Oak Forest HS Grad Vies for Rolling Stone's 'Young Gun' Guitarist Title

Rolling Stone and music instrument string producer D’Addario are in search of tomorrow’s next great guitarists, with the online contest “The Next Young Gun”—and an Oak Forest High School grad is in the running.

Patrick Lyons was selected as one of eight finalists whose prowess won the attention of professional musician judges. Lyons—perhaps most known locally for his work with band Safe Haven—has progressed to the public voting round. Lyons, a 2004 graduate of Oak Forest High School, wowed the judges with his Blues Jam submission video, now open for voting and sharing by supporters. The winner lands a profile and coverage on RollingStone.com, a trip to Los Angeles to record at some of the country’s top studios, a gig at an LA club and a one-year supply of D’Addario strings. Votes should be based on the creativity and originality of the song in each finalists’ video (half), as well as their guitar playing skills (half).

This contest is a continuation of the 30-week Young Guns series on rollingstone.com, which showcased artists Kurt Vile, Blake Mills, Tosin Abasi, Guthrie Trapp, Gary Clark Jr. and many more.

Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. November 24. Participants and voters on social media can use the hashtag, #nextyounggun to keep the conversation going. The winner will be announced December 8.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE.