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Art of Guitar, the leading guitar store in the Middle East, has been placed in NAMM’s 2025 Global Top 100 Guitar Stores for the first time in over 100 years.
It is with tremendous pride that we announce that Art of Guitar has received the NAMM award for 2025. There is no bigger recognition and source of pride than us receiving this award, due to its power and reach within the music and guitar industry.
“We are deeply honored to receive this award,” said Rick Vlemmiks, CEO and Founder of Art of Guitar. “For over 6 years, we have worked tirelessly to not only provide the highest quality instruments but to foster a vibrant community of musicians. Per NAMM’s website, the NAMM Top 100 Dealers Award recognizes exceptional music retailers that serve their communities with excellence and inspires others in the industry. This recognition is a milestone for our team, community and partners across the Middle East, and we are incredibly proud to represent the region for the first time in over 100 years and be amongst this prestigious group.”
This last year has been such an exciting year of innovation and the building of a community for and by musicians at Art of Guitar, our retail business, and Art of Music, our music academy. We continued to focus on creating a supportive eco-system for the next generation of musicians in the Middle East who, up until we launched, have gone unrecognized. We could not have done that without the support of our partners in the industry such as Guild/Cordoba, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez and Neural DSP, Ernie Ball Music Man, Lowden, Santa Cruz, Godin, Friedman, Wampler, JHS, VOX, and Mark bass to name a few. Working closely with them, we’ve been able to put artists on stage, gift them equipment they need to compose, and so much more is to come down the pipeline from artist management, endorsements and licensing.
Instruments go hand in hand with the power of content and talent. Exactly the reason Ed Sheeran chose to spend 2 hours in the Art of Guitar gallery, playing an exclusive gig alongside 18 of our most talented students. Introducing them to his Sheeran by Lowden guitars was such a special and surreal moment, ahead of a concert he was playing that night for over 60K fans.
That magical moment was a continuation of a series we had begun earlier in the year called ‘Meet the amazing luthier’ with special guests such as with the celebrated George Lowden who brought 2 of his Master Series he built solely for the event, Nik Huber who arrived with a roster of unreleased models, and many more who have held intimate VIP evenings with customers and collectors to talk about what goes into the making of their exclusive builds and why a guitar made by them should be part of any person’s collection. In return, they were inspired by the Middle East - Each event was a success in terms of sales, but more importantly, getting the word out about guitars that this region had not heard about before. We proudly introduced them to the region and its rich culture, design and heritage which ultimately became part their design builds – selling both locally and globally.
It is with tremendous pride that we announce that Art of Guitar has received the NAMM award for 2025. There is no bigger recognition and source of pride than us receiving this award, due to its power and reach within the music and guitar industry.
“We are deeply honored to receive this award,” said Rick Vlemmiks, CEO and Founder of Art of Guitar. “For over 6 years, we have worked tirelessly to not only provide the highest quality instruments but to foster a vibrant community of musicians. Per NAMM’s website, the NAMM Top 100 Dealers Award recognizes exceptional music retailers that serve their communities with excellence and inspires others in the industry. This recognition is a milestone for our team, community and partners across the Middle East, and we are incredibly proud to represent the region for the first time in over 100 years and be amongst this prestigious group.”
This last year has been such an exciting year of innovation and the building of a community for and by musicians at Art of Guitar, our retail business, and Art of Music, our music academy. We continued to focus on creating a supportive eco-system for the next generation of musicians in the Middle East who, up until we launched, have gone unrecognized. We could not have done that without the support of our partners in the industry such as Guild/Cordoba, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez and Neural DSP, Ernie Ball Music Man, Lowden, Santa Cruz, Godin, Friedman, Wampler, JHS, VOX, and Mark bass to name a few. Working closely with them, we’ve been able to put artists on stage, gift them equipment they need to compose, and so much more is to come down the pipeline from artist management, endorsements and licensing.
Instruments go hand in hand with the power of content and talent. Exactly the reason Ed Sheeran chose to spend 2 hours in the Art of Guitar gallery, playing an exclusive gig alongside 18 of our most talented students. Introducing them to his Sheeran by Lowden guitars was such a special and surreal moment, ahead of a concert he was playing that night for over 60K fans.
