It’s not that uncommon for Clinton County residents to include a trip to the Country Music shrine – Ryman Auditorium in Nashville – in their weekend plans.

After all, the prestigious and country music icon location is less than a two hour drive from Albany.

Not many – if any – Clinton County residents have had the fortune of enjoying the view that local guitar artist Nick Williams enjoyed last week.

Even better than a “front row seat”, Nick’s experience instead put him looking directly at the front row of seats in Ryman Auditorium when he was given the opportunity to appear on stage with another iconic group of Americana music fame – the Doobie Brothers.

Performing in a sold-out concert on Sunday, August 14, the Doobie Brothers invited Nick Williams, the 13 year-old son of Albany’s David and Charlotte Williams, to accompany them on stage during the show.

Nick’s dad, David Williams, told the Clinton County News this week that the opportunity to play with the Doobie Brothers on the Ryman Auditorium stage, was an almost unbelievable experience for the entire Williams family.

“It was really cool and something Nick will never forget,” David Williams told the Clinton County News this week in recalling the recent Ryman experience with the Doobie Brothers.

Nick’s chance with the Doobie Brothers stemmed from a friendship he developed with John Cowan, the bass player and vocalist with the Doobie Brothers Band.

Nick met Cowan when they shared a Bowling Green, Kentucky stage together while he joined in with the jam band Duckbutter at the First Annual International Newgrass Festival.

“After exchanging several emails with John (Cowan), we got a call from John on our way home Saturday night after attending a Doobie Brothers and Kansas concert in Fort Knox,” Williams said. “He told us he had worked it out for Nick to play with them the following night at The Ryman – I couldn’t believe it.”

On the following day, Nick and his parents headed to Nashville where they met up with John Cowan and were handed tickets and backstage passes.

Williams said that Cowan then took Nick Williams backstage and they didn’t see him again until he came out on stage.

“It was a sold-out crowd and he got a standing ovation,” Williams said of his son’s performance at the Ryman.

The 13 year-old musician has already enjoyed a stellar career as a guitar player, and his parents hope what he has experienced is only the beginning of what will be a long and rewarding successful career as a musician.

“Charlotte and I have been overwhelmed at the generosity we have received with Nick,” Williams said. “Everyone has welcomed Nick with open arms and has been so supportive of him.”

In addition to his performances at the annual Duckbutter Festival in Bowling Green, he has enjoyed sharing the stage with a host of well-known musicians including Shayne Hill who was the lead guitar player with the group Sawyer Brown, and also Ryan Joseph, who plays with Laura Bell Bundy and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Nick continues to work his way up the ladder, and continues to hope for additional opportunities to play on stage with big-name performers, realizing that chances like the on-stage performance with the Doobie Brothers, will only help boost his career as a musician.

Currently, he is working with Shaylin McGuire, a new artist who is trying to get noticed by a major label in Nashville.

David Williams was recently introduced to Shaylin’s mother, Indy McGuire, and after learning that she was hoping to put together a band, he played her a video of his son he had stored on his iPhone.

That viewing led to an audition with McGuire’s manager, Al Stein.

“Nick passed his audition that night and we were told by Al that Nick had a bright future in the music business, if he chooses to do it,” Williams said. “Since then, he’s been playing some local gigs with her around Glasgow and Bowling Green, and beginning in September, Shaylin wants Nick to start playing with her two nights a week in Nashville for some songwriter night events.”

Williams said his son will be on stage next with McGuire this coming Saturday, August 27, at The Landing in Glasgow, Kentucky. The show is set to run from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.