Lauren Hunter Lifelong Hinsdalean • Grew up playing piano and cello • 2024 graduate of Benet Academy • white Gibson Explorer is her favorite guitar • Loves to play 'Nothing's Shocking' by Jane's Addiction
Not many guitarists can say they played their first show with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. Eighteen-year-old Lauren Hunter of Hinsdale can.
"That day completely changed my life," said Hunter, who started playing guitar in 2020, just a year before her parents surprised her with tickets to see her favorite band. Having seen videos of Grohl inviting fans on stage to play with the band, Hunter carried a sign asking for the honor.
"It went crazy viral," Hunter said of the resulting video showing her playing "Monkey Wrench" with the band. It was then that Hunter set her sights on a music career.
Life changed dramatically for Hunter during her freshman year at Benet Academy in Lisle. She was looking forward to taking her volleyball skills to the next level as a member of the varsity team, but injuries soon forced her to put those dreams aside.
"The doctors said I couldn't play anymore," Hunter said.
Things took yet another dramatic turn when the pandemic happened months later. Faced with endless time and little to do, Hunter put her empty hours to work discovering the guitar and a new passion for music. A classmate from Hinsdale Middle School, Will Merz, taught her over Facetime.
"He was my first teacher," she said.
The Foo Fighters concert changed Hunter's life even before she was chosen to come on stage. She recalls a fellow fan telling her about the Gibson Generation Group, a two-year mentorship offered by the Gibson guitar company that supports promising young guitar players, songwriters and music creators across the globe in their pursuit of a music career.
"I looked up the program and I applied," said Hunter, who is one of nine guitarists chosen from around the world for the Class of 2025.
A highlight of the two-year program came in June, when Hunter participated in the Gibson Garage Fest. Held in Nashville during the Country Music Association Fest, Hunter performed her original music, played with legendary Nashville guitarists and met Peter Frampton.
Just a few weeks later, Hunter headed to GRAMMY Camp in Los Angeles as one of 83 students chosen from across the country. Hunter spent the week writing, recording and performing her own music while learning about the business from celebrities including GRAMMY-winning artist Maren Morris; producer, singer and songwriter Jeremy Zucker; and singer, songwriter and bassist Blu DeTiger.
"One of the days I got to have lunch with Jordin Sparks," Hunter said of the actress and singer who won American Idol in 2007 at age 17.
As a recent high school graduate, Hunter is pursuing music full time and dreams of one day playing her own music to an arena full of fans. She said her summer experiences have fueled her desire and ability to continue writing for what will be her first album. She's putting together a band and working to book their first shows as initial steps toward what she hopes will become a career in music.
"We're still getting everything ready, but I'm working on booking stuff as we speak," Hunter said. "It's very new, but very exciting."
- story by Sandy Illian Bosch, photo by Evan Dunn provided
