<\/p>\n
Sixteen-year-old York County teen Alex Warner has amassed quite a list of accolades in a short period of time. <\/p>\n
Warner, who has been playing the guitar since he was eight, is making considerable progress towards his rock star dreams. <\/p>\n
Just this year alone, he was named one of the Top 10 Guitarists Under 20<\/a> at the prestigious International Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas, and was nominated for Guitarist of the Year at the Josie Awards<\/a>, held at Nashville\u2019s Grand Ole Opry, and the 2025 Chubediah Memorial Music Award<\/a>. <\/p>\n Warner gained his love for rock music at an early age, listening to the bands his parents played in the house.<\/p>\n \u201c[My mom] used to play a bunch of music, anywhere from pop to rock,\u201d Warner said. \u201cThe most I listened to is rock, so I was listening to bands like Godsmack, Papa Roach, Creed. … That\u2019s basically what I grew up on for quite a while.\u201d <\/p>\n One artist and song inspired Warner enough to ask his parents for a guitar: Stevie Ray Vaughan\u2019s performance of \u201cVoodoo Child\u201d during a 1989 appearance on \u201cAustin City Limits\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI watched the whole thing,\u201d Warner said. \u201cWhen I saw him play, I was in shock and awe. I knew instantly I wanted to play guitar.\u201d <\/p>\n Just a few months after watching Vaughan\u2019s almost 10-minute performance, Warner got his first guitar for Christmas. <\/p>\n Warner said it was a \u201cknockoff\u201d Stratocaster, which is a bass guitar that starts at about $400 and goes all the way up to over $2k according to the Fender website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Today, Warner plays a customized guitar made by Lancaster County-based guitar makers, TwinDix<\/a>.<\/p>\n Over time, Warner said he took formal lessons and watched numerous YouTube videos to hone his skills, noting that it was challenging at first to learn how to play correctly, but he had no intention of stopping. <\/p>\n \u201cI had an emotional connection to it,\u201d Warner said. \u201cIt was one of those things where I had found something I was interested in, and I wanted to do it for life. I can\u2019t be separated from it.\u201d <\/p>\n Warner soon developed his own taste for music, discovering different sounds and shifting his focus from rock to blues. He was introduced to Anthony \u201cBig A\u201d Sherrod, a blues player from Mississippi whom Warner met amid his travels. He eventually became Warner\u2019s teacher and mentor. <\/p>\n The Juke Joint Festival<\/a>, a blues festival based in Clarksdale, Mississippi, is where Warner\u2019s mom, Bambi Warner, said her son found a passion for playing the blues. <\/p>\n \u201cBig A had him come up and played a whole set with him, and he wasn\u2019t even prepared for it,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s like \u2018You\u2019ll be fine\u2019, and pulls him up, and he ended up paying him for the gig. I was like \u2018No,no, just the experience alone is enough, you can\u2019t put a price on it,\u2019 and he was like \u2018Nope, he worked. He did what I asked him and he\u2019s getting paid for it.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Warner would go on to play at local events, and even do a mini tour in the eighth grade, before realizing that if he was gonna follow his dreams, he might need to adjust how he goes to school. That took a minute for his mom, Bambi Warner, to get behind. <\/p>\n \u201cI got a lot of backlash for it for a little while. But once she understood it, she was on board with it,\u201d Warner said. \u201cI just wanted to be home a lot more, just because of the music.\u201d<\/p>\n Since then, Warner has been able to keep his grades up while continuing to follow his musical dreams. <\/p>\n His mom said she is proud of her son\u2019s accomplishments, especially since she and her husband are not as musically inclined. <\/p>\n \u201cWe did the lessons for quite a bit, but Alex learns in a different way. He listens to the music and can hear it,\u201d Bambi Warner said. \u201cHe\u2019s got perfect pitch, which is insane because neither or my husband nor I play, so we have no idea where he gets it from.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe does all of these things, and he still keeps an A average grade throughout high school,\u201d she added. \u201cHe\u2019s still working hard and getting through his schooling, and he\u2019ll graduate early next year.\u201d<\/p>\n Right now, if you watch Warner perform<\/a>, he does a mix of covers, including songs like \u201cFor the Love of God\u201d by Steve Vai, \u201cPlay That Funky Music\u201d by Wild Cherry. He recently started performing his first original song, \u201cPeace, Love, Blues,\u201d released in February. <\/p>\n Alex Warner hopes that he will become an even \u201cbetter player,\u201d by developing his sound and writing original music. <\/p>\n \u201cFive years from now, I hope to be out and … have a solid band … get an album out,\u201d he said. \u201cI really want to try to become a better player than what I am now because my ultimate goal is to be the best I possibly can be.\u201d<\/p>\n On Sept. 14, Warner will get to further his musical resume, opening for Stone Temple Pilots, Nothing More, and Hinder at the 2025 Rock Fest<\/a>, held at the Hollywood Casino in Grantville. Warner said he feels good about the upcoming show, but strives to be even better. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not fazed by [it] much, but it definitely is nerve-wracking because now I know I have to perform even better,\u201d Warner said. \u201cSo that takes a little bit more mental strength, and just becoming overall just better. But yeah, I\u2019m definitely feeling pretty good about it.\u201d<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n