Auburn resident Molly Shea stood out from the crowd of tap dancers and show tune singers at the State Fair Thursday.
Armed with a Takamine guitar and a microphone, Shea sang Sam Cooke's "Bring it On Home to Me" at Wegman's Talent Showcase. Although she competed against 36 other acts, she was unconcerned whether she made it to the 10 semifinalists-which she did-she just wanted to perform.
" I love to perform," Molly said." It;s so much fun. It's an intimate thing. You get such a high."
Molly, 18, has been performing on stage most of her life. She's appeared in numerous Auburn Players productions, performed at local clubs and even sang the national anthem at a Doubledays game. She always looks for a chance to perform, which landed her the gig at the State Fair.
" This is what i want to do ", she said. Molly was invited to sing at the VIP lounge at the County Fair this July and was then asked to participate in the fair's talent showcase, where she won first place. That made Shea eligible to partcipate in the Wegman's showcase.
"She's just at home," said Kathy Shea, Molly's mother."( The talent show) will annoy her since she's only doing one song. Once she does one, she wants to do more and more."
The Wegmans Talent Showcase has two divisions, one for age 12 and under and one for 13 and over. Contestants have five minutes to show off their talents to a panel of judges who rate them on a natural ability, stage presence and showmanship. The showcase runs a preliminary contest for eight days, and each day 10 semi-finalists are selected from each division. The 80 semi finalists from each division will compete in the semifinals for two days, where the judges will select 25 finalists. The 25 compete for the first place title and $500 on Monday.
Molly was more excited by a recording session that took place after the contest than the possiblity of winning. After the show, Molly boarded the John Lennon Song Writing Contest tour bus with her mom, dad and uncle James P Shea, to record a few covers and originals. The tour bus houses a recording studio and had been on the road for three years, making stops at colleges and schools.
Molly sang an original song titled "Down," which is about teen-age life, while recording engineer Levi Medina laid down the track.
"It's about how you feel like nothing goes right, but in the long run you know its going to be ok," Molly said. Molly's voice is a corss between Natalie Merchant and Bonnie Raitt. She likes the blues and incorporates a bluesy, sultry sound into her vocals. She sings with the confidence of a musician who has performed for many years.
Molly honed her talent on the guitar over the past three years. She has written over 27 songs and is putting a band together, now unnamed.
"I think she's going to be pretty big," said Pat Shea, Molly's dad,"I may be biased."