Canadian Zachary Knowles, also known as “Ichabod Fame,” dominated an air guitar competition in Finland on Friday to become world champion.
Knowles went on to win the Air Guitar World Championship, beating out dedicated competitors such as “Shred Lasso” and “Guitarrantula.”
Wearing an all-white outfit and visor, he performed Nickelback's “Photograph” while shaking his hair and showing off his kicks in front of the crowd.
This year's challenge kicked off on Wednesday with Airientation in Oulu, a city about 540 kilometers north of Helsinki, Finland, and featured classes open to veteran and novice guitarists alike. Dark Horse qualifiers continued on Thursday, with the World Championship Finals culminating on Friday night.
It was a tough competition, with the previous year's winner, Nanami Nagura “Seven Seas” from Japan, and the 2022 winner, Kirill “Guitarrantula” Blumenkranz from France, coming in second and third respectively.
Contestants perform two songs in two rounds, with each round lasting 60 seconds. Passionate performance is required, but authentic pick or fingerpicking style is optional. Props and costumes are permitted, but backing bands and real instruments are not.
This year's audience favorite was France's Mathilde “Clitrif” Delat, whose intense show was made even more dramatic by torrential rain that drenched both performers and audience.
Last year's victory was Nagura's third, making him the air guitarist with the most wins in the contest since it began in 1996.
According to the contest's online rulebook, judges will consider contestants' “originality, musical compellingness, stage presence, technical merit, artistic impact and ease” and award points on a scale of 4.0 to 6.0. The contestant with the highest cumulative score will win.
In addition to international camaraderie, the tournament also promotes inclusivity.
“Playing air guitar is not an instrumental sport or art, and it doesn't require any special venue or skill, so anyone can enjoy it,” the championship's website states.
“Air guitar can be learned regardless of gender, age, ethnic background, sexual orientation or social status. Playing air guitar is equal.”
Don't worry: Whoever the winner is, no one's air-guitaring here is quietly weeping: Contest organizers, running the slogan “Let's make air, not war,” aim to promote world peace.
“The idea of the contest is that if everyone in the world played air guitar, wars would end, climate change would stop and all bad things would disappear,” the contest's website states.
“That's why at the end of the contest the entire universe is invited to play air guitar for world peace.”
