The Louisville Guitar Society was originally founded in the 1960s. Over the next two decades, a major concerts series flourished as the society grew in membership and local interest, until the 1980s when funding was reduced and the majority of its leadership retired. Throughout the 1990s the society existed primarily as an extension of the guitar programs in the Louisville area with no membership base or formal Board of Directors.

Initiatives to rejuvenate the LGS were set in 2009 with the election of a new Board of Directors. Official 501(c)3 non-profit status was received on June 17, 2010.