I remember wanting a guitar for my eighth birthday. My parents gave in to my request and got me a shiny red guitar that I could barely hold up — for some reason; it felt too heavy. But, I was determined to play all my favorite tunes on it. However, eventually, like a lot of other things, I grew out of my “guitar phase,” mainly because I gave up on practicing.
But, if there’s one person who I’m glad continued to play and perfect his craft, then it has to be 10-year-old Garrett. He has also been playing the guitar since he was eight, and in the video below he is confidently performing in front of a crowd of 300 people. The song he chose to play is everyone’s favorite, “Eruption” by Eddie Van Halen.
His former music teacher first comes on the stage to introduce the young man who’s going to tackle this challenging song. She tells the audience that Garrett had been in her class and was taking string instrument classes because he loves to play string instruments.
The woman goes on to say that she saw one of Garrett’s YouTube videos and she said to her husband, “Come see this young man, you’ll be blown away.”
It’s never easy to perform in front of an audience, regardless of how big or small the group may be. So, it’s a tremendous feat on its own for a 10-year-old to muster up the strength to get on stage. And then to perform something so spectacular at such a young age is an accomplishment on its own!
You may notice that Garrett is a bit shy when he first comes on stage to start the act. But, as he gets into the performance, he’s smiling his way through it, enjoying every moment. And his classmates are a great support system as well! You can see them encouraging the little boy with smiles of their own, they want him to give his best up there.
The fact that Garrett chose to perform a song by Eddie shows that music can evolve through the ages, but the classics will always be remembered and played over and over again.
Bravo to this young man for attempting, and nailing, something like this!
Click on the link below to enjoy Garrett’s guitar solo of “Eruption.”
