Meet The 11-year-old Aussie Guitarist Who Has Already Played With Santana & KISS

Australian guitar maestro Taj Farrant has achieved more than most musicians could hope for across their entire career… and he’s only 11 years old.

He credits his passion for guitar to an AC/DC concert his father and grandfather took him to when he was just eight years old.

“As soon as I heard Angus play Shook Me All Night Long I was hooked,” he told The Music.

Fast forward only a couple of years and he’s rubbing shoulders with rock royalty, performing alongside the likes of Carlos Santana, KISS, Rob Thomas, Orianthi and more, while appearing on Australia's Got Talent, Ellen and helping Human Nature raise $250,000 at a Las Vegas fundraiser.

As if performing with KISS wasn’t a big enough deal on its own for someone so young, the story of how he got the gig is wild.

“I was performing with Neil Turpin from Anthrax at Viper Room in LA and some of KISS’ crew were there, that’s how we connected,” Farrant explained.

“KISS and I hung out for a couple of hours. Such great guys. We talked about Australian music mainly.”

As for his time on stage with Santana, that came about through Farrant’s manager, who had an in with Rob Thomas’ manager.

“I still can’t believe it actually happened!” he said. “Performing with such a legend in Las Vegas would be a dream come true for any musician, it certainly was for me.

“I hung out with him and his amazing wife Cindy for three days in Vegas. He gave me tons of musical and non-musical advice.” 

After a slew of amazing opportunities, Farrant released his debut single, Just Can’t Sleep, today.