Warren Haynes to Headline Guitar Center’s King of the Blues Grand Finals Tonight in Hollywood
Guitar Center's King of the Blues competition takes place at 7 tonight, September 1, at the House of Blues in Hollywood, California. This annual competition is a nationwide search for the best -- and still undiscovered -- blues guitarist.
Five grand finalists have made their way through store prelims, store finals (which take place at all 220 Guitar Center stores), district finals and regional finals to reach the grand finals -- tonight's event.
The guitarists are competing for a prize valued at nearly $50,000; it includes $25,000 in cash, a recording session with producer (and awesome guitarist) Pete Anderson, a feature in Guitar World magazine, a Gibson Vintage Collectors Series Les Paul 1959 Reissue, an Epiphone 1965 Elitist Casino, plus endorsement deals from Gibson, Ernie Ball, Boss and Egnater and a lot more.
The finalists will perform in front of an audience and a panel of celebrity judges, before a headlining appearance by Gov’t Mule frontman and Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes. The show also features Tyler Bryant and is hosted by Joe Bonamassa.
Here are the five King of the Blues grand finalists:
Jonathon Long (Baton Rouge, LA)
Charles Longoria (Robstown, TX)
Predrag Petrovic (Mundelein, IL)
Scott "Pinecone" Fletcher (Binghamton, NY)
Rami Halperin (Yelm, WA)
Click here for more info about Guitar Center's King of the Blues competition.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
“Everyone knows Take My Breath Away, the chart-topping ballad from Top Gun. But there’s a good chance you haven’t heard this seven-minute anthem”: David Gilmour's 10 greatest guitar guest appearances, from folk legend Roy Harper to Paul McCartney
“The crowd got ugly – they were just being assholes, throwing mud at us the whole set, hitting us hard on our bodies and on our guitars”: Donita Sparks tells the story of L7’s infamous set at 1992’s Reading Festival