by Ron Baxley, Jr.
I was the proverbial fish out of water in some ways recently, yet I had swum in these same waters in my childhood and adolescence and had similar experiences throughout adulthood.
As a correspondent who has been writing for various newspapers since 2015 and an author who has been publishing work of all types for 31 years, I had never been asked to judge a formal singing contest until the evening of Saturday, Aug. 27 when I was asked to judge Edgar’s Live at Edgar’s Above Broad in Augusta, Georgia in front of a crowd that grew from over 70 to what seemed like well over 300. I had, however, judged many poetry contests as an author before and had judged singing contests during my 16 years as an educator. I also had a vast background in music and had been alongside many musicians.
The Edgar’s Above Broad’s coordinator wrote online they were pleased to have me after I was contacted by Brittany Havens, Senior Marketing Manager for Edgar’s Hospitality Group. I was contacted by her after I did a story on Helms College connected to our local autonomous Goodwill organization and its expansion along with other EHG venues and businesses around the I-20 and Washington Rd. corridor. Goodwill Industries launched Helms College and Edgar’s Hospitality group in August of 2013. Edgar’s Above Broad and other EHG venues in Augusta are experiential learning facilities for their Helms College students. Also, Edgar’s Above Broad tends to be more of a tapas bar designed for people who are coming to see entertainment and has excellent sliders and mixed drinks. We were allowed to sample some delicious ones gratis as judges – one of our perks.
The restaurant and entertainment venue is located on the third floor of a remodeled mini-sky-rise at 699 Broad St and has a contemporary interior restaurant section and bar, an exterior section with a large awning, and an entirely open section with mixed seating and what appears to be a converted Airstream R.V., the vintage silvery kind, on the roof as a kind of drink truck versus food truck. The open section has bean bag toss games and a life-size checker’s game. Like quite a few Augusta restaurants which also have bars, there tends to be an emphasis on games along with the socializing and music.
As per my being a judge at Edgar’s Live, Edgar’s Above Broad wrote on Facebook, “Ron is a YBR Publishing author and travel specialist who works as a correspondent for several newspapers and blogs…Ron has heavy roots in the music community. He sang in various choirs and has performed in musicals and plays. Ron was also selected to attend the S.C. Baptist All State Choir early in his career…Ron began his journey as a writer over 30-years ago when he published various small pieces and novels. He has received numerous awards for his Oz fiction books and a graphic novel based on his emotional support Corgi, Ziggy… Ron has been formally invited as a guest author at various Oz festivals and cons/comic cons throughout the country. In fact, he broke bread with Oz celebrities and watched performances of some of the Broadway-based Oz celebrities. Ron helped co-produce/co-sponsor a summer youth musical Oz production in Summerville, S.C., in 2016 and awarded/helped support an Oz youth production in St. George, S.C., in 2015. Two of his books thematically focus on music, including his children’s picture-book, “Goldey Goosey of Oz”, which uses the Appalachian folk song, “Go Tell, Aunt Rhody.” The other has music being used against a villain in a unique way -- “O.Z. Doesn’t Diggs G.C.C. at Emerald City": Book 2 of his O.Z. Diggs VII series.”
So, as you can see, in addition to my background as an educator and current experience as a correspondent and author (and travel specialist), I had quite the extensive background in music and being alongside musicians, though I am not currently a musician. I have been both the proverbial big fish in the small pond and the small fish in the large pond.
At Edgar’s Live as a judge from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday night, I joined RS Brown, a local television celebrity for WFXG Fox 54 and who may have had about my level of musical experience (maybe more) and DJ Tee Beatz, a professional DJ and music producer who is currently competing on a National Beat Battle Association team (Carolina Sounddogs) and who has 15+ years engineering and recording and is classically trained in percussion and piano. (She also manages Guitar Center in the city.) My choral background may have about matched her years of musical experience, yet I lacked her classical training in percussion and piano. I also joined a third judge who had comparable musical experience as shown on the Edgar’s Above Facebook page: “DJ Richie Rich is no stranger to the Augusta music scene. He's been a staple in the local nightlife for more than two decades and has remixed songs for Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas & Lauv.”
Starting with a bracket-style format (like basketball playoffs), we had the approximately 24 competitors of the evening pair of where we could and did the initial judging based on two categories – vocal quality and performance (each on a scale of ten with those two scores added apiece).
