Performers showcase talents during Cedar City’s 2nd annual ‘Star Search’

Written by Jeff Richards
March 26, 2022

CEDAR CITY — Cedar City’s second annual “Star Search” talent show competition brought a dozen talented acts to the Heritage Center Theater stage on Friday night, their performances impressing the panel of judges and delighting the audience.

Emcee Brandon Burke thanks panel of judges at conclusion of the second annual Cedar City Star Search, Cedar City, Utah, March 25, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The event featured three individual performers in each of three age categories: youth, teen and adult, in addition to three acts in the group category. The top winners in each category received a $250 Visa gift card and a trophy. They also laid claim to “bragging rights” for the upcoming year, as noted by Brandon Burke, the evening’s master of ceremonies.

Winning the youth category was 10-year-old dancer Rainee Miller, who performed a variety of dazzling dance moves to the song “Only Us.” 

The adult winner was ventriloquist Talise Mosely, who deftly sang three parts of a vocal trio of the tricky Mary Poppins tongue-twister “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” accompanied by two puppet characters, one on each hand. 

Taking first place in the teen category was Mary Halstead, whose vocal rendition of “Creep” edged fellow teenagers Tiana Green and Russell Nielson by a single point on the judges’ scorecards.

Nielson, a violinist who performed a medley of “Phantom of the Opera” songs while dancing around the stage (and even going off-stage), ended up winning the “People’s Choice” award and an accompanying $50 prize at the end of the evening.

Teen category entrant and people’s choice award winner Russell Nielson, second annual Cedar City Star Search, Cedar City, Utah, March 25, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“It was a fun night, and I’m glad I got the opportunity to perform with all the other amazing and talented people,” Nielson told Cedar City News afterward. A senior at Canyon View High, Nielsen is his school’s music Sterling Scholar nominee; he recently released “Happy Now,” his second album, on Spotify.

Meanwhile, Green, who is a sophomore at Cedar High School, performed an original song she’d written and composed, titled “Freedom.”

The group category was also a tight race, with the trio known as Mountaintop Sound getting the first-place nod from the judges for their rendition of a song called “The Eye.” The bluegrass-folk band consists of April McPherson, Steve Swift and Derek Wood.

Coming in a close second was Cellomania, a group of 11 cellists who delivered a stirring rendition of “Livin’ On a Prayer.”

The third group musical act, also a crowd favorite, was a two-man duo who are part of a local band known as Foxy Grandpa. They performed an upbeat song called “I’d Be Happy.”

The other two competitors in the youth category were 10-year-old Kamera Wolf, who danced to “The Greatest Show,” and singer Brooklyn Jones, who performed “Mamma Mia.”

The other two adult competitors were Logan Staheli, who sang “Still the One,” and Kennedy Owens, who sang “Watch What Happens.”

After the competition acts had all performed, the audience got a bonus treat in the form of one honorable mention performer, Trason Hayden, who sang a humorous musical monologue titled “I’m Allergic to Cats.”

Hayden was followed by a trio of numbers by last year’s winning acts, namely Kate Sowards (“Girl on Fire”), Stockton Palmer (“Sedona”) and two members of local band Apollo’s Army, who performed their brand-new song “The Giver,” which had been officially released on multiple platforms earlier in the day.

The panel of three judges consisted of local musician Chuck Triplett, Cedar City Council member Scott Phillips and Cedar High School senior, dance Sterling Scholar and Miss Color Country Outstanding Teen Ashtyn Giles.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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