Sara Garrison: Young singer is darling of open mic night

An open mic night at a bar doesn’t necessarily seem like a place you might find a 13-year-old, but Sara Garrison isn’t like other 13-year-olds. While most girls her age might be spending their summer nights hanging out on the boardwalk or watching television late into the night, Garrison prefers to keep her focus on the stage and on her music.

When I sit down at a table at the Rehoboth Ale House with Garrison and her family, she tells me about herself. She started singing at age 3, but it was really in the last three years that she began to think seriously about it. Her mother, Angela, told me that in 2009, she noticed that Sara’s talent extended beyond the norm.

She did have a vocal coach, Hannah Cassidy from Willowbrook, who coached Garrison for two years to help her hone her vocal stylings. And then, with the help of her parents, Garrison started spreading her wings. Her parents began going to different places and asking if Garrison could perform there. One place she began singing was at the Two Dips in Lewes.

That ultimately brought her to the Rehoboth Ale House on Thursday nights, where the management hosts an open mic night. She started singing there, and before too long, Bob Crabb, who organizes the evening, took notice of her talent. “She’s every bit as good as LeeAnn Rimes was when she was 13!” he gushes, clearly a fan.

Her genre is country, and when she takes the stage, it’s easy to forget that she is only 13 - about to be an eighth-grader at Mariner Middle School in Milton - because she is so poised and mature as she belts out heavy-hitting country tunes like Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl.”

In fact, it was that song (admittedly Garrison’s favorite) that recently won the budding country singer first place at the Delaware State Fair’s competition for young talent. There were 12 contestants, and the talent was fierce. Said Garrison, “I thought I might not place; they were picking a lot of musicians over vocalists,” but when she won, she was surprised and very excited. Another one of the bands from the competition even asked her to join their group, a proposition Garrison and her family are currently mulling over.

When it comes to singing for people, though, Garrison is very serious. In order to help her realize her dreams of becoming a country star, her parents are helping her get out there. Competitions are a great way to make that happen. On Aug. 5 she will be competing at the Texaco Country Showdown held in New York. The big prize - $100,000 - looms for the winner who can make it all the way to Nashville. Garrison’s recent win is likely to be a confidence builder for the upcoming event.

One thing I readily noticed about Garrison when she was onstage, though, was that she didn’t lack confidence. She loves the adrenaline rush she gets when she is performing. She admits that sometimes she gets nervous, but that bigger crowds can be easier than small ones, and people cheering her on is all part of the thrill.

Armed with a bit of country sass and a big voice, Garrison is geared up to make quite an impression at the Rehoboth Ale House. The crowd whoops and claps as she finishes her four-song set at the open mic night, and from her performance, it is easy to see why Crabb referred to her as the darling of Rehoboth Ale House. She is sweet, talented and very friendly -the perfect mix for a small-town girl with big-city hopes of making it in the world of country music.