Eau Claire native Matt Wahl will perform and share his guitar expertise at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens on Thursday, Jan. 29.

He will conduct a guitar workshop from 4 until 5:30 p.m. and will perform from 8 until 9:30 p.m. Both the workshop and the performance will take place at the University Center Encore.

The workshop is open to the public without charge. Sponsored by UWSP�s Centertainment Productions, the performance is free to students with a valid UWSP ID and $3 without.

Wahl grew up listening to singer/songwriters such as Harry Chapin, Gordon Lightfoot, Kate Wolf, Jim Croce and others. A songwriter since high school, he had already a collection of original songs and began to perform at local clubs by his sophomore year at the University of Minnesota. In 1999 he recorded his first CD, "Chasing the Daylight," then made the decision to move back home and start his own label, Open Road Records.

He followed his first recording with his second CD, "Open Road," two years later. Last year he released his latest work, "Endless Summer Sun."

Wahl currently travels throughout the Midwest playing between 150 and 200 shows a year.