By Peyton Alger, contributor
Performing at Massanutten Resort’s Base Camp restaurant, the last song of the night, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver, rang out from 43-year-old Bridgewater musician Shane Click’s guitar. Wearing a blue surgical glove to combat the chill of the coming fall night against his right strumming hand, layered shirts, and a cream-colored fedora atop his head, Click played intently, taking requests from the crowd. Throughout the show, a tip box reading “Thanks you sexy beast” flashed between red, blue, and green as all genres poured from Click’s guitar strings. “I never have a set list or a plan, I just kind of get out there and wing it every time,” said Click. “I usually start with a Johnny Cash song to kind of see where my voice is.”
Click, now a full-time musician, was the previous owner of “Monster Games,” a gaming store formerly located in Harrisonburg. Click has been playing music for as long as he can remember, but his career really took off after COVID, when he started to do more solo gigs and shut down his store. He stated that his passion for music came from his older brother. “Because he played, I played,” said Click.
Click performs at various types of venues, ranging from vineyards to nursing homes. Over the course of his career, Click has performed over a thousand shows, approximately 300 in 2025 alone.
Prioritizing crowd engagement is important to Click. He states that the more acknowledgement he receives, the better he feels, which provides more energy for him to feed off of. “Imagine painting a picture and you put it up…in this art show, and everyone just walks by. That’s a terrible feeling,” said Click. “It’s always more fun to be the life of the party.” Sometimes, Click will set comment cards on tables for audience members to fill out and give back to him, which suggests songs for him to play.
Click’s engaging performances have not gone unnoticed, earning him four awards since 2022. These awards include 1st Place Best Cover Band for the Daily News Record in 2022, Finalist Best Solo Musician for the Daily News Record in 2023, 1st Place Best Cover Band/Musician for the Harrisonburg Radio Group in 2024, and 1st Place Best Cover Band/Musician for the Harrisonburg Radio Group again in 2025. Even with all these accomplishments, Click remains humble. “They’re like kids, I love them all,” said Click.
“Overall Shane is a quality entertainer,” said Mark Litz, Vice President of Operations for Great Eastern Purveyors at Massanutten Resort, who hired Click to perform at Base Camp. “He doesn’t just get up and play music, he actually interacts with the audience.” Litz noted Click’s variety within his repertoire from country, to rock n’ roll, to a little bluegrass. “He’s got a great personality [on stage],” said Litz.
Click is not your average musician. He was diagnosed with cholesteatoma in his early 20s. Cholesteatoma is a cyst that grows in the inner ear and, according to Stanford Medicine, can cause infections, dizziness, and hearing damage. Once doctors discovered these cysts, the bones inside Click’s left ear were crushed. “I was super dizzy for two years; it was terrible,” said Click. A cyst formed in Click’s right ear in his late 20s, leaving him with no ear bones in either ear. Living with no ear bones has taught Click to adapt. “I can’t hear in a crowded area…If I’m doing something, you gotta make sure you have my attention,” said Click.
However, cholesteatoma has not held him back. “Now it’s just so much a part of who I am,” said Click.
Looking to the future, Click states that while bigger and better is always great, such as opening for a famous performer or getting a record deal, that is not his ultimate goal. He is content right where he is. Click states that he’s happy having the ability to be flexible while getting to come home to his wife and two children at the end of the day. “This isn’t a bad gig,” said Click. “I like going home every night.”
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