Showdown fast becoming a Hoedown highlight

August 31, 2016 · 0 Comments

The Hoedown Showdown has evolved into becoming a highlight of the Magna Hoedown weekend.
In 2005, the first Showdown competition was held at Graystones in Aurora.
It consisted of six successive Wednesday evenings when country music singing hopefuls competed by singing to tracks of their favourite country songs. Each week, contestants were eliminated until the winner was chosen. The competition ended the week before Hoedown and the winner got the opportunity to perform at Hoedown on the big stage.
The competition took a hiatus for a number of years until 2013 when the Hoedown Showdown was resurrected. It consisted of the winner being chosen at the Aurora Ribfest and then performing at the Hoedown a week later.
A second night to benefit the community was added on Friday in 2014 in addition to Saturday’s traditional Hoedown. Each year, the competition has grown. We went from less than 30 applications that first year to 42 the next, 60 last year and a record 88 applications from folks hoping to become the Hoedown Showdown winner this year.
Each of the 88 contestants was required to submit a video of themselves singing a song of their choice. A judging panel reviewed those submissions and narrowed the field down to 40.
Those 40 performed one song live at Theatre Aurora, earlier this month. The top 20 were selected and performed this past weekend at Aurora’s Ribfest. The top 10 were chosen by the judges.
They will be mentored for one week leading up to Hoedown by our Hoedown emcee and long-time Magna Hoedown favourite, Beverley Mahood and her manager Tom Cross. They will rehearse their song selections all week with Beverley’s band as they prepare to perform the night of Friday, September 16.
If you were at Ribfest, you know the judge’s responsibility to select 10 from a very talented pool of semi-finalists was extremely difficult. As the numbers have grown each year, the level of talent has as well. Add to that, an opportunity for someone who is serious about making a career singing country music, it’s not hard to understand why interest in the competition continues to grow to the extent it has.
Our goal at Magna is to help launch the career of Canada’s next great country music star. On Friday, September 16 at the Hoedown tent, you may very well be witnessing history in the making!
Tickets are available at www.hoedown.ca.

Steve Hinder
Magna for Community