Charles Winston

Charles Winston, 13 years old, is an accomplished keyboardist/vocalist and also proficient on acoustic and rhythm guitars. Trained in classical piano at the age of 6, Charles performs solo (keyboards, guitars and vocals) covering timeless classic rock numbers from many of his influential artists including The Beatles, Billy Joel, Green Day, Journey and the Eagles. Charles also composes original music. He was awarded Best Instrumental Performance and 2nd Place overall finalist in recent Music on and Up talent showcase events held at the Hard Rock Caf in Boston. He won first place semi finalist in Artist Live talent show held at Ryles Jazz club in Cambridge. Additonally, Charles performs at many local community and charitable events. During the summer of 2010 he performed at GreenFest Boston and performed regularly to large, delighted crowds at Cape Cods Popponesset Marketplace. Charles conitnues to write his own music and is currently working on his first CD.

In addition to solo performances, Charles is lead vocalist and keyboardist for the local teen band Awesome Express. The band formed in 2009 and has performed at many local venue events including Make Music - Harvard Square, Johnny D's, and the Middle East in Cambridge . Awesome Express was a finalist in the Berklee-sponsored Rock Showdown event held at The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN) in May 2010 and a finalist in April 2011 Berklee Battle of the High School Bands. The band performs original songs and classic rock covers.

Charles attends the Pollard Middle School in Needham where he maintains High Honors and is involved in many extracurricular activities including basketball, baseball, tennis and drama.