Houston's Lovelace advances to final of drum-off

Houston's Alphonso Lovelace recently won the regional semifinal of Guitar Center's 24th annual national drum-off contest and will advance to the Hollywood Grand Finals to be held Saturday, Jan. 19.

Lovelace, 27, competed against 24 other semi-finalists at regional contests held in Guitar Center stores in Chicago, Manhattan, Houston, Hallandale and Hollywood. Five winners, including Alphonso, were selected to move on to the finals.

Finalists will be required to perform on a five-piece acoustic drum kit to be evaluated by a panel of judges based on the criteria of skills, technique, style, stage presence, groove and overall performance.

Alphonso has the opportunity to win $25,000, industry exposure and Guitar Center equipment. Past winners of the contest have gone on to play with Prince and Beyonce (Cora Coleman-Durham), the Mars Volta (Thomas Pridgen) and Jay Z (Tony Royster Jr.).

Guitar Center is the world's largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards and professional audio and recording equipment. There are 230 Guitar Center stores in operation across the United States.

For more information, visit www.guitarcenter.com.