Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness (Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint)

About Wilder Frets:

For the inaugural season, Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness will tour across the state of Oregon from August 1–October 1, 2026. Led by classical guitar virtuoso and artistic director Tye Austin, the series replaces the traditional concert hall with immersive wilderness landscapes—including state parks, farms, ranches, wineries, hot spring resorts, and other unique locations throughout the state. Audiences experience each performance through wireless headphone technology, allowing them to move freely and explore the surrounding landscape within a quarter-mile radius as the music accompanies their wanderings through each Wilder setting.

About this Site:

Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint sits along one of the most spectacular stretches of the Oregon Coast, where steep basalt headlands, old-growth coastal forests, and crashing Pacific surf converge beneath the iconic Heceta Head Lighthouse. Perched high above the ocean on a rugged promontory shaped by volcanic activity, tectonic uplift, and centuries of wave erosion, the viewpoint offers sweeping vistas of rocky coves, sea cliffs, and the Pacific horizon. The surrounding slopes are cloaked in Sitka spruce and western hemlock forests, while offshore rocks provide habitat for seabirds, harbor seals, and migrating gray whales. For thousands of years, this coastline has been home to Indigenous peoples, including the Siuslaw, whose lives were deeply connected to the ocean and coastal landscape. Today, Heceta Head remains one of Oregon’s most beloved destinations, celebrated for its breathtaking scenery, scenic trails, and one of the Pacific Northwest’s most photographed lighthouses.

About the Artist:

Oregon-born classical guitarist and composer Tye Austin, M.M., is the Artistic Director of Wilder Frets, a concert series that brings world-class classical guitar performances into natural wilderness settings. With ancestral ties to Franco-Spanish pirates of the Caribbean, he draws on a deep cultural connection to Spanish and Latin American repertoire, shaping his interpretations with distinctive authenticity and depth. Praised by NBC News for making “the guitar sing like it was invented only to be in his hands,” Austin is an internationally recognized virtuoso guitarist whose career includes appearances at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Royal Albert Hall, performances for global leaders at the United Nations, and international residencies and tours across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He was also hired as the principal classical guitarist for Royal Caribbean International cruise lines. He holds a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In his spare time, he can be found surfing, fly-fishing, foraging, or skinny-dipping in geo-thermal hot springs.