Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar 2011

Guitar Player magazine’s Guitar Superstar 2011 competition is open to electric and acoustic guitar players of all styles who believe they have what it takes to battle it out with a lot of pretty amazing co-competitors and earn the title. All we can say is, “Good luck to you!”

Now in its seventh year, the 2011 event will be held in Music City — yes, Nashville, Tennessee — during the Summer NAMM show on Saturday, July 23, 2011.

Five finalists will perform fronting a red-hot house band in the ballroom of the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, vying for the 2011 Guitar Superstar title in front of celebrity judges, the people who make the gear you love, the city’s guitar fans, and perhaps even a few label, management, and publishing executives.

Hey, it’s that kind of music town—anything is possible! Read on for details…

How to Enter:

The annual Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar competition seeks out transcendent guitarists across the United States to showcase their chops, tone, charisma, and compositional skills. To enter, submit a six-minute (or less) video of yourself performing an original instrumental song. Entries are FREE. All video entries will be viewed and rated by the staff of Guitar Player, and five finalists will be chosen to battle it out in Nashville. Only one will emerge as the 2011 Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar champ.

The Goodies:

All five finalists will receive prize bags filled with products from the GPGS 2011 sponsors. The First Runner-Up and Second Runner-Up chosen by the event judges will win even more fabulous gear. The 2011 Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar champ will take home a coveted one-album deal on Guitar Player Records (distributed by MI5 Recordings/Universal), as well as an insane gear package from the event sponsors. While this year’s sponsors can’t yet be announced, past event and prize sponsors have been Mesa/Boogie, DigiTech, Framus, Mackie, PRS, Yamaha, Gibson, Epiphone, D’Addario, EMG Pickups, GHS Strings, Keith McMillen Instruments, Levy’s Leathers, Line 6, Samson, Sony, TC Electronic, Tech 21, Voyage-Air, Zoom, ZT Amplifiers, Digidesign, and TrueFire.

The Judges’ Panel:

The host, judges, and prize sponsors for Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar 2011 have not been confirmed yet, so please check back here often for updates. You can also click to www.GuitarPlayer.com. Previous Guitar Superstar judges and hosts include guitar stars and legends such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Andy Summers, George Lynch, Steve Lukather, Nuno Bettencourt, Elliot Easton, Greg Howe, Jennifer Batten, Richie Kotzen, Greg Kihn, and Brendan Small (creator of Metalocalypse). All five finalists will be rated by the judges for performance, charisma, composition, technique, and tone. Just like the real world!

Just Do It. Now!

The staff of Guitar Player is always energized and honored to present its annual Guitar Superstar competition. The event not only spotlights some of the best unsigned guitar talent in the universe, it also shows off all that is cool and edgy and, yes, heroic about slinging a guitar across your shoulder, and blowing someone’s mind with a great riff or a stunning tone or lightning-fast solos or a beatific melody. So what are you waiting for? This could be the break you’ve dreamed of! Click that ENTER button RIGHT NOW! Remember, the deadline is 11:59 pm on June, 15, 2011.

Official Rules:

Where & When – Guitar Player’s 2011 Guitar Superstar Competition will be held July 23, 2011 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, during the 2011 Summer NAMM show.

Eligibility – Guitar Player magazine’s 2011 Guitar Superstar competition is open to electric and acoustic guitar players of all styles. Entries are limited to players living in the continental United States who are at least 18 years of age. Submission deadline is June 15, 2011.

Video Submissions – All entries must be videos of a guitarist performing an original instrumental work no more than six minutes long. No covers. No singing. No 20-minute prog-rock epics. Both solo and full-band performances are permitted. All video submissions become the property of Guitar Player magazine.

Submission Deadline – It’s June 15, 2011 at 11:59 pm. The five finalists will be notified on June 29, 2011, and their names will be posted online at www.guitarplayer.com. Sorry, there are too many entries for us to notify every player of their status.

Music & Charts for the House Band – The five finalists selected by the GP staff MUST provide Guitar Player with an mp3 and chord charts (or complete musical notation) for the song they will perform at the competition by July 11, 2011.

Goodies – All finalists are provided airfare and two nights lodging in an event hotel. The 2011 Guitar Superstar will win gear packages from various guitar manufacturers, a feature story in Guitar Player, and a digital album contract with Guitar Player Records (distributed by MI5/Universal). Prizes (TBD) will also be awarded to the first and second runner-ups. All five finalists will be included in Guitar Player magazine’s report of the event.

Event Details – On the day of the concert, each finalist will get a 30-minute soundcheck with the house band at the venue. Finalists will have use of the venue Green Room during rehearsal and competition times. Additional information on equipment and performance requirements will be provided to the finalists by July 11, 2011. Finalists will be judged by a panel of star guitarists (TBD) using a grading system that ranks technique, originality, creativity, and charisma. A second runner-up, a first runner-up, and the 2011 Guitar Superstar champion will be selected by the panel.