Local musician breaks world record at soft opening of Val Air Ballroom
A local bassist is now the world record holder for playing through the most amplifiers simultaneously.
Jon Locker played through 81 amps at the same time for 5 minutes straight on his guitar Sunday afternoon. The previous record was 50. He broke the world record at the soft opening for the renovated Val Air Ballroom.
"This is more of a party trick over anything," Locker said. "This is not something you're ever going to use in the real world."
Locker said the live music venue was "the place I [he] wanted to do it." Hundreds of people were there to watch his performance as he became a world record holder and became the first artist to show off the acoustics of the newly renovated space in front of a crowd.
For the past 13 months, new owner Sam Summers and his team have been renovating the property, which has housed a ballroom and concert hall since the 1930s.
The work, which cost nearly $15 million, includes a new sound system and material on the ceiling and roof to keep loud music in, instead of letting it echo through the neighborhood, which has conflicted with neighbors through the years.
The public got to see a sneak peek of those renovations for the very first time during Sunday's soft opening.
Summers and Val Air already have — including Greensky Bluegrass on Feb. 29, the first show after the "sneak peek."
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