Performers on the Go Grand Finale Talent Series reaches its 13th year
The Performers on the Go Grand Finale Talent Series, a longstanding tradition showcasing emerging musical talent in New England, celebrates its 13th year. Originating at Boston's Hard Rock Café, this year's finale unfolds at Loretta’s Last Call on March 2. 2024, featuring a dynamic range of genres from 16 aspiring artists (featured in photo), including country, pop, indie, alternative, punk, jazz and rock. The event promises not just exposure but also a suite of professional support for the winner. This platform has been pivotal in propelling the careers of numerous artists, demonstrating its enduring commitment to nurturing the music scene for young artists. This finale not only highlights the region's best up-and-coming artists but also marks a tradition of fostering live music and songwriting talent.
Since its inception, Performers on the Go (formerly Artists on the Move and the All You Got Tour), and The Young Performers Club have produced, directed and managed over 500 independent music events that showcase young rising talent throughout the New England Region. Additionally, the organizations have had numerous online contests/showcases focused on songwriting and performance.
A cash prize will be awarded to the Grand Finale winner. Additionally, Noah Hatton, producer of the Morning Commute Show on WPKZ 105.3 Radio, will do a special show and interview of the Grand Finale Champion which will include a live performance. Also, Lacy Bebe of WRBRocks/Wave Radio Boston, will be producing a special show for the Showcase Champion. Performers on the Go will also provide a blog, photoshoot, and other supportive services to the Grand Finale Champion as part of the prize package.
Many of our Grand Finale Finalists and Showcase Champions over the years have successfully advanced their music careers. Some impressive career highlights follow.
Megan Trainor: Signed by Epic Records in 2014, Diamond certified single/”All about that bass”, 8 multi-platinum singles and 2 multi-platinum albums, stared on Fox hit series The Four: Battle for stardom, 2016 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, sold $11 million copies of “All about that bass” which topped the charts in 58 countries and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, 7.5+ billion Spotify streams and 8.9+ billion YouTube views.
Mike Casey Jazz Band/Grand Finale Champion: Internationally recognized saxophone-based artist, composer and producer in LA, chosen for Grammy’s next class of 2023, Spotify’s “Best Jazz of 2020-2022”, heard on NPR, BBC and Triple J airways, 18+ million Spotify streams, 55K monthly listeners, and his trio was one of the five global finalists in the DC Jazz Festival's "DC Jazz Prix" in 2020.
Amanda McCarthy: Full-time live performer/singer-songwriter in Nashville, Bronze position for "US Entertainer Of The Year" at the 2021 International Singer-Songwriters Association (ISSA) Awards, 2020 New England Music Awards Singer Songwriter of the Year, and has released 11 singles and one 14-track album.
Lauren Weintraub/Grand Finale Champion: Signed with Virgin Music, 53+ million in Spotify streams, Hits Magazine “One to Watch” 2022, nominated for TikTok Songwriter of the Year at 2022 iHeart Radio Awards, 800K+ followers across social media, has performed in venues across the United States, from The Bitter End to The Cutting Room, Grand Ole Opry and Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Café to Gillette Stadium.
Sasha Sloan: Signed with Warner Chappell Music, 7+ billion Spotify streams, 9.5 million Spotify followers, 661 million YouTube Views. co-wrote for artists like Idina Menzel, Maggie Lindemann, Kygo, and Camila Cabello, and international touring artist.
Moxie: Nationally touring indie band from Vermont, 2023 "Top Rock Act" New England Music Awards, 85K Spotify monthly listeners, The Fall album reached 7.7 million streams, album Flow of Color reached 638K streams.
Sam Robbins/Grand Finale Champion: National touring folk artist, debut album "Finally Feeling Young" released on May 14, 2021, which received radio airplay and critical acclaim, won the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition in 2021, Berklee College of Music graduate, performed over 150 shows annually, including notable stages like the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.
Julia Minichiello: Winner of the "Sing 2" TikTok singing competition out of 1.6 million submissions with her cover of Alicia Keys' "Girl On Fire," earning her a trip to the "Sing 2" premiere where she shared the stage with Reece Witherspoon, 1,7 million Spotify views, 33K monthly Spotify listeners, 8.1 million TikTok likes, and 237K TikTok followers.
Zola Simone: Boston Music Awards winner of "Song of the Year" for "Easy" which was featured in the series finale of the Netflix original series. Atypical, won "New Artist of the Year" the same year, and her debut album Now you see me was nominated for album of the year, over 2.5 million Spotify streams, performing in 2024 Boston Calling Music Festival on May 26th at the Harvard Athletic Complex, and was just featured on WBZTV, headlined a LGBTQ sold out festival by RainbowLeaf at the Rockwell Theater in MA, currently attending NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in NYC.
Jillian Jensen: X-Factor Finalist and American Idol top 20, national touring artist x gained national attention through her appearances on reality TV music competitions. She was a contestant on the second season of "X Factor USA," where her audition moved judges and viewers alike. with X factor Global's Facebook Page showing her audition getting over 250 million views. Her album was 69th on the Top 100 iTunes/Country Charts, She also competed in season 13 of "American Idol."
Dennis Taylor/Grand Finale Champion: International touring soul performer, performed at some of the most prestigious venues across the country, including The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and The TD Garden in Boston. Has performed in over 20 cities across Germany, as well as at The Cotswold Park Soul Weekender in the UK, opened up for classic soul legends such as The Stylistics, Tavares, Candi Staton, and Bloodstone, and even served as a background singer for the likes of Alyson Williams and Alexander O'Neal, and has 1.4 million likes on TikTok.
Scott Isbell: Hip hop/pop artist, first teen pop artist signed by Wu-Tang Management, performed across the United States, including prestigious venues like The MGM Grand and Hard Rock Cafés, gained significant online attention with songs achieving over 46 million plays and reaching high positions on Soundcloud and iTunes charts, opened for Busta Rhymes, Lord Jamar, Def Squad, Killah Ne-Oh and many other top Billboard artists, top single surpassed 46 million plays and has reached number 2 in the world on Soundcloud charts and number 1 on pop charts on Soundcloud, and reached 97th on the iTunes Hot 100 charts.
House on Cliff-Lead singer Chad Jervis/Grand Finale Champion joined country band King Callaway based out of Nashville, five years ago, toured the US with band for several years often times performed on national shows, performed on major national TV shows and opened for well-known artists like Garth Brooks, released new 16-song album Tennessee’s Waiting, much of which Zac Brown produced, performed on national TV shows such as Jimmy Kimmel, The Late Late Show with James Corden, TODAY and The Kelly Clarkson Show.
These musicians have all made music a top priority and their sole careers. They are touring, writing, producing and are marketing machines with billions of views across social media.
Below is a poster from the 2011 Grand Finale.
Singer Songwriter Tyler Levs, winner of the “Rising Star Artist” award at New England Music Awards. will be performing with Joliet as guest artists. and both artists will be joining the judging panel at the event. Also joining the judging panel is Lacy Bebe. Singer-songwriter and producer of WRBRocks/Wave Radio Boston.
This is going to be an exciting showcase! Our Instagram page for Performers on the Go will be introducing the artists in the coming days.