The entrance to the Hard Rock Casino in Rockford, Illinois, will soon feature a striking addition: a 62-foot-tall electric guitar. While oversized guitar signage is a staple for the Hard Rock brand, this particular guitar is special. It pays homage to local pop culture history, and more precisely, to the power pop genre.
This colossal guitar is a replica of the distinctive checkerboard Hamer Standard played by Rick Nielsen, the iconic guitarist for the local band and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Cheap Trick. Slated for installation later this month, the guitar’s arrival follows approval from local zoning officials.
All original members of Cheap Trick are Rockford natives, and Nielsen played a key role in advocating for the Hard Rock brand’s presence in his hometown during the competitive license bidding process. In August 2019, Nielsen and his family were present at the official unveiling of the Hard Rock bid, calling it a “dream come true.” Notably, Nielsen’s wife, Karen Nielsen, was an investor in the project, a detail not disclosed at the unveiling.
Measuring over 38 feet wide, the 62-foot guitar dwarfs the Gibson Les Paul attached to the Hard Rock Atlantic City, which stands at a mere 30 feet high. However, it isn’t the largest guitar to grace a Hard Rock property. That title belongs to the Peavey HP Signature guitar at Hard Rock Biloxi in Mississippi, which towers at 112 feet tall. Despite the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, this massive guitar survived, unlike the casino resort it once adorned. The Peavey guitar was chosen for Biloxi due to Peavey’s roots in Mississippi, having been founded there in 1965.
The Biloxi guitar held the record as the largest Hard Rock guitar until 2019. It was then surpassed by the opening of the Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. This hotel, built in the shape of a guitar, soars 450 feet high and took a decade to complete. The Seminole tribe, owners of the Hard Rock brand globally except for the United States territory west of the Mississippi River, made a grand statement with this architectural feat.
Currently, the Seminole tribe is embroiled in a multimillion-dollar dispute with competing Hard Rock brand owners, a battle fought with air guitars.
Back in Rockford, the temporary Hard Rock Casino, named A Hard Rock Opening Act, will shut its doors on August 12. This closure paves the way for the main attraction, expected to open with a “guitar smash” weekend celebration on August 29. The grand opening weekend will feature performances by Rick Nielsen, Akon, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and Brad Paisley, promising a sensational start to the new casino’s era.
