“I always dreamed of singing on the main stage.”

Dreams and inspiration are a common theme as we catch up with our former Teen Talent Showcase stars. For Fin White, that dream turned to reality in 2018. In a duet that year with Taliah Black, and again as a solo act in 2019, Fin featured catchy lyrics and a memorable, heartfelt stage presence.

Fin first became aware of the Music Festival in middle school. “I had only just begun to develop my guitar and songwriting skills. Even as a kid, I saw the festival as a fantastic source of accessible live music.”

Music filled Fin’s high school days, with time and energy going to marching band as well as classical and jazz ensembles. That left little bandwidth available for anything else, but “the music festival gave me an audience for my own personal songs, which up until that point lived mostly in my own head, and on my very small youtube channel. Realizing there were real people who wanted to listen to my music inspired me to continue creating, and still does to this day.”

That realization – hey, someone actually wants to hear me play! – is a watershed moment for a musician. Fin made the most of it. “Playing in the festival in my teens gave me a small glimpse into what performing with more focus on songwriting could look like for me.”

Graduating mid-Covid, Fin missed out on a swan-song round on stage as the Festival was canceled in 2020. But Fin was awarded the Festival’s Ed Bridges Memorial Scholarship and went off to Western Washington University in Bellingham. Fin is one of just a handful of Teen Talent stars over the years who also picked up an OHMF scholarship as a graduating senior.

While still writing songs and recording a few of them on their YouTube channel, Fin isn’t performing much these days. “Songwriting has always been an outlet first and foremost, so I sometimes struggle to add polish to my work once it’s been written.” That said, Fin looks forward to a potential return to the OHMF stage this year.

“I’ve done some growing since my last time participating in OHMF, and I’m looking forward to performing some more mature music alongside my old songs.”

Fin continues to post videos of their music on their YouTube channel. Their personal favorite is this one right here:
https://youtu.be/FX1wW05VouY

As an adult, Fin clearly sees OHMF’s impact on the Oak Harbor community, and they continue to be inspired. “Its biggest accomplishment is giving everyone in our community access to free, high-quality live music in a multitude of different genres. I think you’ve done a fantastic job of inspiring people to take time out of their schedules to share in the wonderful experience of listening to music together.”

Fin’s “September to September,” written as a realistic snapshot of high school life, love, and attitude from the inside, earned Fin some fans when they performed it on stage at OHMF in 2019. Five years removed from that world, Fin still appreciates the impact the song made.

“I remember how much it meant to me in my high school years, and I have heard it still speaks to high schoolers in the community today. I have had multiple people reach out and tell me they loved it. I’ve changed a lot since I wrote the song, but I remember it fondly as one of my first writing experiences.”

That’s a heck of a legacy as an artist, knowing your work still has an impact. We look forward to seeing Fin on stage for years to come.