See all of our Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2019 finalists in action
Check-out video performances from our final three
The live final of Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2019, in association with Takamine, took place on Sunday 22 September at the UK Guitar Show and now you can view the jaw-dropping performances of all three players, including our winner, Christie Lenée.
Our final three had to impress a panel that included John Jorgeson, Andy McKee and Molly Tuttle to make it to the live final. Once there, they had to play in front of a live final, including the expert eye of editors from Guitarist, Total Guitar and guitarist Andy Lee.
Each of the three players brought strong performances and offered a fascinating cross-section of the current acoustic world, from nylon-string jazz-classical crossover, to Brazilian fingerstyle and percussive acoustic theatrics.
In the end, following an impassioned performance our judges chose Christie Lenée as 2019 champion. In addition to the title, Christie was presented a stunning Takamine EF341SC acoustic, which was customised with a new preamp and presented on the day by none other than Takamine's chief designer and head of product design, Makoto Terasaki.
Check out all the final performances below...
Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2019 winner: Christie Lenée
Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2019 finalist: Daniel Padim
Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2019 finalist: Alan Shikoh
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Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.