'St. Joe's Got Talent' returns for virtual showcase

Feb. 25—A local competition looking for the brightest talent in the area will return on Saturday.

"St. Joe's Got Talent," modeled after the game show "America's Got Talent," will pit nine performers against each other for the top prize.

While the event has been performed at venues ranging from The Metropolitan to the Missouri Theater, this year it will take on a different stage — the internet.

Lanham Music will host the competition on its stage at the music store and venue, at 2401 N. Belt Highway, starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27. The show will be available to stream at http://www.facebook.com/lanhammusic.

"We've got a good little lineup, a couple of local bands, a couple of local solo artists. It's going to be a good way to just kind of showcase some of those musicians," Tom Keller, the organizer for the event, said.

The artists will include Almost Enemies, Tony Hernandez, Nathan and Nicolas Hale, Cheyanne Reid and more. Where past events, formerly hosted by the Allied Arts Council, were competitions, this will be a sampling of up-and-coming acts in the St. Joseph area.

"It's just a showcase. So imagine we are like the interview process of the original 'America's Got Talent 'without the rounds," Keller said.

The showcase of new talent is in line with the mindset of the original Allied Arts Council competition, started in 2011. It showed off mostly new talent from the area, with some like Stephanie Gummelt and Tyler Ahlgren going on to appear on "American Idol." Keller said the goal is to keep people engaged with that budding talent.

"This is kind of a way that we can give those people that are maybe looking for an opportunity to play that they wouldn't necessarily have otherwise, especially with our younger groups," he said.

For Lanham Music, which helps foster young musical talent, it's a joy to see musicians come out of their shell and share their talent with the world.

"To see them actually get on stage and see that hard work and dedication come to fruition, it's really awesome to see that progress," Keller said.

The show is a continuation of Lanham Music's streaming concert series it started in the spring of 2020, after the pandemic shut down live music venues in St. Joseph. Keller said it hopes to be a jumping off point for more streaming concerts in 2021.

"We're kind of hoping to up that game where local musicians and artists can get a chance to perform, but have like quality audio and video from the performances," Keller said.

For people that want to attend the performance live, the music shop and venue will allow a limited number of people to check it out at their location. Masks are required.

"If they hear the music and they want to walk in they're welcome to," Keller said.

The competition is free to view at either Lanham Music or on Facebook.

Andrew Gaug can be reached at andrew.gaug@newspressnow.com.

Follow him on Twitter: @NPNOWGaug