This year's Cariboo Idol competition was opened up to the entire Cariboo area and organizer Rob Fry says it did present a few challenges.
Despite that, he adds there was a great variety of entertainers with an excellent mix of different and unique styles of music.
This year's winner was John Robert (JR) Goodwin from Quesnel, and Fry says he was the judge's hands-down winner.
He adds he represents the Cariboo “very well" and is a great entertainer and interacts with his audience well. Goodwin went home with $500.
Second-place money ($250) went to 16-year-old Jason Ruscheinsky of 100 Mile House.
He was a crowd pleaser with his witty humour and some of his off-the-cuff antics, that got the crowd chuckling, says Fry.
Williams Lake's Brett Myrfield took home third place and the $100 that went with it.
Fry says his style of playing and his unique song writing was a good addition to the group.
The Fans Choice award went to Mikayla Mosher who also received $100.
Noting she came a long ways from her first performance, Fry says he feels she has a future in music if she chooses to go that route.
This year's judges included Cindy Fetzner, Bev Fry, Denny Fahrenholtz, Sue Tonkin and Larry Rode. Fry says they had some tough decisions to make and did a great job.
Fry says he was very pleased to see all the support the Idols received from family, fellow Idols and other musicians who came out and helped with their performances with accompaniment and encouragement.
As part of the competition, all the Idols get time at Fry’s New Age Studio to lay down a few tracks for their own CD.
“I am impressed with the original song-writing abilities of this year's Idol competitors and would like to see them recorded.”
Plans are already underway for next year's competition with a few format changes to alleviate some of the issues found this year.
The competition will once again be open to the entire Cariboo from 70 Mile House to Quesnel and the Chilcotin. However, contestants will have to understand the travel commitments and most of the events will be planned in advance.
The Cariboo Idols can be booked in advance for different events, Fry says, adding he hopes to have next year's group perform at a number of additional venues around the Cariboo.
If you are interested in learning more, contact Fry at 250-706-9611.
