmerizing audiences nationwide with his electrifying live act since 2016. Becoming Gwinnett County Georgia's 1st ever recipient of the Gwinnett Superstar award in 2022, and releasing the infectiously catchy Air to critical acclaim in 2023, Gladius shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Gladius says: “The truly musical revelation that started it all came when I was 10 years old. Themselves aspiring rock guitarists, one day my friends decided to exhibit their skills through a duet. Plugging into amplifiers, the two brothers performed a familiar hard rock anthem. I was ecstatic. Just days before the song had only existed in my stereo, and now it was taking shape right before my eyes. As the solo approached, the lead guitar stole the show, and anything that had formerly occupied my thoughts was shattered into a million pieces. Music somehow made all troubles vanish. It had power, power to break the barriers that bound man's emotions, power to free the mind and penetrate the soul.
That guitar had life. It had a body and a soul. And I craved it.
Of the presents received that Christmas, I can only recount one: an old Argentine classical guitar. The antique wasn't the finest of instruments, but it played and that was all that mattered.”
That year was only the beginning of his evolution as a guitarist. Along with the development of his instrumental skills, Gladius has evolved as an entertainer, taking his audience on a soulful and introspective journey throughout 700+ exhilarating concerts to date—including countless reappearances, demand ever increasing for his vibrant stage presence.
Find the full series listing on our Concert Series website. This program is supported in part by the Bluestone Bank Charitable Foundation.