Are you a guitarist? Are you good? YOU ARE?
Then you could be just what we're looking for. Our friends at MusicRadar (alongside sister titles Guitarist, Total Guitar and Guitar Techniques) are on the hunt. And they're looking for 2018's Guitarist of the Year.
That's not all. There's also prizes for Young Guitarist of the Year (open to under-16s) and Acoustic Guitarist of the Year.
All you need to do is upload a video of your playing to YouTube and send the link to guitaristoftheyear@futurenet.com. Use the subject line ‘Guitarist’, ‘Young Guitarist’ or ‘Acoustic Guitarist’, depending on which category you're entering. And then add a few details: where you are, plus a few details about yourself and your playing. The more interesting, the better.
The videos will be watched by our panel of expert judges, and the finalists will get to play live at our brand-new UK Guitar Show on 29 and 30 September 2018, before the winners are announced.
Past winners include Guthrie Govan, who won in 1993 and has gone on to collaborate with the likes of Steven Wilson and composer Hans Zimmer, while Dave Kilminster – who won the competition in 1991 – is currently touring the globe with Roger Waters.
So get practicing. And good luck.
Video Tips
- We need to see you play! No promo-style band videos please.
- Keep it tight. Get to the point fast. Our experts are begging to be impressed so 15 minutes of noodling won’t make the grade.
- Keep it musical. We’re all for fretboard madness and next-level sonics but not at the price of trusty musicality and genuine mastery of multiple techniques.
- Make it impressive. Go for it. We want to see the full breadth of your skills in as tight a playing package as possible.
- Just your best video please! Our experts are busy. Don’t make us wade through multiple entries where one would do.
- Want to enter all three categories? ‘Guitarist’ ‘Young Guitarist’ and ‘Acoustic’ Guitarist of the Year? Yeah! Go for it.
Rules
- All entries must be via videos uploaded to YouTube with a link emailed to guitaristoftheyear@futurenet.com. No other emails or points of contact please.
- Young Guitarist of the Year entrants must be under the age of 16.
- Don’t call us - we’ll call you if we like what you’re doing.
- You need to be okay with us sharing your video to our wider online audience, appearing in the magazine and playing live on stage in London in September.
- As ever, the judge’s decision – picking our finalists and our eventual winner – is final.
Full terms and Conditions: By entering this competition, you agree to be bound by Future’s competition rules: http://www.futureplc.com/competition-rules/. Closing date: July 2 2018. Travel and accommodation not included.
