Norwich guitarist in final rounds of a national talent search
BINGHAMTON – A Norwich guitarist took first place in the “King of the Blues” competition sponsored by the Guitar Center in Binghamton last week and will now travel to Brooklyn for a chance to win the district title.
Brian Golden beat out nine other professional players to win the two-round competition held in Binghamton.
Musicians from all across the country have been competing at the 214 different Guitar Center locations in a bid to win an all-expense paid trip to the national championship in Los Angeles and compete for the $25,000 grand prize.
The 32-year-old Norwich native is now two competitions away from reaching his goal. The contest has already seen the elimination of 1,926 guitar players, meaning Golden has beat out more than 90 percent of those who began participating a month ago in the nationwide search for guitar’s King of Blues.
“I just can’t believe I’ve made it this far,” said the modest musician.
Golden has been the lead guitarist and vocalist in the soul funk blues band, Badweather Blues, for the last six years, traveling all across the Southern Tier to headline at local events.
Following the footsteps of his bass-playing father, Gary Golden, and his guitar-playing step-father, Steve Cornelius, Brian has been plucking at strings for more than 17 years.
“They persuaded me to play and after they showed me a couple things, they let me go my own. They wanted me to figure it for myself and I did,” said Golden.
Strumming his electric Eric Clapton Signature model guitar made by Fender, Golden had to select two of 25 tracks originally developed for the competition by Grammy Award-winning producer and guitarist, Pete Anderson. Playing the guitar-only tunes without any vocals, Golden won the two rounds selecting “A Minor Affair” and “Funky Woman” as his two songs.
The next round of competition will be on Sept. 30 in Brooklyn, where he will compete on the district level and if successful, he’ll again return to Brooklyn on Oct. 21 for the regional elimination before becoming eligible for the finals in LA.
Golden says he’s been practicing the 25 tracks “over and over” in preparation for the event.
To hear Golden and the Badweather Blues Band live, visit to their website at www.badweatherblues.net to find out when they’re playing at a location near you.
Brian Golden beat out nine other professional players to win the two-round competition held in Binghamton.
Musicians from all across the country have been competing at the 214 different Guitar Center locations in a bid to win an all-expense paid trip to the national championship in Los Angeles and compete for the $25,000 grand prize.
The 32-year-old Norwich native is now two competitions away from reaching his goal. The contest has already seen the elimination of 1,926 guitar players, meaning Golden has beat out more than 90 percent of those who began participating a month ago in the nationwide search for guitar’s King of Blues.
“I just can’t believe I’ve made it this far,” said the modest musician.
Golden has been the lead guitarist and vocalist in the soul funk blues band, Badweather Blues, for the last six years, traveling all across the Southern Tier to headline at local events.
Following the footsteps of his bass-playing father, Gary Golden, and his guitar-playing step-father, Steve Cornelius, Brian has been plucking at strings for more than 17 years.
“They persuaded me to play and after they showed me a couple things, they let me go my own. They wanted me to figure it for myself and I did,” said Golden.
Strumming his electric Eric Clapton Signature model guitar made by Fender, Golden had to select two of 25 tracks originally developed for the competition by Grammy Award-winning producer and guitarist, Pete Anderson. Playing the guitar-only tunes without any vocals, Golden won the two rounds selecting “A Minor Affair” and “Funky Woman” as his two songs.
The next round of competition will be on Sept. 30 in Brooklyn, where he will compete on the district level and if successful, he’ll again return to Brooklyn on Oct. 21 for the regional elimination before becoming eligible for the finals in LA.
Golden says he’s been practicing the 25 tracks “over and over” in preparation for the event.
To hear Golden and the Badweather Blues Band live, visit to their website at www.badweatherblues.net to find out when they’re playing at a location near you.
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