Guitar Center Searches For The Nation’s Greatest Unsigned Blues Guitar Player

Joe Bonamassa

Has the recession left you with too much free time on your hands this summer? Looking for a creative outlet for your energies and possibly a new career path? If you consider yourself a pretty great guitar player (or serious blues guitar fan) – think about checking out Guitar Center’s King of the Blues.

King of the Blues is a nationwide search for the next great undiscovered blues guitar player. Guitar Center will host King of the Blues competitions in over 200 locations across the country, where aspiring musicians will compete for a shot at stardom, and a grand prize package worth over $35,000, including $25,000 cash plus gear and product endorsements. The program culminates in Los Angeles in November, where the top five finalists from around the country will showcase their talent in front of a live audience and a panel of celebrity judges, sharing the stage with renowned blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa and Grammy Award winner Pete Anderson, both of whom will perform.

King of the Blues is part of Guitar Center’s ongoing mission to provide emerging artists and musicians with career-altering opportunities and vehicles to achieve success. Other Guitar Center programs include Drum-Off and On-Stage.

Introduced in 2006, Guitar Center’s King of the Blues is designed to offer life-changing opportunities for unsigned guitarists. More than just a competition to find the most technically skilled players, King of the Blues is designed to seek out the most passionate, innovative and authentic undiscovered guitar players and give them a shot at stardom. Some of today’s most iconic and groundbreaking artists, including B.B. King, John Mayer, The Black Crowes and Kenny Wayne Shepherd have participated at past King of the Blues events. The winner of Guitar Center’s 2007 King of the Blues, Aaron Loesch, was invited to perform at Eric Clapton‘s Crossroads Festival in front of over 25,000 attendees.

How It Works:
Each contestant will perform live to 1 of 25 original backing tracks, developed by Grammy Award winning producer, Pete Anderson. All backing tracks are available for free download at guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues. Contestants may bring and use any 6, 7 or 12 string acoustic or electric guitar, lap steel or pedal steel guitar, plus any audio pedal effects that can be set-up in a 5 minute time limit, all of which will be plugged into a selection of amplifiers provided by Guitar Center.
Local competitions have already begun in all 214 Guitar Center locations nationwide. One winner from each store will be chosen to move up to district competitions (24 locations), followed by regionally hosted semi-finals (6 locations) and culminating in the final King of the Blues Grand Finals competition in Los Angeles in November, where the grand finalists will perform in front of a live audience and a panel of celebrity judges.