No two musical careers are exactly the same, but Charles Wesley Godwin’s career almost never happened at all.
The 26-year-old Morgantown native, who performs Saturday night at the Boulevard Tavern in Charleston, didn’t plan on being a musician in the first place.
It wasn’t on the list of careers he even wanted when he was in high school.
A high school athlete, seven years ago, Godwin walked on for football at WVU.
He didn’t make the cut.
“I wasn’t good enough,” he said.
So, at 19, the former outside linebacker picked up a guitar and taught himself to play as a way to occupy the hours.
“I suddenly found myself with all of this time that I’d never had before.”
Until he started playing music, Godwin said he’d spent all of his time at practice, training or playing one sport or another.
His music education and tastes consisted mostly of whatever his family listened to on the radio.
“I grew up listening to 60s and 70s oldies in the car with my dad,” he said.
Godwin said he liked the story songs.
The guitar was meant as a companion and a hobby, not a new direction for him. Godwin studied finance, not music.
His music career might never have happened at all, if he hadn’t spent a semester abroad in Estonia in 2013.
He took the guitar with him.
While living in Estonia, Godwin practiced in his apartment. The music attracted his roommates, who came to listen to him play.
“It just snowballed from there,” he said. “I started playing a few shows and realized I had a talent for it.”
He returned to Morgantown, graduated from WVU with a finance degree and then, three years ago, decided to pursue music full-time…..READ MORE
