Austin Thomson, 13, has the blues in his soul
Inspired by film about Robert Johnson, teenager has been gigging and touring all summer
It's been a busy summer for 13-year-old blues musician Austin Thomson.
The Lewisporte teen has been touring the province all summer, playing gigs like the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, Gander's Festival of Flight, and the City of St. John's Harbourside Park concert series.
Thomson began playing guitar when he was only five years old, but it wasn't until last year that his love for the blues really took off.
"About a year ago, me and Dad sat down. He was looking through old movies and we stumbled by this movie called Crossroads. That whole movie is about blues and Robert Johnson and how he wrote that song, Crossroads," Thomson told CBC's Central Morning Show.
"After that, me and Dad just sat down and looked up a bunch of songs for blues. That's how I really come into the blues."
But Thomson, who is headed to Grade 8 at Lewisporte Intermediate this September, isn't just performing covers — he has written several songs of his own.
Natural talent
His dad Dave Thomson, also a musician, said he was taking a break from his own career in the business when everything started to happen with this son.
He said it's great how natural everything has come for his talented teenager.
"Everything he's done and everything he's had the opportunity to do is truly just that — an opportunity that landed on his lap," he said.
"We really started this whole this thing out when Austin started getting pretty good at music, we'd take a little video. And he'd get all these likes and shares."
But all the attention hasn't changed much about Thomson's life; he still loves to ride his bike, play video games and raid the kitchen cupboard for snacks.
As for what's to come in the future, Thomson isn't too sure. He just knows he wants to play the blues.