The Edge, Bradley University’s student-run radio station, will host it’s first talent competition Saturday on Olin Quad from 6 to 8 p.m.
“This will be my first time debuting any of my music on campus, so I’m super excited about performing,” junior history major Ryan Hoskins said.
Hoskins and about 10 other contestants will perform various musical selections for the audience. The array of acts span from original rap selections to acoustic duets.
At the end of the competition, a combination of a panel of judges and crowd responses decide which of the acts will take home $50 for first place and $25 for second and third.
Freshman theater major Rebekah Farr will be singing and playing the ukulele for her performance, while Hoskins is one of two rappers performing that evening. In addition to student performances, Bradley faculty members will also treat the audience to some special performances.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity,” Farr said. “It should be really fun.”
Auditions for the talent competition were held March 31 in Marty Theater, and performers were asked to prepare sets no longer than five minutes for the showcase.
To attract an audience and encourage attendance, The Edge is offering prizes to audience members as well as contestants. In a short trailer promoting the competition, senior electrical engineering major and station manager for The Edge Ethan Hoerr told viewers that audience members could be picked to receive tickets to Life in Color, a popular electronic dance music festival in Chicago taking place the following weekend.
Not all of the performers are in it for the prize.
“I’m not really interested in winning,” Hoskins said. “I just want people to know what I can do.”
Admission is free for students, and The Edge’s staff will be on Olin Quad passing out stickers, buttons and other small items. In the event of rain, the show will move to the Garrett Center.
“All sorts of different genres are being represented, so it’d be a really good opportunity to see what kind of talent is out there that you might not otherwise have heard before,” Hoerr said.
