TOWAMENCIN- The auditorium was full of enthusiasm this past Friday night as a variety of North Penn High School students flaunted their talents. Emceed by Liam McKee, Maura Slater, and Dan Wescoe, the 2017 North Penn Talent Show encompassed sixteen acts entertained fellow peers, parents, relatives, and faculty members.

The night began with a musical performance by Barbara Chen as she sang a mashup of Beyonce’s “XO” and Ed Sheeran’s “Lego House.” Next were musical performances by Kieran Bates, accompanied by pianist Grace Pekala, and then a Classical Indian dance from Yashita Thota. Instrumental group Major 6 pulled off a classy cover of pop hit “Problem” by Ariana Grande, and Deja Hoes belted out “I Believe I Can Fly.” The first act continued with a singing/guitar playing duet from Kristen Le and Katie Park, Kaela Babbitt singing “Ecos de Amor” (Echos of Love) in Spanish, and Alexis Evans singing/playing piano to Hillsong’s “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).”

“Carl and the Hamiltones,” who later won first place, started Act II with their combined covers of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana and the infamous “All-Star” by Smashmouth. Molly Hofstaedter serenaded the audience with the Broadway hit “Breathe,” followed by dancer Jonathan Klaus. Next came singer/guitar player Quira Crosby who sang “Plastic,” and then a magical performance by Anastasia Dziekan, who helped to get the audience involved in her act. Natalie Clauser soulfully sang Rihanna’s recent hit “Love on the Brain”, followed by Kate Amin, who sang “Vienna” as Zach Mesaris accompanied her on guitar. Jenna Little closed the show with her performance of the ever-loved Disney song “Beauty and the Beast”.

As the show came to a close, audience members were encouraged to cast a vote for their favorite act of the night. While audience members sent in their votes via text, Dude Report member and co-host Dan Wescoe entertained the crowd by pretending to play piano along to a classical piece. “Carl and the Hamiltones” took first place, with Jonathan Klaus second, and Kate Amin and Zach Mesaris in third.

Despite their dynamic performance that had everyone going wild, the group had only performed together twice before.

“We actually only got to perform as a full group at the audition and the day before,” said lead singer Carl Hamilton. “We met a few times before but never with everyone.”

Anyone familiar with Nirvana could recognize that Hamilton was definitely channeling some Kurt Cobain vibes during their performance.

“Being a jazz group, I thought we were able to bring a more liberal edge to often repetitive rock music,” said Hamilton.

Despite earning their prize of $200, the group graciously donated their award to the mini-THON fundraiser at NPHS.

“I was very surprised but thrilled that we won. The whole group thanks the audience for being so participatory in our performance and for the votes,” said Hamilton.