For the third year in a row, junior Andre Smith and his guitar will be taking the Menchville Rocks stage, challenging himself with a performance of “Cliffs of Dover” by Eric Johnson.

“I’m nervous and slightly unprepared. I still have to ask people if they can help me out. It [the song] is really really hard, so I’m scared for how it’s going to go,” Smith commented.

Last year, Smith wowed the crowd with his unique performance of “Tender Surrender” by Steve Vai, followed by “Surfing with the Alien,” by Joe Satriani. This year, he hopes to impress them even more with this difficult piece of music.

When asked why he enjoys performing and playing music, Smith replied “I guess I’d say it’s the rush, this feeling I get from playing that makes me love it so much. I love playing and performing for people.”

Anyone that has heard Smith perform at school can recognize his enjoyment of playing rock by his unique song choices each year that he participates in Menchville Rocks. Branching out, Smith has also been getting into jazz and R&B.

“Now I pretty much play about anything, but this [performance] right here is specifically rock. Maybe next year I’ll do jazz and easier stuff.”

Come see Andre Smith and other musicians at Menchville Rocks at 6:30 pm on Thursday, February 27 in the Menchville auditorium.