A cappella vocalists take top honors at First Town Days
The winners in the First Town Days talent show were Isla Dotts, left, Lily Bassett, Ashtyn Patterson, Lydia Gustkey, Sami Krocker, Paige Martin and Ashton Mundell.
After a brief rain delay, two a cappella vocalists claimed the top spots at the 2023 First Town Days talent show. Lydia Gustkey, 11, of Dover won first place in the 13 and under group, singing “Tomorrow” from the musical "Annie" without accompaniment. Ashton Mundell of Dennison won first place in the 14 and up group, performing an a cappella version of “Hallelujah.”
The talent show is sponsored by Dover Hydraulics Inc.
Mundell’s mother picked the song for the competition.
“She heard me singing it in the car and said you should do that one,” Mundell said.
In the future Mundell plans to go to college to study music. It’s been a longtime dream.
“When I was a little kid, I didn't know how to talk. I didn't start talking until I was like 4 years old,” Mundell said. “But I remember distinctly having a dream when I was 3 years old that I was on the stage and I was singing, and ever since then, I knew I wanted to be a singer. I kept going and got over my speech issues mostly.”
Gustkey has been singing since the age of 3 or 4. She picked her song because she performed the part of Annie in a production at the Little Theatre.
“I love the movie 'Annie' because Annie is such a spunky little girl, and it was really an honor to do this song,” Gustkey said.
Gustkey also has performed a cappella in other talent shows, singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Amazing Grace.”
“All that I do is in the glory of God,” Gustkey said. “I performed my first song, 'Jesus Loves Me,' at my church.”
Mundell and Gustkey each won $75 for their performances.
Paige Martin, 14, won second place and $50 for her performance of “Amazing Mayzie,” from the musical “Seussical.” Martin sang and played the part in a whimsical pink outfit with a pink feather boa.
“I decided on my talent because I did this song for a musical,” Martin said. “The musical and my character Mayzie was a fun character to play.”
After the competition, while judges totaled scores, Martin’s sister Chloe Martin performed an original song while accompanying herself on the guitar for the audience. Chloe Martin is now in the business of music as she studies the industry at West Virginia University, and she is a member of MH MG & Go 1st Records.
Despite all the talent that runs in her family, Paige Martin has a different idea.
“My plans for the future are to go to college for forensics. I want to be in forensics and help people,” Paige Martin said.
She’s not looking too far ahead and is excited to participate in drama and competition show band at high school.
Winning second place and $50 in the 13 and under category was the duo of Lily Bassett, 11, and Ashtyn Patterson, 10. The pair performed a jazz dance to “I Love Rock 'n' Roll.” They have taken dance lessons for 10 and nine years, respectively.
They haven’t always danced together after some studio switching over the years, but they did dance together at some point. They put together their winning routine in a matter of two days. They plan to come back and compete again at next year’s First Town Days talent show.
Sami Krocker, 21, of Goshen took third place and $25 in the 14 and up category with her vocal performance of “Sante Fe” from the musical “Newsies.”
“That's been one of my favorite songs for a really long time,” Krocker said. “And I love to sing.”
She will begin her first history teaching job in the fall, and she also will help students develop their percussion skills in band.
Isla Dotts, 10, sang and accompanied herself on the guitar to the Dolly Parton song, “Coat of Many Colors,” to win third place and $25 in the 13 and under category.
“When I started singing, I just loved her,” Dotts said of Dolly Parton. “I can pick out her voice from any song she sings. I love country music, so that's why I wanted to be like her.”
She plans to continue competing in talent shows to hone her talents, and she isn’t the only talented member of her family.
“Everybody in my family plays instruments,” she said.
Others competing from the Dotts family were Aria Dotts, 12, who fiddled to “Butterfly,” and Gemma, 17, and Cora Dotts, 15, who performed a violin and cello duet of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Other participants included Renita Ecenbarger, 29, who sang “Changed” by Rascal Flatts; Lily, 12, and Penelope Endlich, 10, who performed a contortion/dance to the song “Jealous of the Angels;” Aubrey Snyder, 4, who performed the Wednesday Addams dance, “Bloody Mary;” Betty Millard, 11, who did a vocal/acting performance to the song “Animal Crackers;” Cheyenne Millard, 13, who sang “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy;” and Madi Renner, 6, who performed a tap dance to “Dancing Queen.”
Marc Davis of New Philadelphia served as host of the show. Judges were Michele Milburn, weekday morning show host at WJER, formerly worked in television in Cleveland; Cindy Miller Colucy, the 1983 First Town Days queen, now works for Safe Harbor, a faith-based program for girls age 14-19 who have been recovered from sex trafficking; and guitarist Ed Kilpatrick of Ed’s Acoustic Thingy, who has been playing the guitar for 50 years and now performs solo at many locations.