Back by popular demand after his sold-out September 2012 performance, Shaun Hopper will be joined by Adam Rafferty for one night only at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Clearwater’s Cleveland Street District on Friday, February 15 at 7:30 pm. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, December 1 at noon at the Ruth Eckerd Hall Ticket Office.

It's beyond rarity that in a single year a guitar player can emerge from small town obscurity to become an overnight YouTube sensation grabbing the ears of GRAMMY® Award winning legends and rock icons. Acoustic "Fingerstyle" Guitar Wizard Shaun Hopper has achieved that and much more. In succession, he's joined B.B. King at Ruth Eckerd Hall, headlined the All-Star Guitar Night at the 2012 Winter NAMM Show in Los Angeles and performed privately, by request, for Stevie Wonder. Rock legend Steve Vai found Hopper online in 2010, and signed him within weeks to his record label Favored Nations/Digital Nations.

Hopper's repertoire is global in scope, crossing and combining musical genres on the fly. Moving thematically through his set, Shaun takes his audience on a virtual tour from Celtic imagery and classical medley to soulful ballads and jazzy improvisations, all of which he'll counter punch with a Nashville "Hot Licks" session, fret-tapping original or 70s pop song. An unparalleled master of the fret-board, Hopper merges complex melodies, harmonies and bass lines along with a one-of-a-kind mix of percussive elements which simply captivates. With listeners caught off balance, he is always able to rouse the crowd with a contagious sing-a-long or two. Expect to hear threads of Bach, Beethoven, Beatles, George Benson, Sting,Segovia, John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel, James Taylor and Queen. Shaun always raises a smile, a glass and if not, a standing ovation.

Adam Rafferty (a.k.a. “Raf”) has played as a first-call guitarist with the greatest musicians on the planet at countless music festivals (U.S. and Europe), and in concert halls with Dr. Lonnie Smith, The Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, L.A. Studio legend Bennie Wallace, and bassist Bob Cranshaw from the original Saturday Night Live band, to name a few.

Students have flown across the country and fromEuropeto tap Adam’s brain for guitar knowledge. He’s taught countless workshops, written two books, and has a new instructional DVD available on which he teaches fingerstyle versions of Stevie Wonder’s most popular songs.

In just a few years, he’s become a YouTube guitar sensation. His views are in the tens of millions. Thanks to this new popularity he’s performed festivals in Bangkok, Helsinki, Germanyand Austria. Among Adam’s musical innovations is the ability to play two simultaneous melodies on the guitar and do hip-hop flavored “human beatbox” with his mouth at the same time. Some say his solo version of Herbie Hancock’s Chameleon sounds like the “guitarist with three heads.” It has to be heard to be believed. His solo versions of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and Stevie Wonder’s Superstition are his most popular songs and have groove that will make you jump out of your seat.

Whether you're a guitar enthusiast or not matters little. Shaun Hopper & Adam Rafferty will deliver back-to-back audio-visual performances which simply exceed the limits of acoustic guitar... mesmerizing everyone within earshot.