20 Under 20 - Whatzup

Whatzup's 20 Under 20 2021 Honorees

Stories by Michele DeVinney • Photos by Chad Jenkins and Tyler Ross

The Sweetwater Academy and Mynett Music are proud to partner with Whatzup to acknowledge the wealth of musical talent in northeastern Indiana. The first annual 20 Under 20 Awards highlight talented young musicians throughout the region.

Scores of friends, family members, parents, and music educators from Northeast Indiana nominated these young musicians. An expert panel of judges heard their musicianship and selected the top 20 to be recognized in 2021.

Aden Carson

Aden Carson, 18, came to his craft through family. He began on one instrument but was influenced by other musical relatives to take a different path.“There are a lot of musicians in my family,” Carson said, “but I was really influenced by my dad and my grandpa to pick up the guitar. At the time I had already been drumming for a year, but I de...

Ben Finkel

Ben Finkel, 16, first began playing the piano in kindergarten. He has no idea what drew him to the instrument, but being very young when he began, he was either laser focused or had a patient piano teacher.“Very patient,” Finkel said. “Dave Latchaw was my teacher, and he plays really jazzy keyboards. He was very patient with me for that first...

Chali Moss

Chali Moss, 17, has always enjoyed singing and was told by her mother that she was singing before she was talking. But the moment her skills were best demonstrated came in an unusual fashion.“When I was very young, I was watching a Blues Clues episode that had a singing scat and repeat jazz episode,” Moss said, “and [my mother] said that she ...

Colin Haines

Colin Haines, 17, is unlike his musical peers who were born to a life of music. But that changed when he was introduced to a famous musical family.“I was first exposed to music by my grandpa, Dick Stoner,” Haines said. “Every Sunday, on the way to church, he would put in one of his CDs to play. Every week it rotated between a Best of Frank Si...

Corbin Keene

Corbin Keene, 14, was required to take a music class as a student at West Noble Middle School and chose band because it was his favorite part of football games. As it turned out, his connection to band went much deeper than even he realized.“The more I look back now after nearly five years of dedication, I can see that music was always with me ev...

Elijah Bass

Elijah Bass, 16, came from a family of musicians, so it isn’t surprising that he, too, wanted to find an instrument to play. By fifth grade, his instrument of choice was the saxophone, but parents can be a bit more practical about those issues and suggested he start with a clarinet since they already owned one. After one year, Bass was happy...

Gabe Bailey

Gabe Bailey, 19, has taken piano lessons and even some guitar lessons over the years, but for the most part, Bailey’s own musical curiosity and ambition led him to more or less carve his own path.“I’ve loved and played music for as long as I can remember,” he said. “I began playing piano by ear when I was four and picked up guitar, bass, ...

Gracie Grossman

Gracie Grossman, 16, began playing the violin when she was 12. But with a father who played guitar and a great-grandfather who had played the fiddle, Grossman decided a year into those lessons that she’d keep the instrument but change how she played it.“Making the change meant that I could play with my dad which has been really cool,” she sai...

Graydon Brath

Graydon Brath, 17, began his musical training on the piano, as did all of his siblings. Eventually each of them, with the support and encouragement of musical parents, found an instrument which they wanted to pursue. For Brath it was the bass, and his early years were spent learning in Minnesota, where he had a very special musical experi...

Hunter Smith

Hunter Smith, 18, received a special gift for his 11th birthday.“I always had a deep love for music. As a kid I would always be singing, dancing, and making noises constantly,” Smith said. “My parents were the ones who decided to get me a guitar, and I fell in love with the learning process and expressiveness of the instrument.”Like many ot...

Jensen Snyder

Jensen Snyder, 15, has focused on singing in her young musical career. But in the past year, she honed some other skills.“I think I was born loving music,” Snyder said. “It’s just always been in me as far as singing since I was little, so my main instrument is my voice. I really started getting into playing guitar a couple of years ago, and...

Joshua Bennett

Joshua Bennett, 16, first began playing the electric bass in sixth grade, eventually adding upright bass in 10th grade. His brother, who Bennett calls his role model, was playing cello which inspired the move musically.“I decided I didn’t want to play the cello,” Bennett said. “But it did inspire me to take up bass. I just loved the distinc...

Justin Bailey

Justin Bailey, 19, was given his first guitar at a very young age. It lit a fire under him that continues to this day.“My grandfather got me an acoustic guitar when I was young,” Bailey said, “and I began showing interest in music in many different ways after that. I started taking guitar more seriously later and got myself an electric to lea...

Kellen Baker

Kellen Baker, 19, was introduced to music by his parents who provided a fully immersive experience.“My dad was always big into old delta blues. My mom was really into the Grateful Dead, followed them around in a van for a bit, so naturally their middle ground was bluegrass.”But Baker also had a bit of the contrarian in him.“Being what my pare...

Layla Mulks

Layla Mulks, 15, first became involved in music while attending Riverdale Elementary School in Dekalb County when the school’s music director, Adam Strong, began recruiting for band.“I began playing music after seeing sign-ups posted to join band at school,” Mulks said. “Growing up I had always wanted to be a percussionist, so I immediately...

Liam Campbell-Carpenter

Liam Campbell-Carpenter, 15, began playing piano when he was just six years old. His parents thought it would be a good introduction to music, but Campbell-Carpenter took the opportunity and ran with it. Today he attends North Side High School where he is involved in marching band, concert band, the top jazz band Wildsiders, and the North Side...

Mia Vrablic

Mia Vrablic, 15, came to music through singing, but she also learned to play guitar, which has helped her become a songwriter. She’s come a long way since she took her first steps toward performance.“I participated in one of my school’s musicals on a whim and fell in love with performing,” Vrablic said. “I didn’t have any training. I ju...

Natalie Linnemeier

Natalie Linnemeier, 16, came to singing and music from a somewhat different angle than some. Rather than picking up music from a family member or a popular singer, Linnemeier discovered her talent through singing with a very famous Mattel doll.“Ever since I was little I remember singing to the songs in my favorite Barbie movies and telling m...

Sam Trowbridge

Sam Trowbridge, 17, had been dabbling in music for years, first on the piano and then on the saxophone. But when his uncle gave him a guitar, the young man never looked back.“In seventh grade and eighth grade at Blackhawk Middle School, I learned the fundamentals of reading music from a funny, inspiring music teacher, Mr. Joseph Godfrey,” he sa...

Takoda N. Collins

Takoda N. Collins, 17, started out on the trumpet but begged for an alto saxophone. He did receive one, but he eventually realized that he wanted to play tenor sax. Borrowing one from his school until he could afford one, Collins has actually been self-taught on his musical journey and has been influenced and inspired by John Coltrane. Co...

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