Few local musicians can say that they have performed a song that reached more than 15 million people. David Luning is one of them.

Luning, a Santa Rosa native who lives in Forestville, recently auditioned for American Idol in front of the judges Harry Connick Jr, Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. They liked what they saw and gave Luning the “Golden Ticket” to Hollywood.

Luning has been making what he calls Americana music since leaving the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

After he heard musicians like John Prine while studying film scoring, Luning says he knew he wanted to come home and make music like that.

His work on several projects locally has kept the prolific singer songwriter busy.

Luning recently released an LP with partner Brodie Jenkins called “Ghost & Gale” that spans genres. Somewhere between folk and blues, “Ghost & Gale” is just one outlet for David Luning’s talent.

The David Luning band is scheduled to perform at the Kate Wolf festival in June alongside folk giants like Joan Baez and Los Lobos.

His debut album “Just Drop On By” is garnering critical acclaim and nationwide airplay. The single “Whiskey Bottle” from the album is a as upbeat and soulful as country blues can get and showcases a talent that is sure to be drawing attention for sometime to come.