Photo courtesy of the Minnesota State Fair
Minnesota State Fair's Amateur Talent Contest
James Logan II was 17 years old when he won the Minnesota State Fair’s Amateur Talent Contest in 2005—and it changed the trajectory of his life.
The then up-and-coming senior at Edison High in Minneapolis entered the talent contest on a lark under his moniker DJ Snuggles. His four-minute beatboxing set captivated the audiences and judges. “I was thinking, They’re not gonna like beatboxing at all,” Logan says. “Like, they’re gonna boo me. But the end goal was making it to that final round at the Grandstand, winning them over. That’s what we were gonna do.”
And that’s what he did—first winning the talent contest’s open division, then a citywide high school talent show, then contests he traveled across the U.S. to compete in. Soon after, Twin Cities rapper Brother Ali discovered Logan and asked if he could be his DJ. “The rest was history,” Logan says. “After doing a few dates with him and Rhymesayers, I went all over the place, West Coast, East Coast, across the country.”
Now, DJ Snuggles still emcees around town—and Logan knows he wouldn’t have gotten there without the State Fair’s talent show nearly 20 years ago.
This year, the show turns 50. During its half-century-and-counting run at the State Fair, thousands of adults, teens, and preteens have competed in virtually any discipline they choose—vocal or musical performance, dance, comedy, circus acts, and more. And it’s helped launch more than DJ Snuggles’s career.
“The one that always comes to mind is Caitlyn Smith,” State Fair entertainment director Theresa Weinfurtner says—the country singer-songwriter and Cannon Falls native writes songs for Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton and tours with George Strait, but she partially got her start winning the Fair’s teen division in 2001.
For those who aren’t familiar with the show, here’s a primer: Any talented (or, ahem, confident) amateur preteens, teens, and adults can audition for the contest during an event held the last week in July at the fairgrounds. Weinfurtner estimates around 350 total audition, with 120 making it to the official State Fair contest. Then, for 10 straight State Fair nights, semifinalist performers in each category show their stuff on the Leinie Lodge Bandshell Stage for a crowd and panel of three judges. Those nightly winners—20 in all, across the three categories—will compete in the finals at the Grandstand on the 11th night of the fair.
To make it more complicated, some county fairs also send their talent show winners to the State Fair, who then compete in their own State Fair semifinals and finals, and then the winners of those finals also compete at the Grandstand with the talent contest finalists, so there are 26 final-stage competitors in all. (It’s confusing, we know. Just enjoy the ride.)
“It’s a great experience,” Weinfurtner says. “It’s actually why I wanted this job in the first place.”
And the judges—three at a time, for both the Fair’s talent contest and the county fair talent contest—have their work cut out for them. “What the Fair attempts to do is balance the three judges between different perspectives,” says Christopher Watson, a local dance company leader and longtime talent contest judge. “So there’s usually some kind of vocalist—somebody who’s really an expert in vocal music of all kinds, like a voice coach or performer—and sometimes a presenter or producer, someone who books artists for venues and festivals, that kind of thing, and then I would represent dance.”
That way, at least one judge can speak to more technical aspects of most performances at a time, since the majority of competitors sing, dance, or play an instrument, but everyone is primed to take in entertainment value and what it feels like to watch as an audience member. The judges score each competitor and then deliberate together—as quickly as they can—to determine the night’s winner. “Every once in a while it gets close, and/or one of us feels really strongly either positively or negatively,” Watson admits. “And, of course, there’s the pressure of time, because the audience is waiting to hear the winner!”
While Weinfurtner says that the popularity of the contest can ebb and flow a bit depending on the year, it has remained incredibly popular—like our very own American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance, but without the harsher judges and nationwide opinions. And the winner might not get a record deal, but they do get $10,000. (Preteen and teen winners get $2,500 each, which is nothing to sneeze at either.)
“It’s kind of retro, in character,” Watson says. “The fair itself has so many of these qualities that hearken back to a different time, but just the idea of this ‘come one, come all’ talent contest is so fun to see.”
Weinfurtner says many of the same people come back to compete year over year—which they’re allowed to do until they win their respective division. “It’s been amazing to watch some people grow up over the years,” she says.
This year, the team plans to bring back some past winners to perform in the Grandstand during the finals to commemorate the 50th anniversary—and they might have a surprise or two planned as well. Catch the semifinals for free every night at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell Stage at 6 p.m., and the finals for free in the Grandstand at 7:30 p.m. on September 3. Maybe you’ll see the next Caitlyn Smith or DJ Snuggles—or a completely new act altogether. Only one way to find out.
