MORE FIDDLE.
If you’re not familiar with Philip Bowen, the West Virginia native shot to fame with his incredible fiddle covers on TikTok, racking up millions of views of himself adding fiddle to songs like Zach Bryan’s “Something In the Orange,” Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” and even Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”
@philipbowenmusic Coolio! Keep ‘em coming! I love you guys. #coolio #gangstasparadise #gangstersparadaise #fypシ #violin #mostrequested ♬ Fiddle Paradise – Philip Bowen Music
It’s been a big couple of months for Philip. He just dropped his incredible debut album, Old Kanawha, last month, further proving that some of the best talent in country music right now is coming out of Appalachia.
@philipbowenmusic There’s a vampire in Appalachia, and we’re runnin’ out of blood #philipbowenmusic #oldkanawha #vampireinappalachia #appalachia ♬ Vampire in Appalachia – Philip Bowen & Josiah and the Bonnevilles
And he also recently turned heads on the NBC competition show America’s Got Talent when he earned unanimous praise from the judges for his surprise fiddle performance of “Chop Suey!” by System Of A Down.
Well obviously Philip made it to the second round after that performance. But after last night’s show, I have a feeling he’s not going anywhere any time soon.
Philip was back on the America’s Got Talent stage last night, and once again brought the house down with a performance of “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” by Dropkick Murphys.
After the show-stopping performance, the judges were once again unanimous in their praise of Philip for not only his fiddling, but also the energy he brings to the stage. And judge Sofia Vergara even had a special compliment for Philip:
“Philip, you are a great entertainer. Great energy. You make the violin sexy.”
Even Simon Cowell had nothing but nice things to say about the performance:
“It is every parent’s nightmare when the child says, ‘I want to play the violin.’
And actually, you made it entertaining. It was a really good choice of song.
You are such a great personality. And you know what, I can feel how much this means to you. The audience at home are going to really like you.”
Making fiddle sexy again – and I’m all for it.