That magical moment was a continuation of a series we had begun earlier in the year called ‘Meet the amazing luthier’ with special guests such as with the celebrated George Lowden who brought 2 of his Master Series he built solely for the event, Nik Huber who arrived with a roster of unreleased models, and many more who have held intimate VIP evenings with customers and collectors to talk about what goes into the making of their exclusive builds and why a guitar made by them should be part of any person’s collection. In return, they were inspired by the Middle East - Each event was a success in terms of sales, but more importantly, getting the word out about guitars that this region had not heard about before. We proudly introduced them to the region and its rich culture, design and heritage which ultimately became part their design builds – selling both locally and globally.
We did this all the while ensuring we remained inclusive of gender, nationality and ability. 20% of our music academy students have special needs and scholarships as we are using music as a form of therapy. Our efforts to blend Eastern and Western music led Paul to discover firsthand how the Eastern scale predates the Western scale, much like the Oud predates the guitar. This realization, featured in a video now nearing a million views, inspired us to invite musicians from all backgrounds. One such artist, Ehsaan Noorani—part of the famous Indian trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy—has infused Rock, Jazz, and Blues into Bollywood soundtracks, bridging cultural and musical worlds.
A unique feature of Art of Guitar is that we are the only guitar business and music academy globally run by women, allowing us to focus on empowering female guitarists through our marketing, events, and product offerings. We provide them with a stage to be recognized by top guitar brands. Our store design is colorful, engaging, and welcoming—shifting away from the traditional "man-cave" look into a cozy lounge. Situated in Dubai's historic Courtyard, our space celebrates the region’s art and history, featuring restored Middle Eastern architecture, fountains, wind chimes, and a serene atmosphere. This beautiful, sustainable location offers the perfect environment for musicians to play, with humidity-controlled instrument storage, pro audio rooms, and soundproofed spaces for lessons.
Our stores are a walk and discovery through time and creation with a focus on customer service. The customer is guided by team members who are also gigging musicians and vintage specialists, where every turn is a discovery. Whether it’s a vintage Brian May gigged 1964 VOX, a collectors grade 1961 Strat, the YardBurst limited edition Murphy Aged Les Paul or the Yuri Shishkov Violin Master; all guitars get a pro set-up before going on the floor. We measure our customer service with 5-star reviews and NPS, versus the best run retailers in the region and the world. Supporting it all our in-house luthier service is the no.1 workshop in the region, servicing every acoustic, electric and amp product across new and vintage and rapidly developing into a Service Centre for the regions Guitars and Amps – New and Vintage.
Our monthly jams are an important aspect of keeping the music community alive and vibrant and are held at our music stage, Goshi Warehouse, which has also hosted the likes of Marty Schwartz Jamming with local musicians and Rabea Massaad and his team at Neural DSP demoing the variety of functions of the world’s most popular music product of the moment.
We're closing the year with one of the best guitarists of this generation, Mateus Asato. Even more extraordinary is a never-before-seen three-day event with Fender and its masterbuilders, Paul Waller and Yuriy Shishkov. Two years in the making, we've spec'd out Fender Masterbuilds, Dream Factory, and Team Built guitars that will be sent to VIPs around the world. Two guitars by Yuriy Shishkov have taken three years to craft, and the most expensive guitar ever sold in the Middle East—made of gold and diamonds—will also be on display. It will be auctioned and presented not just to guitar collectors but to art collectors as well, expanding the guitar community like never before. This is all thanks to our entertaining and inclusive approach to guitar retailing.
A unique feature of Art of Guitar is that we are the only guitar business and music academy globally run by women, allowing us to focus on empowering female guitarists through our marketing, events, and product offerings. We provide them with a stage to be recognized by top guitar brands. Our store design is colorful, engaging, and welcoming—shifting away from the traditional "man-cave" look into a cozy lounge. Situated in Dubai's historic Courtyard, our space celebrates the region’s art and history, featuring restored Middle Eastern architecture, fountains, wind chimes, and a serene atmosphere. This beautiful, sustainable location offers the perfect environment for musicians to play, with humidity-controlled instrument storage, pro audio rooms, and soundproofed spaces for lessons.
