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Mikey Rodriguez at The Guitar Merchant – Live Review

Mikey Rodriguez at The Guitar Merchant – Live Review

Mikey Rodriguez, The Guitar Merchant, West Hills, CA., May 20, 2025

Mikey Rodriguez is a 22-year-old actor / singer / songwriter ready make an impact on the local Los Angeles music scene and beyond. Through the magic and mystery of the Instagram algorithm, Mikey Rodriguez appeared on the Highwire Daze feed – announcing his first ever live show at The Guitar Merchant in West Hills. I had always wanted to check out The Guitar Merchant, and Highwire Daze is always down to cover new musicians and bands on the rise – so it was time to head into the deepest part of the San Fernando Valley for an adventure.

The Guitar Merchant is such a cool place! The owner Phil and sound coordinator Catherine clearly enjoys interacting with the community, offering the very best in musical instruments, guitar lessons, and even live shows! They have an open mic every Thursday night. And the venue is a terrific place for bands and artists to showcase their talents. Highwire Daze cover stars Madam Bombs have played there – and on this very special night in the quiet San Fernando Valley, Mikey Rodriguez was about to play his debut headlining show in the very comfortable main stage area.

With a vibrantly infectious personality, teen star good looks, and the talent to back it all up, Mikey Rodriguez proceeded into a five-song set featuring covers and one original song. In between each and every selection was very informative banter about how the artist he was about to cover has inspired him. With his very expressive voice and an acoustic guitar, Mikey opened the show with Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter and then proceeded into a wonderful rendition of Cry At The Moon by Bradley Simpson.

Little Did I Know was up next, a heartfelt original tune written and performed with passion and conviction by Mikey Rodriguez. Mikey stated it took him a very long time to complete the song, and that he plans to record it soon. Two more very impressive covers would follow – Scared of Heights by The Driver Era and As It Was by Harry Styles – with Mikey weaving his own imaginative take on each of the iconic songs.

What a terrific beginning for what is sure to be captivating career in the music industry. You usually see star making performances like this on the Sunset Strip, but a peaceful night in the SFV was the perfect place for a Mikey Rodriguez live performance premiere. Here’s hoping for even more original songs from the absolutely charismatic artist commencing on a journey into the big leagues!

A very special thank you goes out to Phil and Catherine for hosting and supporting new talent and creating such a wonderful space for musicians of all ages to explore and interact.

(Review and Photos by Ken Morton)

Mikey Rodriguez on Instagram