Seniors Got Talent Knoxville
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Now announcing
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 November 4 at the Bijou Theatre for our 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
Location: Morning Pointe of Clinton
Time: 1-3 PM
Address: 960 S. Charles G. Seivers Blvd., Clinton, TN 37716
Phone: (865) 457-4005
Final deadline for all auditions is September 30th.
Top contestants will be notified October 3rd.
Locations: Morning Pointe of Powell
Times: 1-3 PM
Addresses: 7700 Dannaher Drive, Powell, TN 37849
Phone: (865) 686-5771
Final deadline for all auditions is September 30th.
Top contestants will be notified October 3rd.
Locations: Morning Pointe of Lenoir City
Times: 1-3 PM
Addresses: 198 Morning Pointe Drive, Lenoir City, TN 37772
Phone: (865) 988-7373
Final deadline for all auditions is September 30th.
Top contestants will be notified October 3rd.
Locations: Morning Pointe of Hardin Valley
Time: 1-3 PM
Addresses: 2449 Reagan Road, Knoxville, TN 37931
Phone: (865) 343-0081
Final deadline for all auditions is September 30th.
Top contestants will be notified October 3rd.
Locations: Morning Pointe of Knoxville
Time: 5-7 PM (During Family Night)
Addresses: 9649 Westland Drive, Knoxville, TN 37922
Phone: (865) 223-6422
Final deadline for all auditions is September 30th.
Top contestants will be notified October 3rd.
Tryout Qualifications:
- Open to anyone over 60
- Acts may not exceed 3 minutes
- All equipment, music, etc. must be provided by the act
- For groups, there is a max of 6 people in each group
What are Judges Looking for?
- Stage Presence & Professionalism
- Technical Ability
- Appearance/Costume
- Difficulty of Act
- Originality, Creativity
