He was practically born to be a performer. Ever since he was two years old, he has been a singer and, for the past years, he has been mastering the guitar.
This Saturday, OVS freshman Beckett McDowell is taking the next step in his career as a musician: he will be opening for country singer Lacy J. Dalton at a benefit concert at the Ventura Theater raising money for the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center.
His opening number won’t be his first time performing in front of a crowd. Aside from participating in the school’s Garage Band and several musical productions throughout his past four years at OVS, he has also been able to perform with several other artists, such as Dave Mason from the band Traffic and Eric Burdon from The Animals.
Lacy J. Dalton and Jean Marie Webster, the woman organizing the benefit, are both old family friends with the McDowells, which is how they knew of Beckett’s talent. So, it was easy for them to decide that they wanted him to be a part of the show.
But isn’t it intimidating for a high schooler to be performing in a venue holding hundreds of people, where in past years artists like Rise Against and Snoop Dogg have stopped by on their tours? No, intimidation doesn’t seem to be in Beckett’s vocabulary.
“I don’t get nervous ever,” Beckett said. “I just love playing in front of people.”
Besides, the performance is for a good cause, which makes being a part of it even more exciting for him.
“The concert is for SPARC, a Santa Paula no-kill animal shelter, so that makes it 1000% better that I get to do this, not just for all the people watching, but the animals as well,” Beckett said.
So, this week, instead of going on the freshman camping trip with his classmates, he is spending his days in Los Angeles, rehearsing for the show.
“I’m not on the freshman trip because I made a commitment to the band we hired and the rehearsal times we scheduled crossed, so I couldn’t go,” Beckett said.
But, that isn’t a difficult decision for a musician like Beckett. Performing has become a part of his life now.
“My favorite thing about performing is making the people listening happy, that’s what makes me want to keep performing for the rest of my life,” Beckett said.
If you want to see Beckett play, go get a ticket for the benefit this Saturday, January 19, at the Ventura Theater.