Brandon Niederauer

Brandon "Taz" Niederauer is an American guitarist and actor born on March 16, 2003, in Dix Hills, New York. His nickname, Taz, was given to him by his guitar teacher, William Mignoli, who compared Niederauer's frenetic playing style to the Tazmanian Devil character from Looney Tunes cartoons.

Niederauer made his Broadway debut in 2015, playing the role of Zack in School of Rock – The Musical. Before reaching the age of 15, he had performed alongside musicians including Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Stevie Nicks, Lady Gaga, and Buddy Guy. He also performed with the German rock band Scorpions. In 2017, Niederauer was playing a guitar solo onstage during a birthday celebration for musician Col. Bruce Hampton when Hampton collapsed and died. Unaware that Hampton had died, those present continued the show for several minutes before Hampton was taken backstage and subsequently removed by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead.

In 2018, a tweet of Niederauer performing the National Anthem on guitar drew widespread attention. That same year, he performed guitar in the orchestra for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. He went on to perform the National Anthem at Wrigley Field before a Chicago Cubs game in 2019, and at the opening ceremonies of the 2020 AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 24, 2021.

Beyond his stage work, Niederauer has appeared on television programs including The Ellen Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Good Morning America, The View, and Spike Lee's Netflix series She's Gotta Have It, in which he played the role of Virgil in 2019. His film credits include the 2016 movie Here Comes Rusty, where he portrayed the character Bartholomew. In 2019, D'Angelico Guitars released a signature Brandon "Taz" Niederauer model of their Atlantic guitar. Niederauer enrolled as an undergraduate at Yale University in 2021, where he studies economics.