Need proof that rock is not dead: Taj Farrant, a 9-year-old guitarist from Australia, showed off his impressive skills on The Ellen Degeneres Show with a blistering two-minute solo over Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. And get this: He only picked up guitar a little over two years ago, after seeing AC/DC in concert.
On the episode, which airs today (March 19th), Ellen introduced Taj by saying, “You’re all about to get your minds blown. We meet a lot of talented kids on our show. Our next guest is truly something special.”
Taj then proceeded to channel his inner Slash, showing some masterful fretwork while playing along to a backing track of “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. The youngster — whose YouTube channel has videos of him playing songs by AC/DC, Prince, Queen, and more — then sat down with Ellen for a chat.
“My dad took me to an AC/DC concert two and half years ago, and I was on my pop’s shoulders, and I said, ‘I want to do that for the rest of my life,'” responded Taj when Ellen asked him what inspired him to pick up guitar. The youngster is apparently also able to play a song by ear shortly after hearing it for the first time.
With his whole family in town from Australia, Taj and company were gifted a day at Disneyland by Ellen. Check out the full performance and interview below:
