The lights dimmed and the curtains, metaphorically, pulled to the side as Rhett Price walked out on stage wielding a violin.
Knowing that Price would be coming to the University of Maine at Presque Isle had made even the adults happy. Everyone from adults to students to children were lining the rows in Wieden auditorium. It took, roughly, 15 minutes for Price to walk out on stage and introduce the crowd to his pop violin with his first song, “The Hills” by The Weekend. But it was worth the wait.
Up on stage Price was extremely energetic and engaging. He chose songs that many in the room knew and sang along with.
Tyla Worster, of Lincoln, Maine, and a student of the local university, even said, “It was the best performance ever!”
Keisha Darveau, also a student of the local university, said, “Rhett Price is such an amazing violinist. He was so energetic as he danced around. He was so into the music he was playing and it was inspiring. I hope that pop violinists become a big thing soon. I was so impressed with the show.”
About halfway through the performance, Price began to talk with the audience. He asked how many students were in the crowd. After a good laugh, he then told everyone about his next song, which was also his favorite: “Starboy” by The Weekend.
Price played every song by heart: he didn’t have any sheet music in front of him.
“Before every performance I drink, like, five cups of coffee and crank my toons,” Price said. “It just calms me before I come out on stage.”
Price has been encouraged his whole life to pursue the violin. At age 4, he tried to help his sister play the piano out of mere interest. His father, instead, decided that two children shouldn’t be on the same instrument because they might fight. So, Price got the violin.
His family encouraged him throughout everything he did.
As Price got older, he learned to play violin more and more. He then chose to go to college at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, which was a long way from his hometown (Midland) in Texas.
Playing the violin has been Price’s main source of income since college. He’s been making his way toward the right direction the past two years. At one point in his life he wasn’t even sure that he was going to be able to live somewhere other than a park bench. That’s right: Price was homeless. Two years was all it took for him to get back on his feet.
It was about a month ago when Price’s boss asked him if he’d ever been to Maine. Price said that he hadn’t but why not give it a whirl? So Price came to Maine as part of his college tour. He admitted to not being used to the cold weather, but that it was more than a welcome change.
Price wanted to leave a message with those who follow him or those who don’t believe in themselves. When interviewed, he was asked if he had anything else he wanted to add. He smiled and said, “If you put your mind to it, you can do anything. Don’t let other people tell you what to do.”
Price’s life certainly embodies this. Even through everything–becoming homeless, his parents telling him to stop playing the violin for the moment and come home–Price pressed on. He was stubborn in his ways and he believed in himself.
If you want to learn more about Rhett Price, you can locate him on any social media app at @rhettypants. Or if you would like to support Rhett Price, his new album is coming out this year very soon.
