The Jamestown Sun
North Dakota may be known for home-grown honey, home-grown canola oil and home-grown wheat, but one thing it may not be known for is its home-grown musical talent.
Brandon Baker and Tony Mangnall of the group, Mincing Fancy Lads, won the Home Grown Talent Competition last year and are competing again this year.
This year, his band's show will be a little different, Mangnall said, with new music and a demo tape that the band will sell at the competition. The demo is a product of the recording studio time the band won last year.
Also different this year is the judging, said Pam Phillips, Home Grown Talent Competition organizer. Last year, a panel of judges selected the winner. This year, anyone can vote by sending a postcard to P.O Box 324 Jamestown, ND 58402 or voting at R.M. Stoudt's. More polling places may be available as the contest continues, she said. Voters don't have to be at the contest to vote, but each person can vote only once for the karaoke and once for the live performers, Phillips said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Votes will be accepted until Aug. 23.
The competition is important because it provides a venue for artists to show off their talent, said organizer Marcus Allen. The more exposure artists get, he said, the better off they are going to be. The people who perform are talented, he said.
"A lot of it rivals with what a person would hear on the radio," Allen said.
The prizes don't hurt either, Mangnall said. Grand prize this year is $1,500 and 20 hours of recording time at Higgins Family Productions.
Baker is hoping that contests like the Home Grown Talent Competition will help him build a career in music. A pizza-deliverer by day, Baker said he plays his guitar all the time and it is the perfect time-passer when he gets bored. Although Mincing Fancy Lads plays mostly country and folk, he said, they experiment with a number of genres.
"We're kind of musical mutts," he said.
Likewise, the artists at the Home Grown Talent Competition perform a variety of musical styles and are from all over the state -- Baker and Mangnall live in Fargo. In fact, as the competition grows, Phillips said she hopes it expands beyond musicians and maybe includes comedians and even jugglers.
But for this year, Mincing Fancy Lads will continue to prepare for its Aug. 2 performance. The group may not win again, and if they don't, they know they will have lost to someone who deserves it, Mangnall said.
ADVERTISEMENT
"[There is] almost a ridiculous amount of talent in this state and so much of it, no one ever hears," Baker said.
The concert series is at 7 p.m. on most Tuesdays and Thursdays through Aug. 9. at the Frontier Village Amphitheater. Upcoming acts include last year's second place winner, Spiritwood Creek Band, Kelsey Lee of Fargo and Angie Kokott & Circle of Song of Jamestown, which all perform on July 19; last year's third place winner Wicked Darling of Bismarck, Sharri Besednick & the Badland Boys and Undivided play July 26. Admission is free but audience members can make a free-will donation. For the full schedule, check out www.ndhomegrowntalent.com .
