22-year old musician Caden Glover is a born-and-raised West Virginian building a successful music career in the mountain state. A Monroe County native, Glover’s music is gaining a sprawling reach— he was a contestant on American Idol, has been featured on Radio West Virginia, has played at Wild Trails Festival and Norman’s Rare Guitars in Los Angeles. Though his music is rooted in traditional bluegrass, his sound is influenced by classic country and jazz, finished off by his signature vocal twang.
Glover’s venture into music began on a limb. At age 11, he wanted to learn an instrument, buying an inexpensive banjo from Alpha Music in Lewisburg with no prior musical experience. He taught himself to play by watching old videos of bluegrass pioneer Earl Scruggs, whose style Glover familiarized himself with and taught himself on. At age 13, he expanded into playing the acoustic guitar, carrying the bluegrass roots he learned on banjo into a new musical medium. As he continued playing and improving, what initially began as a random interest began to transform into Glover’s passion, and eventually became a part of his livelihood.
As a high school student, he started picking up gigs at local bars. When he noticed that he had a fully-booked schedule by his senior year of high school, it became clear that attending college wasn’t aligned with his aspirations. With a steady income from gigging, as well as working on local farms, Glover diverted from a typical college path and instead acquired his plumbing license. “I was playing music and making enough to eat on, so that was good enough for me,” he says. His flexible outlook has proven successful for him— not only has he maintained consistent booking since high school, he’s continuously booked larger shows and expanded his audience across the Appalachian region…