Our stores are a walk and discovery through time and creation with a focus on customer service. The customer is guided by team members who are also gigging musicians and vintage specialists, where every turn is a discovery. Whether it’s a vintage Brian May gigged 1964 VOX, a collectors grade 1961 Strat, the YardBurst limited edition Murphy Aged Les Paul or the Yuri Shishkov Violin Master; all guitars get a pro set-up before going on the floor. We measure our customer service with 5-star reviews and NPS, versus the best run retailers in the region and the world. Supporting it all our in-house luthier service is the no.1 workshop in the region, servicing every acoustic, electric and amp product across new and vintage and rapidly developing into a Service Centre for the regions Guitars and Amps – New and Vintage.
Our monthly jams are an important aspect of keeping the music community alive and vibrant and are held at our music stage, Goshi Warehouse, which has also hosted the likes of Marty Schwartz Jamming with local musicians and Rabea Massaad and his team at Neural DSP demoing the variety of functions of the world’s most popular music product of the moment.
We're closing the year with one of the best guitarists of this generation, Mateus Asato. Even more extraordinary is a never-before-seen three-day event with Fender and its masterbuilders, Paul Waller and Yuriy Shishkov. Two years in the making, we've spec'd out Fender Masterbuilds, Dream Factory, and Team Built guitars that will be sent to VIPs around the world. Two guitars by Yuriy Shishkov have taken three years to craft, and the most expensive guitar ever sold in the Middle East—made of gold and diamonds—will also be on display. It will be auctioned and presented not just to guitar collectors but to art collectors as well, expanding the guitar community like never before. This is all thanks to our entertaining and inclusive approach to guitar retailing.
The best inspiration of East meets West was our ‘Meet the worlds favorite influencer’, which started with Paul Davids, and followed later with gigs from Marty Schwartz, whilst signature artists such as Rabea Massaad and Mateus Asato are giving the chance for a whole generation of GCC music lovers to meet their favorite artists. While Rabea Massaad was out here to help us learn more about the Quad and Nano Cortex, Marty was a fan favorite, shining light on local talents including a 14-year-old prodigy and customer. Paul Davids created one of his most viewed episodes, introducing the world to the ‘Oud’ whilst showcasing the talents of Art of Guitar’s own players and Artists. This introduced millions of viewers to the region and its deep cultural and musical heritage whilst giving Paul a taste of Eastern scales and the birthplace and origin of the instrument itself. All come with their own special edition guitar collaborations too which Art of Guitar is proud to be able to source and provide for our customers and clients alike. For example: Suhr delivered both of Mateus' new artist editions, while Gibson ensured Marty had his signature Epiphone models. Neural and Rabea Massaad, known for their seamless collaboration, arrived with the brand-new Nano product, right at the peak of its launch. Rabea’s stunning soundscapes show exactly why this partnership is so strong. This embodies the spirit of NAMM—promoting cutting-edge music equipment while fostering a passion for learning and performance.
About the NAMM Top 100 Dealers Award
NAMM The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is a not-for-profit association that strengthens the global music, sound, and event technology products industry.
NAMM - Founded in 1902 was followed in 1907 by the NAMM Top 100 Dealers Award was innaugurated which is a global benchmark of excellence, recognizing music retailers for their commitment to customer service, innovative marketing, community engagement, and support of the music industry. The NAMM Top 100 Dealers Award places Art of Guitar in elite company, for the first time in the Middle East and Africa in >100 years, joining the ranks of music retailers globally recognized for their excellence, commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, and its role in fostering the next generation of musicians.
About Art of Guitar and Art of Music
Art of Guitar has become a leading destination for musicians of all levels, offering an unparalleled selection of guitars and other musical instruments, as well as a comprehensive music academy that nurtures talent from beginners to professionals. Over the years, the company has grown into a hub for music lovers, delivering personalized service and expert knowledge that distinguishes it in a competitive market. As a leading retailer of guitars and other instruments, along with offering comprehensive music education through its academy, Art of Music is committed to providing exceptional service and fostering a love of music in its community and beyond.
Art of Guitar has become a leading destination for musicians of all levels, offering an unparalleled selection of guitars and other musical instruments, as well as a comprehensive music academy that nurtures talent from beginners to professionals. Over the years, the company has grown into a hub for music lovers, delivering personalized service and expert knowledge that distinguishes it in a competitive market. As a leading retailer of guitars and other instruments, along with offering comprehensive music education through its academy, Art of Music is committed to providing exceptional service and fostering a love of music in its community and beyond.
