FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Judges have selected 25 entertainment acts to progress to the finals of the inaugural Great Route 66 Talent Search. Finalists are asked to compete in a live stage show at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12 as part of the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival in downtown Springfield, MO. Singer Jessie Cowen and 417 Aerial will perform pre-show starting at noon at the Chevy Dealers of the Ozarks Stage at the Shrine Mosque, 601 E. St. Louis. The top two acts, as selected by a panel of judges during the live show, will win a front-of-the-line pass at a future audition for America’s Got Talent, a national talent competition airing on NBC Universal.
The finalists include 15 amateur performers and 10 professionals:
Amateur
- Summer Azeez
- Jaylyn Berry
- Rachel Duckworth
- Chance Havens
- Brecka Henderson
- Jazz! Quartet
- Chloey Johnston
- Blake Kincheloe
- Amber Nelson
- Cameron Shaver
- Destin Snape
- Anastasia Vang
- Merisa Vernoy
- Jace Widman
- Janice Wilson
Professional
- Victoria Carriger
- Matt Casciano
- Dustin Gross – aka Dusty Wayne
- Jana Henderson
- Joey Herd
- Adria Hyde
- Isabella Love
- Anna Belle Lyu
- Sierra Schwanz
- Vic Vaughn
Judges Ty Barnes, Jessie Cowen, Monica Horton and Sam Timmerman will also judge the finals on Saturday.
“We are thrilled with the response to the first talent search and think festivalgoers will enjoy the incredible talent these entertainers will share in Saturday’s show,’ said Cora Scott, one of the Route 66 festival organizers. KY3 and the City of Springfield teamed up to launch the competition and hope to make it an annual event. In order to enter, one has to live in the KY3 viewing area. “We hope we pack the Shrine to cheer on these local folks,” Scott said. “We hope to prove that this area is a freaky vortex of talent, in the grand tradition of the Ozarks Jubilee, a variety television show orginating from downtown Springfield in the 1950s. In its time, the Ozarks Jubilee was the first live television show broadcast outside of New York or California. You will not be disappointed with this line up,” Scott said.
Sam Timmerman, one of the judges, is the creator of The Melody Room, a space for underground artists, aspiring singers, bands, and musicians to be heard and a platform to express themselves through music arts and live intimate performances.
“I’m on cloud nine! I was very pleased with the results and so honored to be a part of history. The talent was incredible,” he said.
America’s Got Talent is airing this summer on KY3 / NBC.
For more information about the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, visit route66festivalsgf.com. There are a variety of public parking areas, indicated by online maps. A golf cart shuttle system will run during the festivals hours of operation, providing easy access to and from parking areas to the festival footprint, which allows easy access to not only the festival, but all downtown venues.
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For more information, contact Cora Scott at 417-380-3352 or [email protected].