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High Schooler In Overalls and Straw Hat Stuns The Crowd With His Banjo-Playing Skills

by
  • Riley is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, known for her engaging storytelling and insightful coverage of the genre.
  • Before joining Country Thang Daily, Riley developed her expertise at Billboard and People magazine, focusing on feature stories and music reviews.
  • Riley has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Belmont University, with a minor in Cultural Studies.

Have you ever competed in any talent show when you were in high school? This fun-filled event can surely be a great way for students to showcase their talents and build their confidence.

For the most part, we already know what to expect from one of these talent shows: someone will get up with their friends to do a dance number, someone will tell jokes that make the crowd laugh, and so on. No matter what it is, these shows bring the community together and break up the school day’s monotony.

But one performance from a young man definitely stole the show. We’re talking about a video that was posted online in 2013. The performance was uploaded by a channel called Mile Higher Boys, which took place at a Bennett High School talent show.

The video started with a cheering crowd and a young man walking across the stage. From the very start, it’s clear that this is going to be an unusual performance. The young man, dressed in overalls and a straw hat, stepped up front and center, barefoot with an electric banjo in his hand.

When he got to the other side of the stage, he sat down and grabbed the microphone to address the audience. Right away, he said a few words in a “hillbilly” accent, and the entire crowd is cracking up. As he explained, he’s going to play a few songs on the banjo for everyone and hope that they enjoy them.

Although The Whole Set Up Was A Joke, His Playing Definitely Is Not!

Finally, he plugged his instrument in and started to play. Although the entire set up was a joke – he even took a dip out of a can to make it look like he was chewing tobacco – his playing definitely isn’t!

The student, whose name is Joel, started plucking out a beautiful melody on the banjo. Though it kicked off slowly, he gradually picked up speed and added more notes, making the audience cheer right along with him.

Playing “Cripple Creek,” followed by the classic song “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” he managed to showcase his pickin’ skills and showed off a talent none of his friends possibly knew he had. You can tell by the audience’s reaction just how impressed they were with Joel’s hidden talent.

Indeed, he won the audience over, who were clapping along and cheering loudly at the end of his performance. Though we did not know if he won the contest, he definitely put his best foot forward!

You can watch the incredible performance below!

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