Shred For Your Life!

SHRED FOR YOUR LIFE IS BACK!!! <br><br>NYC’s friendly neighborhood guitar battle returns to the stage after a painfully long hiatus. <br><br>Shred For Your Life is a live music event / guitar shredding contest / wild-assed party that puts guitarists to the ultimate test: How hard can one guitar rock a crowd? Six hand-picked daring souls will be shredding for their lives against one another in a “Live Guitar Battle” format until one is crowned champion in an atmosphere that celebrates the humor and absurdity of making music into a competition. SFYL’s return will be at Union Pool on September 20th 2026, on the legendary venue’s back deck. <br><br>This year's host is NYC’s Dave Hill- hit author, star of TV, giant of stand up comedy, and a ripping guitarist himself. The all star rhythm section of John Stanier ( Battles, Tomahawk, Helmet ) on drums and Brad Truax ( Interpol, Iggy Pop ) on bass will be returning in full effect. Contestants have the option of playing with or without our rhythm section as they shred their way to glory. <br><br>Special Guest Judge Panel this year is Matt Sweeney (The Hard Quartet, Chavez and host and creator of the beloved YouTube series Guitar Moves), Walter Schreifels (New York Hardcore legend of Quicksand, Rival Schools, Gorilla Biscuits fame ) and Joan Wasser (singer, songwriter, producer and multi instrumentalist leader of Joan As Police Woman and Iggy Pop’s keyboardist). These judges, along with the ravenous crowd, will be tasked with choosing the SFYL champion of 2026. SFYL's main goal is to entertain and delight by bringing together performers from a variety of musical backgrounds that might never share a stage with one another and to celebrate the love of guitar music. The show is FREE, doors are open at 2pm. It’s an insanely good time. <br><br>Presented by Union Pool. <br><br>This is a 21+ event (Physical ID required. Photos of ID + NYC City ID are not accepted)