◆ Past winners and potential future winners take the stage ahead of August competition.
As The Vocalist has grown and evolved since the prestigious singing competition began in 2016, an event was created to feature past winners. That event has become known as The Vocalist Wildcard Concert and is scheduled to take place this Friday night at 7:00 by the Thayne Community Center.
The purpose of the Wildcard Concert is two fold. First, to feature and promote the talented singers who have already won The Vocalist. Those winners include Melissa Dickey (2016), Case Tippetts (2017), EJ Pauni (2018), Josh Jardine (2019) and Keiyana Osmond (2020). All the winners, with the exception of Osmond who is unable to attend, will take the stage and perform as part of the event.
“I have loved working with such incredibly talented people,” said Jardine when asked what he has enjoyed most about collaborating with previous winners. “We’ve had a lot of fun doing these shows! It has been a great couple years.”
“My favorite thing about being on stage performing is being able to share what I love to do with everyone,” said Puani about performing in the upcoming show.
The four Vocalist winners will perform a variety of songs, from Disney, to country to alternative.
The second purpose of the Wildcard Concert is to host a mini competition with three local singers. On the line is a chance to compete again during the main $10,000 Vocalist event held annually during the Lincoln County Fair. The three local competitors were selected based on who auditioned for The Vocalist in previous years and just barely missed getting in, as well as previous winners of the Teen Vocalist competition. This year’s wildcard contestants include Emma Graham, Ki Simkins and Austin Graham.
Each of the three wildcard competitors will perform one song. During that time the previous winners will act as judges. Their vote, combined with a live audience vote, will determine which contestant will advance to the August competition during the fair.
New to the Wildcard Concert this year is the addition of a local band who will perform a live preshow. The band, made up of local musicians and singers from around Star Valley, will play classic hits from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Band members include Scott Sessions, Evan Byrd, Roger Cook, Sarai Erickson, Dani Erickson, Dave Anderson, Holly Moore and Randy Talbot.
In addition to a free concert, audience members will be given the chance to win tickets to an upcoming Garth Brooks concert. The famed country singer is performing in a sold-out Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City this July. Those in attendance at The Vocalist Wildcard Concert will be encouraged to post a picture of themselves at the concert to social media using the hashtag #TheVocalist. Two random posts will be selected as winners, with each post winning two tickets to the Garth Brooks concert.
The Vocalist Wildcard Concert, which is sponsored by Randy Thompson State Farm Insurance in Afton, will be held on a professional concert stage on the lawn by the Thayne Community Center. The event is free to attend. The audience is encouraged to bring their own chairs. Concessions will be available from Cedar Creek Grill beginning at 6:00 p.m. For those unable to attend in person the concert will also be broadcast live on SVI Media’s Livestream Channel. Both the in-person audience and those watching the broadcast will be able to vote in the wildcard competition portion of the show.
The upcoming main Vocalist event is scheduled for Monday, August 9 and features a $10,000 grand prize and David Archuleta as a celebrity judge. Archuleta will also perform his own mini concert during the event. Tickets are available now at LincolnCountyFair.info. Both general admission and arena seating tickets are available.
