Scotch Plains, Fanwood Singers Among Somerset Patriots Winners

SCOTCH PLAINS/FANWOOD, NJ — Two Scotch Plains and Fanwood residents were named among the winners of the Somerset Patriots' National Anthem Auditions held at Bridgewater Commons this past Saturday.

Kayla Fiore and Katie Echols were among the selected singers chosen.

The event was originally designed to select 10 performers, but due to the talented crop of performers, the Somerset Patriots selected 13 this year.

The selected singers are: Myrna Lloyd (Somerville), Justin Luckenbaugh (Piscataway), Kayla Fiore & Katie Echols (Scotch Plains, Fanwood), Tanisha Khabe (Florence), Gina Maria Jones (Hackettstown), Grace Amodeo (Dunellen), Brennan Scott (Denville), Susan Lanto (Somerville), Amanda Abbruzze (Hillsborough), Josh Zagare (Bridgewater), and Nicole Anderson (Hillsborough).

This year, two musicians also made the cut including saxophonist Ian Richard G. Dalida (Somerville) and guitarist Taylor Daniels (Hillsborough).

"We want to thank all of our participants that tried out this year. We had tremendous performers that made it very difficult for the judges to choose," said Somerset Patriots Vice President of Public Relations Marc Russinoff. "The 13 finalists should be very proud they were selected among one of the most diverse and difficult groups yet. We can’t wait to give these great performers a chance to perform at the ballpark."

The audition at the mall had about 100 people who sang a minute-and-a-half song of their choice before the judges and mall crowd. Singers were judged on vocal talent, stage presence, and their ability to perform before a large crowd.

The audition was also a fundraiser where each contestant donated a minimum of $10 to Operation Shoebox New Jersey, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to collecting donated supplies to ship care packages to U.S. troops based overseas.

The National Anthem Auditions took place at Center Court on the lower level of the mall. This was the 17th year the Patriots hosted National Anthem auditions.

The Somerset Patriots open on Friday, May 1 for Opening Day at TD Bank Ballpark. For more information, visit somersetpatriots.com.

Have a news tip? Email [email protected].

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.