No Strings Attached: Air Guitar Takes Over the Little Apple
No guitars were needed to take the stage in downtown Manhattan as eight competitors battled for the title at Big Air in the Little Apple.
The annual air guitar competition was held during the final Third Thursday event of the season, giving competitors a chance to show off their creativity, confidence and stage presence…all without ever picking up an actual instrument.
Hosting the competition was professional air guitarist Nordic Thunder. Now in his 20th year as a professional air guitarist, Nordic Thunder has hosted Big Air in the Little Apple for the past six years. He said the event is about more than the performances, with Manhattan’s community continuing to make the competition special each year.
“For being a town of this size, there is a big presence of love and community and culture and art, and to see it all come together here in the form of playing an invisible guitar is something pretty spectacular.”
This year’s competition also produced a first in the event’s history.
Ruby Hoffer entered Big Air in the Little Apple for the first time, performing under the stage name Reverly, which she said stands for “dream.” Hoffer advanced to the final round, where she earned a perfect 6.0 from the judges. It was the first perfect score in the competition’s six-year history and secured Hoffer the title.
“Somehow winning is pretty crazy. I don’t know, I’m just really excited. It’s still like all fresh and new. I mean my stage name is Revelry and like it’s a dream and that’s kind of what we were going for.”
Hoffer said the victory was still sinking in after the competition, but her first trip to the Big Air stage ended with a historic score and a championship.
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