Guitarists should drop the guitar back in the box for this musical competition. Forget creating magic with the strings — the participant’s performance and stage presence determine their win on stage.
Fake musicians from around the world reunited in Oulu, Finland, for a unique competition with the Air Guitar World Championships. The annual event consists of national champions from several countries battling it out against a group of air guitarists called “Dark Horse” and the prior 2019 winning champion Rob “The Marquis” Messel, who represented the United States.
“You’re on stage, people are watching you and you’ve got nothing between you and them,” Messel said shortly after his win. “You have no drum set or mic stand even to stand behind or lean on, it’s just you.”
For those scratching their heads wondering about the purpose of this competition without instruments, these talented individuals collaborate to promote world peace. Duh! Don’t call the paramedics to report their erratic body movement — they have global issues to resolve.
Based on the website content for the competition, “Wars will end, climate change will stop and all bad things will vanish when all the people in the world play the air guitar. That’s why everyone is invited at the end of the competition to play the air guitar all at once to save the world.”
The solution to global issues lies at our fingertips, and this competition will promote a peaceful environment by instilling the value of equality. “Air guitar can be grasped regardless of gender, age, ethnic background, sexual orientation, and social status. Air guitar playing is equal,” they wrote.
Justin “Nordic Thunder” Howard, the 2012 air guitar world champion, reappears as a judge in this year’s competition. Howard said: “The competition is ridiculous. It is as silly and absurd as it sounds. In fact, that’s why I wanted to start being an air guitarist to begin with, because I saw that this thing existed and I’m like, ‘That is the stupidest thing ever. I want to be the best in the world at that.'”
Stop pouring your sweat and tears into perfecting your craft on the strings. Throw the guitar out the window, and deliver a captivating stage performance that leaves people eager for more.