The winners of the WallMag Guitar Player Awards 2026 are here — chosen from a Top 100 shortlist of India's finest guitar players: acoustic, electric, classical and bass, across rock, jazz, folk and the experimental edges in between. Six Strings, Limitless Voice
🔗 Award Page: https://wallmag.io/awards/wallmag-guitar-player-awards-2026
- 🏆 Winners Announced: 27 July 2026
- 🎖️ Finalists Announced: 20 July 2026
How Were the Winners Decided?
Every entry started the same way — earning a community score from an open public vote that shortlisted the Top 100. Then our jury stepped in. Final placements were decided by jury evaluation (80%) and community votes (20%) together, so a place in this Top 3 is earned on the playing, not on the follower count.
📖 Learn how our voting system works →
Meet the Top 3.
🥇 1st Place — Impressions - Gidel Jacob (Original Track)
By: Gidel Jacob
A track built lick-by-lick into something that breathes — clean tone, real intent, and a voice you recognise after four bars. This is what Guitarist of the Year sounds like.
🏆 Prize: Guitarist of the Year 2026 — the title yours to use on your profile, EPK and gig pitches, a Cover Story in WallMag Creator Magazine, a verifiable Winner's Certificate, a hero feature across WallMag's channels, music-industry collaboration opportunities, and ₹5,000 in partner-brand perks.
🥈 2nd Place — Sei Hek - Leap of Faith
Prog and math-rock precision from Mumbai's Sei-Hek, where melody and rhythm braid into a single line — technical, but never cold. A leap of faith that lands.
🏆 Prize: Guitar Player Runner-Up 2026 — a Featured Interview in WallMag Creator Magazine on your craft and signature sound, a verifiable Runner-Up Certificate, a multi-slide carousel feature, collaboration opportunities, and ₹5,000 in partner-brand perks.
🥉 3rd Place — Whirlwind - Rohit H. Sivaram (Unearth Prophecy)
By: Rohit H. Sivaram
An opening statement in the fullest sense — Whirlwind pulls a crowd of players into one current and rides it. Ambitious writing, carried by the playing.
🏆 Prize: Guitar Player Second Runner-Up 2026 — a Spotlight Q&A in WallMag Creator Magazine, a verifiable Certificate, a dedicated feature post, collaboration opportunities, and ₹5,000 in partner-brand perks.
What Every Winner Receives
Every winner takes home a place in WallMag Creator Magazine — a Cover Story, a Featured Interview and a Spotlight Q&A for 1st, 2nd and 3rd — plus a verifiable certificate, a feature across WallMag's channels, ₹5,000 in partner-brand perks, and collaboration opportunities with WallMag's music-industry partners across guitar, gear, strings and audio.
Want to Be Next?
New WallMag Awards open regularly — for guitarists, vocalists, photographers, writers and every kind of creator. If your best work is sitting on a hard drive or a phone, this is where it gets seen, scored and celebrated. Explore what's open now → wallmag.io/awards.
🎉 Congratulations to Gidel Jacob, Khuraijam Sanjeet and Rohit H. Sivaram — and to every guitarist who entered the WallMag Guitar Player Awards 2026. You made six strings say something. Six Strings, Limitless Voice
