Unleash Your Inner Rock Star at Florida's Newport Guitar Festival, April 16-18

Hollywood, FL, March 26, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Considered to be the world’s largest modern guitar festival, Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival will bring the finest luthiers and vintage dealers to South Florida to celebrate the “Golden Age” of modern guitars. Joining the celebration are four iconic faces in the music industry - Ed King, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s original guitarist and composer of the most famous riff in Southern rock and roll history, Sweet Home Alabama, Laurence Juber, lead guitarist of Paul McCartney’s Wings, Phil Keaggy, internationally acclaimed guitar soloist, and Muriel Anderson, one of the world’s foremost guitarists and host of Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night, which will close out the Festival Sunday night at Hard Rock Live.

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 Mary Flower, Paul Asbel and Michael Chapdelaine will perform mini-concerts throughout the duration of the festival, to demonstrate the various guitars on display. Guests will also have the opportunity to try out their favorites inside both “quiet” and “loud” sound rooms.

Featured Events:
Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night® - Some of the world’s finest acoustic and electric guitar players including Laurence Juber, Tierra Negra, Phil Keaggy, Ed King and many more come together for an all-star jam session.

Ed King’s “Limited Edition: Ol’ Red Re-Issue Guitar” - Original Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist and composer of the most famous southern anthem in rock and roll history, Sweet Home Alabama, will premiere his long awaited “Limited Edition: Ol’ Red Re-Issue Guitar.” King will be available to sign autographs and perform a few favorites.

Martin Guitar Company and Martin Braun Watch Collaboration Prototype - A special edition Martin Guitar, highlighting the elite world of guitar and watch collecting, will be unveiled. First-ever collaboration between a boutique watch company and a guitar company.

Sonic Sitka Project -
Master luthier Denis Merrill will display the initial results of his Sonic Sitka Project, comparing the sound quality from using the same top Spruce wood in a variety of acoustic guitars.

Blue Guitar Exhibition - Commemorating the 1997 Smithsonian Exhibition of Guitars, the display features a variety of acoustic and electric guitars, as well as amplifiers, all in the color blue.

Bruce Petros Guitars: Tunnel 13 Project -
Secrets from the "Last Great American Train Robbery" of the 1920’s will be exposed as the Petros Tunnel 13 Redwood™ guitars are giving voice to the remarkable Redwood of Tunnel 13. The Redwood-made Tunnel 13 stood silently for 120 years, absorbing the sounds of the thousands of trains and hundreds of thousands of people that passed beneath. At last, the mysterious wood with a rich history is ready to unleash its voice in the form of a guitar.

Hundreds of Unusual Guitars -
Music and art lovers can witness the “Golden Age” of modern guitar building first hand. From the dynamic “Bird Fish” to guitars with video screens, and acoustic guitars built from million year old woods from as far away as New Zealand to electric guitars modeled after one of the most expensive automobiles on the planet, the Bugatti Veyron.

Seminars with the Industry’s Greats -
Bring your own guitars and learn from some of the world’s most renowned soloists including Phil Keaggy, Laurence Juber, Charles Fox, Kinloch Nelson and Paul Asbell.

McKnight Guitars: Spar Sitka Unsilenced -
Coast Guard patrols discovered the top of a ship’s mast from the late 1890s in a cave off the Pacific coast of Washington nearly 30 years ago, in an area notorious for shipwrecks during the Alaskan gold rush. McKnight Guitars, one of only three luthiers in the world who has possession of the treasured mast, will uncover its rendition of the wood’s beauty in sight and sound. As described by Denis Merrill, “The soul of the Spar Sitka is finally finding its voice, a century after it first set sail.”

Over 200 Mini Demonstration Concerts -
A collection of the best solo artists will demonstrate show guitars in 20 minute continuous segments throughout the festival on three different stages at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. All will be free with the price of admission.

What’s It Worth? - Blue Book Publications, Inc. -
Guests of the festival are invited to bring in guitars to be appraised by Blue Book value experts. Additionally, guests will have the opportunity to sell guitars to professional dealers.

Featured Artists:
Andy Whahlberg

Ed King

Fernando Pedomo

Kinloch Nelson

Laurence Juber

Mark Hambre

Mary Flower

Michael Chapdelaine

Michael Isla

Muriel Anderson

Paul Asbell

Phil Keaggy

Roy Book Binder

Tierra Negra

Tickets for Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival are $20 per day or $50 for a 3-day pass (additional fees may apply). Guests may purchase tickets through Ticketmaster by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com . Tickets are also available at the Hard Rock Live box office Tuesday – Saturday 12pm to 7pm and Sunday, April 18 at 9:30am. Free parking is available.

To learn more about Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival, please visit our website.

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