Armless man performs at Musikfest, with Goo Goo Dolls

Concert ReviewAugust 7, 2012WFMZ 69 News

He's not only entertaining crowds with his music, but George Dennehy is inspiring them because he plays the guitar with no arms.

Now he can say he performed with a Musikfest headliner.

Dennehy played the song, 'Iris' with the Goo Goo Dolls Tuesday night.

It's a song he first uploaded to the web, which made him an Internet sensation.

Even though he was born with no arms, Dennehy says his mother helped him learn to play cello at 8 years old.

"My mom saw Tony Melendez one time in a video or live. He's another armless guitar player and she went up to the teacher and said, 'If Tony Melendez can play guitarn can George play another instrument too,'" said Dennehy.

That was all the encouragement he needed. He learned the cello and then bass guitar.

He says playing the acoustic guitar after that was a no brainer.

Dennehy's friend convinced him to upload the cover version of the song, 'Iris' by the Goo Goo Dolls.

"Basically it just spread around the Internet, which went viral," added Dennehy. Word spread so quickly he eventually heard from the band.

"They reached out to me on Twitter and sent me a message. He's like hey, follow me I have a question for you."

The question: Would George like to open for the band and play 'Iris' with them at Musikfest?

"I was overly overwhelmed and said this is so cool," said Dennehy.

He says some of his inspirations are: his father, singer John Mayer, and of course the Goo Goo Dolls.

When asked what he thinks about inspiring others he says, "Despite what I'm missing and what I don't have, I still make a way to be able to do what I want to do, be able to do what I love."

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