There were previous performers at previous Edgar’s Live Events. The ones on Saturday evening, included: April Sampe (accent mark over e), Rhonda Davis, Laura Skillman, Gary Payne, Robert Anderson, David Boots Beene, Cara Doolittle, Jamie Lee Hodge, Sylvia Dinkins, Roger Stewart, Michael Kraman, Natasha Lynn Beckworth, Mark Cross, Aaron Michael, James Alexander, Jo Luis, Terry Bramstedt, Tina M. McBride, Tammy Newman, Sean Washington, Archie Misa, Xavier Hobbs, and Jennifer Leek. They performed, through the help of background music, everything from old country standards to singer songwriter ballads to modern rock hits.
April Sampe was the Golden Ticket winner, with lots of 10’s from the judges before the end, so she was moving on to the finals no matter what. To reward her, I gave her two of my books related to music – the ones mentioned in the bio. Edgar’s put on their Facebook page, and I mentioned above.
After we chose the best from each bracket with the highest vocal and performance scores, we judged another round of eliminations with 12 at that point. We had moved from 24 to 12 fairly quickly.
Some were very professional with choreographed or impromptu movements in their performances and had excellent voices. (So many did a great job that I hesitate to single anybody out.) Others behaved like they were glued to the microphones, though they might have excellent voices. Still, others had passable voices yet demonstrated great choreography. That is why the two categories of vocal quality and performance (each on scales of 10) were so important to help with elimination. Having three judges mull over their results also helped to eliminate bias.
From 12, there was another set of performances, and we finally eliminated everybody to the final four who would move on. Xavier Hobbs had a soulful voice reminiscent of one of the greats who started as a church soloist yet did not have some of the choreography of the others but showed improvement. Archis Misa excelled at choreography most of the evening (even dancing near the judge’s table at one point) and had a good voice. Jennifer Leek blew it out of the water with choreography and her singing. April Sampe did even more so, wearing a very professional-looking designer voice, and belting out her song choice with much choreography. Again, she already had the Golden Ticket to proceed.
The finals for Edgar’s Live will be September 3. From what I understand, this will be one where the overall winner is determined.
Brittany Havens said, “We have been blown away by the amazing talent in Augusta. It has been such a pleasure to hear and watch so many individuals perform. I know that the judges are going to have a difficult time selecting a winner with some many talented individuals in the finals. We expect a great crowd and some amazing performances. The final show starts at 7:00 p.m. on September 3rd and we look forward to it being a great night.”
The event has been in such high demand and has demonstrated such interest that I was selected as just an alternate myself as a judge for the finals. Though I had a great time as a judge and think it was a wonderful event, I will bow out even as an alternate and have somebody with even more current musical experience serve in that role.
I highly recommend attending Edgar’s Live on Edgar’s Above Broad on 699 Broad St #300 in Augusta, Georgia for great food, wonderful service, and exemplary entertainment or just going to the restaurant in general to support the hand up mission of Goodwill and the Edgar’s Hospitality team.
In fact, from what I understand, the winner of Edgar’s Live will get an entertainment gig at Edgar’s Above Broad beyond prize money.
Join Augusta’s music scene and visit an experiential learning venue that has earned quite the reputation for good food and service as well as entertainment and fun.
Ron Baxley, Jr., is an author and former educator living in South Carolina, who frequently visits Statesboro. He sells his books at Galactic Comics and Games and the Statesboro Main Street Farmers Market and has held book signings at both. This column is a special to Grice Connect.
More about Edgar's Above Broad
Edgar’s Above Broad is a part of the Edgar’s Hospitality Group, which includes The Pinnacle Club, Edgar’s Grille, Edgar’ Bakehouse, Snelling Conference Center and Edgar’s Catering in the CSRA, plus Edgar’s Bistro and Anderson Conference Center in Macon.
These venues provide experiential learning opportunities for students in the School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts at Helms College, the career college sponsored by Goodwill of Middle Georgia and the Central Savannah River Area and named for Goodwill Industries founder Dr. Edgar J. Helms.
In addition to delivering an elevated experience not found elsewhere in the region, Edgar’s Above Broad is part of an organization providing a hand up for people to develop their God-given gifts through education, work and career development services. Your patronage helps build lives and families – one beverage, one meal, one event and one gift at a time.
