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Philip Bowen, a fiddle-playing social media star and Montgomery, West Virginia native, is set to appear on the Tuesday, May 30 episode of America’s Got Talent.
Bowen is one of the featured contestants auditioning for the talent contest. The show will kick off its 18th season.
He’s most known for his viral TikTok series called “Does It Fiddle?” where he improvises melodies over popular songs from different genres.
But he’s also making a name for himself as an Appalachian songwriter. He performed original songs at a Mountain Stage show last January. His song “Old Kanawha” was the program’s March 30 Song of the Week. His debut album, which is named after the song, is also set to release Aug. 18.
Bowen was also a recent subject of West Virginia Public Broadcasting podcast Us & Them. He spoke to host Trey Kay about growing up in Appalachia, and how his songwriting reflects realities of the Mountain State’s coal industry.
“I worked at Cracker Barrel one summer out of college, in Kanawha City. And these coal miners would come in for breakfast, like literally black head to toe,” Bowen said during a sit down interview with Kay about his song “Vampire in Appalachia.” “There’s nobody that’s gonna tell you breathing that stuff in for your whole career is gonna do your body any good. And so I just was getting really frustrated by all of that sacrifice to provide for a family.”
Bowen is not the first native West Virginian to receive attention through America’s Got Talent. Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., a jazz singer from Logan County, won the show’s sixth season.
America’s Got Talent will air Tuesday, May 30 at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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Southern West Virginia has rich but often overlooked musical traditions. Chris Haddox is a WVU professor of sustainable design, but he's also spent years uncovering more information on those overlooked musicians. We spoke with him to learn more about his effort to shine a light on the musical talents of local miners, now with the help of a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsOn this West Virginia Week, our voter's guide is out, and it has all the information you need to know about the upcoming general election in the state. Also, another lawsuit targets the state's public school funding formula. And, a million dollar giant troll is making its way to the woods of West Virginia.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsWith the midterm elections approaching, Us & Them host Trey Kay takes the Dinner Party to Huntington, where eight West Virginians from different generations and political perspectives gather around the table. Half the guests are under 30, and while they disagree on immigration, foreign policy, the media and the direction of the country, they also discover some unexpected common ground.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsOn Oct. 23, Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, will release a new album for choir, cello, piano and live electronics called Eternity in an Hour via Decca Records. Listen to the entire interview between Whitacre and Matt Jackfert.
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