SPECIAL TO THE PVT Matt Reeves is all smiles after the win resulting from his performance in the Colgate Country Showdown in Prescott, Ariz. He will go on to perform in the next stage of the competition in Coos Bay, Ore. on Oct. 18. Advertisement

Matt Reeves, 18, is a real chip off the old block.

A guitar player since he was first inspired by Pahrump resident Les Doss at age seven, Reeves has been playing guitar for his dad, popular Pahrump entertainer Jack Reeves, for the last four years.

Jack Reeves was a regular at the StageStop Lounge and Casino for many years, almost since Jan Jensen opened the club in 1992, with his popular medley, Nashville Saturday Night. He was named California Country Music Entertainer of the Year in 1974.

Now, his son, Matt Reeves, has won the state final in the Colgate Country Showdown staged in Prescott, Ariz. Sept. 20. It is the largest country music competition in the world. That followed his performance at a local competition at Laughlin in July in which the top five performers qualified for the trip to Prescott.

Reeves took home a $1,000 prize after the Prescott competition. Matt sang two songs, "The Ballad of Gypsy Rose," which he composed himself, and "Long-Haired, Hot-Blooded, Redneck, Honky-Tonk Cowboy," composed by the father and son team of Jack and Matt Reeves.

Matt Reeves qualified to compete in the regional Colgate Country Showdown in Coos Bay, Ore. Oct. 18. The winner there will receive an all expense paid trip to the Grand Ole Opry Stage in Nashville for the national competition Jan. 15, 2009. The nationwide winner will receive $100,000.

Young Reeves said he's been spending most of his time lately recording at his studio in Gravette, Ark., a town with 2,275 residents in the northwest corner of the state.