Seniors Got Talent Knoxville

2024 Seniors Got Talent Knoxville Winners!

1st Place

Pistol Creek Catch of the Day

Band, Ages 65-70

2nd Place

Kim Clemmer

Dancer, Age 61

3rd Place

Will Kruger

Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist, Age 73

People's Choice Award

Christy Judkins & Michael Mills

Dancing Duo Ages 66 & 63

See what Seniors Got Talent Knoxville is all about

Enjoy a video of the full four winning performances from the Morning Pointe Seniors Got Talent Knoxville, TN 2024 show.

Join us at the Bijou Theatre for the 2025 show!

Host

Ted Hall

Evening anchor & managing editor for WVLT-TV Channel 8

Ted Hall is thrilled to call East Tennessee home…again.

He is the evening anchor and managing editor for WVLT-TV channel 8.

Ted moved to Knoxville in 1988 to be the weekend sports anchor at WBIR-TV.

After nearly 20 years on the air in various jobs, he left to be the main anchor at WXIA-TV in Atlanta.

8 years later, he decided he and his family really wanted to be back where all 3 of his kids, with wife Lesa, were born.

Judge

W. James Taylor

2021 Knoxville Seniors Got Talent Winner

Taylor, born and raised in Knoxville’s Lonsdale Homes neighborhood, is an award-winning pastel artist. He is an instructor at the Knoxville Museum of Art, a mayor-appointed member of the Knoxville Arts Committee (2016-2023), and a former board member of the Fountain City Art Center. His gallery — Geneva Galleries Inc. (named for his mother Geneva) — is located in The Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville. Taylor is also an award-winning singer/songwriter. The winner of the 2021 Morning Pointe Seniors Got Talent Knoxville (Knoxville’s first Morning Point-sponsored Seniors Got Talent), he has served a judge for the 2022 competition, and, based on his first-place Seniors Got Talent performance, will be among performers in NBC’s America’s Got Talent 2023 competition.

Judge

Nathan McGhee

General Manager for the Bijou Theatre

Nathan McGhee, an East Tennessee native, serves as the General Manager for the historic Bijou Theatre. In this role, Nathan oversees over 180 shows, educational initiatives, and community events a year where highlights have recently included David Sedaris, Lindsey Buckingham, Hasan Minhaj, Mavis Staples, Jason Isbell and more!

Nathan has spent over 15 years working with nonprofits with a focus on the arts, events, and education. Before his grand Bijou adventure, McGhee served as the Education Director for the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley where he created the Humane Education for Youth Program. He also served as the Project Specialist/Education Director for the Rose Center Council for the Arts where he developed the YouthWorks afterschool program which saw, on average, 500 students per week who studied all realms of the arts. At the Rose Center, he also co-managed the Mountain Makins Festival (Top 20 Event in the Southeast, Best Festival in East Tennessee, and the Kaleidoscope Award). As a proud advocate for the arts, he has also served on the board of directors for the Tennessee Stage Company, Encore Theatrical Company, the Morristown Theatre Guild, and Flying Anvil Theatre.

Judge

Drey Herron

Performer, Choreographer and Director

Drey Herron is a veteran performer/choreographer/director in Knoxville and the surrounding areas. Hairspray, Annie, Little Shop of Horrors, Hello Dolly and Five Guys Named Moe are among her favorite choreographic gigs. Vera Charles (Mame), Aggie Hannigan (Annie), Robert Anne (Nunsense) and Aunt Eller (Oklahoma) are among her most cherished roles. Mrs Herron also teaches ballet and musical theatre at several local dance studios. She began her dance training with Memphis Ballet with a focus on Russian technique and later focused on the technique of the Royal Academy of Dance. Mrs. Herron graduated from UTK with a major in Dance and Musical Theatre.

Judge

Cecilia Wright

Board-certified music therapist, educator, and musician based in Knoxville, Tennessee

Cecilia Wright received a BA in Music at the University of Tennessee and a MM in Music Therapy at the University of Kentucky. Her graduate research focused on supporting diverse LGBTQ+ clients and colleagues through increased educational opportunities for music therapy students. Previously, Cecilia provided contracted music therapy services for students with disabilities in Lexington, Kentucky, within the public school system. Her current clinical work includes music therapy groups to support adults with dementia in residential living, adults in recovery from substance use disorders, elementary school students in under-resourced communities, and adults with Parkinson’s Disease and their care partners. Additionally, she provides therapeutic music experiences at community events as part of the “Music is Healing” program, sponsored by Hope in the Hills.

She currently produces and hosts the podcast “Pass the Mic: Creating a Stage for Change” for the Tennessee Theatre. Cecilia was a contributing artist on the Grammy-nominated album Long Violent History by Tyler Childers, toured nationally with Lucette in support of Sturgill Simpson, and has toured and recorded with a wide variety of local and regional artists including the Lonetones, RB Morris, and Warren Byrom. In recent years, she has toured and recorded with Kentucky-based songwriter Senora May, including performing at the 2023 Newport Folk Festival.

Judge

Erin Donovan

Actor/Voice-Over Artist

Erin Donovan is an Emmy and Associated Press award-winning journalist and works as a social and digital media consultant. She brings expertise in video, photography, multimedia and a passion for digital storytelling to local and national clients. Erin is an avid mountain biker and world traveler. She serves on the Board of the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club in Knoxville, Tennessee. She is also involved with the club’s Joy Ride and Trail Building committees and is a fourth year Specialized Ambassador. When she’s not riding her bike, she is a dedicated community volunteer and is a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Federal Re-Entry Program in Knoxville. You can also catch her on the big stage MCing for special events and lending her comedic talents to local live broadcasts. She enjoys her two dogs and her hedgehog.

Our Sponsors

What Happened at the 2024 Show

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE 2024 SHOW:

On November 12, 2024, 12 acts performed in the Big Show “Seniors Got Talent” at the Bijou Theatre

Congratulations to all contestants for a superb performance!

First place and the $1000 cash prize went to Pistol Creek Catch of the Day, 65-70, for their energetic rendition of “Hot Rod Lincoln!”

Second place and the $500 cash prize went to 61-year-old tap dancer, Kim Clemmer. Her joy-filled routine to “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing” had everyone tapping their toes right along with her.

Third place and the $250 cash prize went to 73-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist, Will Kruger. Will delivered an unforgettable performance of his original song, “Life in Tennessee,” that left the audience in awe.

Let’s hear it for our 2024 Morning Pointe Foundation Seniors Got Talent Franklin People’s Choice winner, 66 and 63, dancing duo, Christy Judkins and Michael Mills.

The dancing duo delivered a chemistry-filled dance performance of “Treat Her Like a Lady” that kept the audience hooked!

Their storytelling moves earned them the most votes in our $1-per-vote contest, with all proceeds going towards scholarships and caregiver support programs for local schools in East Tennessee.

Join us at the Bijou Theatre for our 2025 show!

All proceeds benefit the work of the Morning Pointe Foundation, providing nursing scholarships and caregiver support programs.

Audition Info

Tuesday, September 24

Locations: Morning Pointe of Powell

Times: 6-7 PM (During Family Night)

Addresses: 7700 Dannaher Drive, Powell, TN 37849

Phone: (865) 686-5771