The AGF is the sister event to the New York Guitar Festival, and features local, national and international artists across a variety of genres including rock, jazz, classical, experimental, blues and roots music.
[citation needed] Rolling Stone called it "a genuinely international event... curated by David Spelman, the man behind the world-famous New York Guitar Festival".
2007 featured a number of local and international artists including: Ralph Towner, Jorma Kaukonen, The Assad Duo, Pepe Romero, The Atlantics, Richard Clapton, Beau Young, David Lindley, Kaki King, Vernon Reid, Bob Brozman, Cindy Cashdollar, Lucky Oceans, John Hammond Jnr and Fiona Boyes.
Artists who performed at the 2008 festival included: The Romeros Guitar Quartet, Xavier Rudd, Adrian Belew, Hoodoo Gurus, The Derek Trucks Band, Lior, Troy Cassar-Daley, The Party Boys, Slava Grigoryan, Ash Grunwald, Grinspoon, Guy Pratt and Peter Denahy.
The 2012 festival included performances by: John Scofield Trio, Punch Brothers, Ana Vidovic, Australian String Quartet, Edin Karamazov, Tommy Emmanuel, Caminos Flamencos, Paulo Bellinati & Weber Lopez and more.
The third Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition was won by Romania's Bogdan Milailescu, second place went to Brendan Evans with Callum Henshaw coming in third.
The fourth Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition was won by Ukraine's Marko Topchii, second place went to Miles Johnston with Andrew Blanch coming in third.
Performers included Tommy Emmanuel, Pedro Javier Gonzalez, Richard Smith, Tony McManus and Albert Lee, South African Derek Gripper, Kaki King and Marc Ribot.