Teen Harmonica Prodigy to Play at Common Grounds

The first time Bob Driver heard 15-year-old Austin Shifflet play the harmonica, he couldn't believe his ears as the youngster skillfully played the instrument like a "50-year-old blues master from New Orleans."

Driver, a local guitar master and teacher, has been playing blues music for nearly 40 years, both as a solo acoustic act and as part of various groups. The first time he came into contact with Austin was through Austin's mother, who, as a friend of Driver's, was inquiring about a teacher for Austin. Driver never found an instructor, but he did get the chance to hear the teen play a short time later.

While he expected an inexperienced musician, Driver was blown away by Austin's ability and style. Excited to play with Austin, Driver invited the teen to join him on a gig he was scheduled to play, and in December of 2005, Austin played his first live show in downtown Harrisonburg.

The duo received a lot of positive feedback following their first performance together and a short time later decided to record a demo. Mike Williams, friend of Driver's and owner of Rosebud Studios, helped the duo put together a short demo that was released in early spring, 2006. To promote the demo, the two musicians did a live broadcast performance on the local public radio station, which also went over well and resulted in Austin's demo receiving more airtime on the radio.

Over the past year, the two have done several other performances, including out-of-town blues festivals in Lynchburg, where Austin was able to meet nationally renowned musicians and create connections that make this youngster's musical future look bright.

Surprisingly, Austin has had no formal instruction during the two or three years he has played the harmonica. Driver believes that his skill as a musician is a combination of extreme natural talent and lots of practice as he virtually taught himself how to play. Driver also says that he hasn't given Austin any instruction on the harmonica, but has tried to impart to the teen the important musical techniques of blues.

Austin and Driver bring their two-man act to the EMU campus this Friday. The duo will be playing straight blues, and will be dividing their show up into two parts. The first half will feature a Piedmont style of blues, which dates back to the 1920s. This style is characterized by a unique finger-picking method on the guitar and originated here on the East Coast. The second half will feature more of a Chicago-style of blues, in which the harmonica is amplified, giving it an extremely unique sound comparable more to a saxophone or horn. In both segments, the duo will be playing mainly blues standards, songs that are quite familiar in the blues world but certainly not ordinary as they will feature Austin's improvisation, making the songs truly their own.

Make sure to catch this musical phenomenon as he shares his gifts with the public. The concert starts at 9:00 on Friday night in the Common Grounds, and food and drinks will be half off all night.