Following our recent announcement that Mark Tremonti, Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert are stepping up to judge this year’s Guitarist of the Year competition, we can now reveal our Young Guitarist of the Year judges.
Bullet For My Valentine guitar hero Matt Tuck, YouTube sensation and Chapman Guitars mastermind Rob Chapman and classic rock maestro Chris Buck - who was voted Best New Guitarist of 2017 by the readers of MusicRadar - will join forces to crown the 2018 Young Guitarist of the Year.
We've had some notable winners in the past. Alongside past Guitarist of the Year winners including Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats, Steven Wilson, Hans Zimmer) and Dave Kilminster (David Gilmour, Steven Wilson), teen prodigy James Bell earned the Young Guitarist of the Year title back in 2011. This year’s competition could uncover the guitar heroes of the future - and that could be you!
Finalists will be selected by our panel of star judges and industry experts, with the finals taking place live on stage at the UK Guitar Show in London on 29 September, tying in perfectly with World Guitar Day 2018!
In addition to the prestigious title, winners will walk away with an exclusive prize haul from the biggest names in guitar.
Entering the competition is easy: simply upload a video of your playing to YouTube and fill out the form below.
The Guitarist of the Year team and judges also want to know about the person behind the playing; tell us where you're from, what drew you to the guitar, what styles you favour, the gear you use, and anything else that could make you stand out.
Our judges will be revealing their tips for success in the run-up to the show, but in the meantime, head over to our guide on how to enter and how to win.
Enter the competition here!
6 tips for success
- 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 and submitted through the entry form above.
- Young Guitarist of the Year entrants must be 16 or under on 29 September 2018.
- 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.
