Sam Ash Music's 2010 'Best In Shred' Guitar Competition Regional Finals to be Held on December 8th

HICKSVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The hunt for America's greatest unknown guitarist continues as Sam Ash Music's "Best in Shred" guitar competition moves into the Regional Championship round. The regional finals take place at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, December 8th at six Sam Ash Music store locations: New York City-NY, Chicago-IL, King of Prussia-PA, Nashville-TN, Orlando-FL, and Cerritos-CA. Regional winners will advance to the Final Championship Round this January in Los Angeles. At stake is the chance to win over $20,000 in valuable musical gear along with the opportunity to perform live onstage with legendary guitarist Steve Vai!

Sam Ash Music, America's premier full-line music store chain, launched the "Best in Shred" contest in October to determine America's best unsigned guitar player. Over six hundred guitar players entered the contest. In October 42 guitarists earned the Store Champion title and can now compete in the Regionals. To see photos and videos of the store champs visit www.samashmusic.com/vai.

"We're really excited to see who advances to the finals in Los Angeles," said Richard Ash, Sam Ash Music's CEO. "At this point all the players still in the contest are unbelievable; the judges will really have their work cut out for them!" Competition is intense; the guitarists perform live in front of enthusiastic audiences playing along to one of six instrumental backing tracks of Steve Vai songs. A panel of judges scores the players on their technical skills, originality, accuracy, and showmanship. The six Regional Champs will be flown to Los Angeles to compete in Final Championship Round on January 12th where a panel of celebrity judges will determine who is crowned Sam Ash's "Shredder of the Year -- 2010."

Sam Ash Music is the country's leading full-line music store chain with over 45 stores. The family owned and operated business opened in 1924 with a small store in Brooklyn and now operates stores nationwide. For more info visit www.samashmusic.com.

SOURCE Sam Ash Music