Bridgewater, Va.- Jeremiah Prophett is a local musician from Elkton, Virginia, who has been performing live for over 30 years now. He performs music all over Virginia with his guitar and harmonica, which add a fullness to his sets. 

“We had a guitar in the house that my parents used, but I really wasn’t into it at all. Then, I was in the hospital as a Type 1 diabetic, and I asked my dad to drop the guitar off. He showed me one thing on the guitar, and it started everything,” said Prophett. “It turned into me being 14 and in the hospital often with nothing else to do but write songs and stories and be with my guitar. It was the one place I could be with all the pain and sadness of this disease and not worry about anything or anyone else.” 

On Feb. 11, he performed at the Death Ridge Brewery with fellow Valley guitar player, Ryan Garst. 

“I have so much fun doing improv with jazz and applying it to rock and roll with Jeremiah. He stylistically can perform music across the board. We jam every time we get together,” Garst said. 

They have been performing together for three years. 

“The best part of the whole thing is when I get through an evening and somebody comes up and says ‘you don’t know how much that touched me.’ It can happen so many different ways; it’s not even always about the music,” said Prophett. “I can make one comment about life, or living with diabetes, and I will have touched them.” 

Throughout the night, Prophett and Garst performed hits by Johnny Cash, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and many other classic artists. 

Prophett’s voice is deep and offers a full sound. When he is accompanied by his harmonica and guitar, it gives the illusion of a full band. 

The patrons throughout the performance cheered on Prophett. Don Bar stayed the whole set. 

“Jeremiah is excellent. The guitar player is fabulous. This town needs more artists like Ryan and Jeremiah; just good musicians that hold the standard up for classic rock music. They are incredible to listen to and enjoy,” said Bar. 

“His voice is beautiful,” said Lexi Rick, another patron at Death Ridge Brewery. “He interacts with the audience on his breaks. I enjoy the openness about his voice. I will look for more of his performances now that I know about him. The addition of the harmonica is not something I often see around here. He is so fun.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Jeremiah Prophett’s last name as Propst. Change made March 31, 2023.