Nearly three years ago, a couple of teenage guitarists who had never met before were jamming in a garage. Neither of them knew that in less than a year, they would be booking their first gig at the Martinsburg Picnic.

Sundown Shot is a classic rock cover band that grew its roots in Martinsburg. They debuted in 2023 at the 121st Martinsburg Picnic and have returned every year since.

On Saturday night, Sundown Shot was back for another picnic as the evening’s headliner.

Ean Johnson, Sundown Shot’s bass player and back-up vocalist, is just 18 years old but he has been playing since 2019.

“Six years ago, I got my first guitar for Christmas, and I haven’t put it down yet,” Johnson said.

Family friend and Community R-6 girls softball coach Jeff Angel recognized Johnson’s talent and passion for music. He recommended that Johnson get in touch with another young up-in-comming musician, Bodhi Eskew of Middletown, who could “rip” on the guitar.

The pair met in October 2022 for their first jam session in Johnson’s garage.

“It just kind of blossomed from there,” Johsnson said.

Sundown Shot is a three-piece band, so while Johnson is primarily a guitarist, he decided to fill the role of bass guitarist.

“Our lead guitar player, he’s killer,” Johnson said. “He’s a fantastic player and I was perfectly happy being rhythm for him.”

For the first two years, Sundown Shot played afternoons in the beer garden, leaving the main stage open for bigger names such as Kelly Stanford.

“We were just three teenagers scared out of our wits and we didn’t know what we were doing so (it was) kind of a rough show but we just kept playing as much as we could,” Johnson said.

Since their first show, the band has welcomed a new drummer, Mitchum Throndson of Hannibal.

“He started playing with us last year and he's been great,” Johnson said. “It’s been going pretty smooth."

This summer, Sundown Shot really kicked it into high gear. The band went from playing at the occasional community picnic or dive bar to having shows every weekend.

But just when he started making a name for his band as a full-time musician, Johnson was preparing to step away from Sundown Shot.

Johnson, a 2025 graduate of Community R-6, is getting ready to leave for college in January. He is heading to College of the Ozarks where he will study music ministry.

“Kind of odd that the kid in the rock and roll band would be leading into music ministry, but it’s really my calling and I just enjoy playing music as much as I can,” Johnson said.

Johnson said that while his spot in the band has an expiration date, he hopes that Sundown Shot will continue to succeed, and lead guitarist Eskew is already working to make sure that happens.

Eskew has been playing guitar since he was 9 years old but he didn’t take it seriously until about a year after that.

“I got into Hendrix about the same time I started taking it seriously,” Eskew said. “I just couldn’t help it, really.”

When he was 16 years old, Eskew transitioned to online school so he could focus on his music career.

His goal isn’t to play for just any band – he said wants to blow Sundown Shot up.

“We’re trying to write originals and hopefully get an album recorded in about a year or two,” Eskew said. “I want to take it seriously.”