the lineup

This year’s UK Guitar Show hosted our annual search for the best in six-string talent – three categories, three winners and a weekend of incredible players

After the success of 2018 and with a new venue in place, expectations were high for the UK Guitar Show’s return last month. The pressure was on for the Guitarist Of The Year finals hosted there, too. And the players didn’t disappoint. Across the three categories – Young Guitarist Of The Year, Acoustic Guitarist Of The Year and Guitarist Of The Year – the incredibly high standards from entrants from around the globe made the judges’ jobs even harder than last year.

Contestants flew in from as far afield as Japan, the US and even Australia for the Guitarist Of The Year finals as crowds of guitarists gathered at the UK Design Centre in Islington to demo and buy gear from the world’s leading brands and witness a weekend of performances and masterclasses from top players including Paul Gilbert, Devin Townsend and a masterful showing by Eric Gales. After submitting video entries online, the three players in each category had been selected by a panel of editorial judges from Guitarist, Total Guitar, Guitar Techniques and MusicRadar, with pros including John Petrucci, Tosin Abasi, Nita Strauss, Plini, Steve Lukather, Molly Tuttle, Andy McKee, John Jorgenson and Rabea Massaad. We knew we were going to see carefully selected guitar talent vying for prizes from Ernie Ball, Takamine and PRS, but could they deliver at the event?

What we saw was always inspiring and often mind-boggling – advanced technique, yes, but moreover sophisticated composition and deep musicality. The under-16 Young Guitarist Of The Year category set a very high standard on the Saturday (21 September) with the Acoustic and Guitarist Of The Year finalists giving our judges just as much of a headache as they gathered to compare notes. But three worthy winners emerged and we’d like to introduce them to you…