Although he's still in high school and has only been playing music publicly for about a year, this Duluth musician is already an accomplished guitarist who also writes songs and sings. He recently released his first official album, Songs from the Bottom Shelf, which was produced by his friend Xander Ripley-Jaakola of the band #theindianheadband. When we talked with Edwards, he was days away from opening for one of his major musical influences, Charlie Parr; he shared how he was first introduced to Parr's music and how his parents' and grandparents' music collections have helped to inform his musical tastes. Edwards performed two original tunes as well as his version of "John Henry."
![A young man sitting on a stool in a radio studio playing a 12-string guitar. Behind him is a wall full of shelves of CDs and a door that has band posters on it.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/841c404/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1260x1104+0+0/resize/880x771!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6f%2Fe7%2Ffdf8647a44a287246db753632c7f%2Fjon-edwards-studio-a-by-christine-dean-2-edit.jpg)
Christine Dean for the North 103.3
![A young man sitting on a stool in a radio studio playing a 12-string guitar. Behind him his open guitar case is visible on the floor. The walls are covered with shelves full of CDs.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/429bff4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1280+0+0/resize/880x587!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F85%2F31%2Fed1a8b23413ba291a477a747c737%2Fjon-edwards-studio-a-by-christine-dean-4-edit.jpg)
Christine Dean for the North 103.3