13-year old Nick Earle performs at the Fat Cat on Tuesday night.

A 13-year-old guitarist has won the opportunity to open for Newfoundland singer-songwriter Ron Hynes in a contest at a St. John's blues bar.

Nick Earle was one of seven finalists who competed in the contest in honour of Hynes who is well-known in the province and across Canada as a musician and songwriter.

Hynes is undergoing treatment for throat cancer.

Corey Pike is hosting the contest called, "The Quest to Open for the Legend Ron Hynes".

"The winner will go on, they will get a chunk of cash pretty much, and some other stuff, and hopefully, well let's hope for Ron's health before anything, but Ron I'm being told from talks with Roxanne [Murphy, owner of the Fat Cat] is very optimistic, and is hoping to get back at it as soon as he can," said Pike.

"So whoever wins this contest will open for the man of a thousand songs, Ron Hynes, and that's a big thing".

Earle said it's always been a dream to play with the musical icon.

"He's amazing for what's done and how many places he's played and how many songs he's written. It's an amazing opportunity," said Earle.

The 13-year-old was one of seven finalists in the contest at the Fat Cat Tuesday night. His parents accompanied him on stage.

Earle's mother Margaret said she is very proud of her son for winning the contest. She said he was also recently featured in a Newfoundland and Labrador tourism commercial taped Aug. 30.

She added while many good things are happening for Earle at the moment, he is just very eager to keep playing music every chance he gets.

Earle also plays piano, piano-accordion, button-accordion, banjo, mandolin, bass guitar and drums.

The YouTube video below shows Earle playing when he was nine.