Coming to the Maintenance Shop this Saturday is Michael Young, a fingerstyle guitarist who presents compelling and soulful sounds through the six and 12-string guitar. Although he is best known for his fingerwork, Young frequently incorporates vocals with his guitar playing. He is only in his twenties and has already secured success in the music industry by producing two CDs and traveling around the country to share his music.

Do you usually play alone or have you ever performed with others?

“I usually play alone, but I’ll occasionally play with a drummer, Ryan Parsons, which adds a fuller sound and a great groove to my playing. I’d like to do that more, but there are logistics involved with it, so it doesn’t work much live . I’ll also occasionally play with Tim Sparks, another guitar player. We’ve done a number of co-bill shows together in the past and have some on our schedule in the future . I looked up to Tim before I knew him personally, so it’s pretty exciting to be able to play shows with him.”

Have you ever played in Ames before?

“No, I don’t think I’ve played in Ames before. The closest I’ve been is Des Moines and then KUNI’s Live From Studio One radio show out of Cedar Falls, which I’m pretty sure covers Ames.”

What do you expect?

“I expect to have a good time, which is why I do this, and I hope the audience members enjoy themselves, too.”

How would you describe the energy of your show?

“I’d say it’s pretty intimate. It’s just me, a guitar and a microphone with some playing, some stories and some singing. I like to chat and let the audience get to know me, which I think is one of the main reasons of going to a concert: so you can get to know the performer. Otherwise, just put in a CD.”

Who is your musical inspiration?

“My 7th grade music teacher encouraged me to explore the guitar, and without her I’m not sure what I’d be doing … my guess is not playing guitar for a living. But Leo Kottke was the first guy I heard play fingerstyle guitar, and he opened the doors for me to a whole sub-genre of guitar. Fingerstyle guitar is a pretty small niche in my opinion, but when you get into it you’ll find that there are a lot of players and a huge spectrum of styles.”

Has anything funny or entertaining happened yet while you’ve been on tour?

“What I find entertaining while on the road is generally not what others find entertaining. I was lost in Chicago and came across S. Exchange Avenue. On the sign it read ‘S EXCHANGE AVE.’ The letters were pretty close together, so it looked like ‘SEXCHANGE AVE.’ I was telling that to an audience recently, and somebody from the crowd yelled out something like, ‘So it was a one-way street?'”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

“If I have hands that still work, I’ll be playing guitar, and I hope it’s for others.”

Also appearing this Saturday with Michael Young is Michael Whisler, another fingerstyle guitarist who uses both the six and 12-string guitars. Whisler fuses American folk, blues and classical elements into his music. He’s self-taught and composes his own songs, which range from fast-paced to slow and moving.