Local performers take stage in inaugural Montana's Got Talent
Musician Halladay Quist, daughter of Montana Hall of Fame entertainer Rob Quist, is host and founder of the inaugural Montana’s Got Talent Showcase at the Wachholz College Center in Kalispell on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m.
Fifteen artists will perform, including Benny Weag and the band, Off in the Woods, from Polson, and Joe Martinez from Woods Bay. Polson songwriter and performer Weag was chosen by Blake Shelton for his team on NBC’s hit show, “The Voice.”
Additional finalists, selected from video applications submitted by more than 80 performers across the state, include Mandy May Blest from Anaconda, Beau Akimbo from Missoula, Desiree Roberson from Kalispell, Cash Muretta from Great Falls, Drew Landry from Browning, Max Brayley from Whitefish, Mindy Cochran and Mariah Gladstone from Kalispell and Babb, Emma Zeider from Bigfork, Cash Dean from Lakeside, Amanda Stewart from Bozeman, Fusion by Dance Elements from Kalispell, and Wyatt Johnson from Helena.
Participants are competing for a $5,000 grand prize, a chance to open for a major act at Abayance Bay concert venue in Rexford, a demo from Beargrass Recording Studio and two tickets to next year’s Under the Big Sky Festival.
Judges for the event include singer/songwriter Hilary Williams, granddaughter of Hank Williams, whose latest release was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as a "triumphant new album”; Dustin Brayley, lead singer and guitarist with the multi-platinum Trans-Siberian Orchestra; Rob Quist of Great Northern and the Mission Mountain Wood Band, who was one of the first inductees into the University of Montana School of Music Hall of Honors, and is a recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award and recent inductee into the Montana Hall of Fame; Broadway performer Meredith Patterson; industry veteran Clif Loftin, who has worked in production at PACE Entertainment on tours for some of the world’s most successful entertainers; and Flathead Valley music legend John Dunnigan, who recently won a Governor’s Arts Award and has charmed audiences and played every major venue in the state during the his four-decade career.
Fans will also have a chance to vote for the People’s Choice Award at www.montanasgottalent.com/finalists while donating to Starlight Academy. This online platform, founded by Halladay Quist, is dedicated to offering professional training for serious artists, including audition tips, promo, musical training by professionals, and performance critiques.
Quist, who grew up in Creston and has taught music in rural schools, is also developing a program to provide a musical curriculum for small schools across Montana – many of which can’t afford music teachers.
She's also an accomplished musician in her own right. The acclaimed multi-instrumentalist delivers a sultry vocal blend of country, bluegrass, folk rock and blues. She was voted this year’s Best of the Flathead for her music, which has taken her to Europe, Los Angeles, Seattle, Nashville and Austin.
She says her childhood home, where the family room housed her father’s numerous instruments and was an environment that inspired songwriting and performance, taught her the power of music.
“I saw music change people’s lives, taking people away from their challenges to a place of joy and laughter and dance,” she says.
She believes Starlight Academy can help “take music and music education to new levels” by providing a platform “to make music education and promotion universal.”
Tickets to Montana’s Got Talent are available online at www.WCCMT.org or by calling 406-756-1400.
Benny Weag, a veteran of NBC's "The Voice," is one of 15 finalists performing Oct. 26 in Kalispell for Montana's Got Talent.