Guitarist of the Year 2018: how to enter and how to win

MusicRadar, Guitarist, Total Guitar and Guitar Techniques have begun the search to find the 2018 Guitarist of the Year, Young Guitarist of the Year and Acoustic Guitarist of the Year.

The long-running competition returns for 2018, shining a light on the world’s greatest amateur guitarists and giving talented players the opportunity to show off their skills to a panel of star judges, including Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert and Mark Tremonti.

Past Guitarist of the Year winners include Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats, Steven Wilson, Hans Zimmer) and Dave Kilminster (David Gilmour, Steven Wilson). This year’s competition could uncover the guitar heroes of the future - and that could be you!

Finalists will be selected by a 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! If you make the cut, you'll need to be able to get to London that weekend for your chance to win.

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 entry form below.

The Guitarist of the Year team and judges also want to know about the person behind the playing; tell us what drew you to the guitar, what styles you favour, the gear you use, and anything else that could make you stand out.

Enter the competition here!

6 tips for success

1. We need to see you play! No promo-style band videos please.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Make it impressive. Go for it. We want to see the full breadth of your skills in as tight a playing package as possible.
5. Just your best video please! Our experts are busy. Don’t make us wade through multiple entries where one would do.
6. Want to enter all three categories? ‘Guitarist’ ‘Young Guitarist’ and ‘Acoustic’ Guitarist of the Year? Yeah! Go for it.

Rules

1. All entries must be via videos uploaded to YouTube and submitted through the entry form above. No other emails or points of contact please.
2. Young Guitarist of the Year entrants must be 16 or under on 29 September 2018.
3. Entries must be received by 23.59 (BST) on 2 July 2018.
4. Don’t call us - we’ll call you if we like what you’re doing.
5. You need to be okay with us sharing your video to our wider online audience, appearing in the magazine and playing live on stage at the UK Guitar Show in London on 29 September.
6. As ever, the judge’s decision – picking our finalists and our eventual winner – is final.