Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival Strums Up a Frenzy at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, April 16-18, 2010

Hollywood, FL, January 22, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival, considered to be the world’s largest modern guitar festival, will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino April 16-18. Joining the celebration are two iconic faces in the music industry - Ed King, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s original guitarist and composer of Sweet Home Alabama, and Muriel Anderson, one of the world’s foremost guitarists and host of Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night, which will take place Sunday after the festival. Passes for the festival are $20 per day or $50 for a 3-day pass, and tickets for Muriel Anderson’s All-Star Guitar Night will be announced at a later date. Tickets for the festival and the concert may be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the Hard Rock Live box office beginning February 1st.

Celebrating what many recognize as the “Golden Age” of modern guitars, Florida's Newport Guitar Festival will bring the world’s finest guitar makers and vintage dealers to South Florida to display their brilliant hand-made acoustic, electric, vintage and modern guitars. In addition to the exclusive pieces from the Hard Rock collection, some of the nation’s top guitar collector's items will be displayed. The festival will feature a Blue Guitar Exhibition, commemorating the famous “Blue Guitar Exhibition” at the Smithsonian Institute, which many believe ushered in the modern age of guitar building.

Ed King, composer of the most famous riff in rock ’n’ roll history, will premiere his long awaited “Limited Edition Ol’ Red Stratocaster.” King, along with his instrument‘s original builder, Jeff Binion, will be available to sign autographs and perform a few favorite Skynyrd riffs throughout the festival. Since its debut in 1993, Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night will perform for the first time in Florida on Sunday, April 18th at Hard Rock Live. The finest acoustic and electric guitarists in the world will gather on stage and amaze guests with their prodigious finger-picking skills.

Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival will be held at the rocker-chic destination, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. “We are ecstatic to host a festival of this caliber, one that celebrates the iconic symbol of Hard Rocks worldwide – the guitar,” says Phil Madow, President of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.

Visitors will fill Hard Rock Live, where hundreds of vendors will display vintage masterpieces and extraordinary one-of-a-kind modern guitars available for purchase, at prices ranging from $400 to $400,000. Over 30 distinguished guitarists including Muriel Anderson, Roy Bookbinder, Paul Asbel, and Chris Proctor will perform mini-concerts throughout the duration of the festival, to demonstrate the various guitars on display. Fans will also have the opportunity to try out their favorites inside both “quiet” and “loud” sound rooms.

Director of the festival, Henry Lowenstein purchased the festival in 2006 with his two business partners, Ron Hill and Eric Garcia, and relocated the event from Rhode Island to South Florida. According to Lowenstein, “The festival is unique, in that it combines the sale and display of classic vintage guitars with the modern designs and technological advancements of the world’s favorite instrument.”

Sponsors for Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival 2010 include the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Sony Pro Audio, Martin Guitar Company, TrueFire, Petros Guitars, The Blue Book of Guitars, Pikcard, Miami Vintage Guitars, DHR Music, McKnight Guitars, Glades Guitars and 13thFret.com.

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