BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
A Wetumpka 10-year-old and budding musician has already accomplished quite a feat. He shared the stage with Jason Mraz at a concert in North Charleston, South Carolina Nov. 27.
Barrett William Perkins attends school in Holtville. Back in 2018, his mother Natalie took him to see one of her favorite bands from her college days. Jump Little Children performed in Atlanta. She said before the concert they went to dinner.
“(Barrett) had a pair of chopsticks and kept tapping on the table with the beat of the music playing in the restaurant,” she said. “The chopstick drumming continued during the concert and the band members took notice.”
Shortly after, Barrett started taking drum lessons at Lisenby’s Music Shop locally.
Natalie said drumming became Barrett’s focus for the next year and a half. Then he started showing an interest in the guitar, so they traded in his drums at Lisenby’s for an acoustic guitar. That sealed the deal. He started taking guitar lessons from then on.
“Playing guitar has led to his own YouTube channel (Mini Mraz), songwriting, playing his first gig (Kickoff to Christmas in Wetumpka) and now performing on stage with his favorite singer Jason Mraz.
So how did that happen?
Well, it was a long time coming. Barrett and Natalie went to New York in August of this year to see Mraz. But there were some weather complications and the concert was canceled. Afterwards when a woman saw how upset Barrett was, she arranged for Jason to come out and meet Barrett in person. He apologized for having to cancel the concert and signed Barrett’s hat. He also had a photo taken with Barrett.
So Natalie heard Mraz was coming to South Carolina, so they made a second attempt.
Barrett was seated with his Mom near the front during the recent concert, and was called out by Mraz. Barrett was holding a poster referring to that night being his second, FIRST Jason Mraz concert.
“This is your second, first Jason Mraz concert. I believe we saw each other in New York, and the show got canceled,” Mraz said to Barrett who was still in the audience. “It was canceled due to a hurricane. We were on the rooftop…on the river, and it was lightning and it was a hurricane.”
Mraz asked him to turn the poster over. On that side it listed some of Barrett’s accomplishments so far. They included First Gig, songwriter, play guitar, actor, YouTuber and singer.
“Amazing,” Mraz said. “You wanna play something right now?”
And the crowd went wild!
With a boost onto the stage from event security Barrett was handed Mraz’s guitar and the two performed “I’m Yours.” You can see the video here – https://www.facebook.com/nataliepb/videos/324093522883380
Mraz got on his knees to sing along with Barrett, and then gave him a full bow at the end of the performance.
Barrett has been walking on a cloud since, his mother said.
If you were at the Kickoff to Christmas event in Wetumpka, you may have seen Barrett performing there. We are willing to say you may see a lot more of him locally. Follow your dreams Barrett! We at the EAN are so proud of you and happy tell the story of your dream come true.
Barrett took to his YouTube channel to share the video, saying it was the best time of his life. Indeed. But with only 10 years under this young musicians’ belt, we are rather excited to see what his future holds.
If you want to catch a show with Barrett performing, you have a chance Dec. 4. from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Montgomery Curb Market. The address is 1004 Madison Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104 and it is beside the Armory Learning Arts Center and just past Cramton Bowl.
