When 59-year-old music teacher and former electrician John Wines took the stage on America’s Got Talent, few could have expected the display of guitar wizardry that was to follow.
Wielding a decadent gold axe, the unassuming Wines proceeded to unleash his inner Eddie Van Halen, shredding through Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and riling up the audience in the process. The look of astonishment on the judges’ faces said it all: Wines can play.
From there, the UK musician let loose on the fretboard, running scales and dropping dive bombs like a heavy metal guitar god. The audience clamored for more, hoisting the horns as Wines wrapped up his performance.
“I was not expecting that,” stated Simon Cowell, echoing the thoughts of anyone who isn’t familiar with Wines’ “Old Grey Guitarist” TikTok channel. The Briton has amassed 1.3 million followers on the platform — a number that is sure to increase after his America’s Got Talent appearance.
“You did become a rock star,” added Heidi Klum.
Ever so humble, Wines admitted that he was a bit nervous onstage (“My legs are going,” he exclaimed during the post-shred interview), but it didn’t affect his performance. He got four “yes” votes from the judges’ panel to advance to the next round.
There’s been a rock theme to AGT lately. A couple weeks ago, we reported on neo-hair metallers Steel Panther wowing the judges with an audition for the show. They, too, moved on to the next round.
Below you can watch John Wines shred on America’s Got Talent.