Robyn Lanktree

Algonquin College’s own Sun Dried Flies won the $500 first-place prize in Ontario’s Got Talent on March 7, the second year in a row students from the school won the contest.

The band, made of Branden Tyhy, Andrew Hudson, Ben Pontefract, and Andrew Crozier, started their set in the Algonquin Commons Theatre with an original song before playing a set of classics that hypnotized the audience.

Nearly everyone was standing on their feet with their hands in the air, and certainly everyone was once the set was over.

“It was so thrilling. I can’t believe the amount of adrenaline that rushed through my veins when that happened,” Hudson said. “I just love the energy coming from the crowd. That standing ovation was beautiful.”

The night showcased seven amazing performances, which began after the lights in the theatre dimmed until blue and purple lights shimmered against the stage.

The first to step on stage was Algonquin College student and winner of Algonquin’s Got Talent in February, Monique Messier. Dressed in gold and white, Messier played an acoustic guitar and sang an original song. Her emotion reflected off the gold gems that studded her eyes and reached the audience through her voice.

“I had some feelings to expel,” Messier said as she explained her writing process after the show. “I came up with the chord progression and then it just came naturally.”

In a fusion performance, Stallon Dcosta, a student from Sheridan College, danced using calisthenics, an increasingly popular bodyweight workout.

Warning the theatre to take their jackets off because “it’s gonna get hot in here,” Dcosta wowed the audience with flips, handstands, and some breakdancing.

After a 20-minute intermission, a blue stream of light shone on a drum set in the middle of the stage as the audience returned to their seats.

It was time for the Sun Dried Flies to perform. Their name is a metaphor, painting each member as a fly staring into the sun for too long.

Crozier, the band’s drummer, gave a flashy performance inspired by former Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

“Tonight, when I tried to do my solo and throw out those triplets, I was looking up to Bonham in spirit,” Crozier said after the show.

The bassist, Pontefract, has been with the band for only a month or two. Their first show all together happened only a few weeks earlier.

“This is the first time I haven’t felt that nervous because I know the material better and I was grooving on stage,” Pontefract said after the show.

Hudson, the keyboardist and co-lead singer, stunned the crowd by unconventionally playing his keyboard without a stand and with his intense vocals. Joining him in an eccentric display, guitarist and singer Tyhy played his instrument behind his head, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Following Sun Dried Flies was Pauline Katari, a journalism and filmmaking student from St. Clair College, performing three original songs in both English and Spanish.

Each song left the crowd mesmerized. Katari likes to sing in both English and Spanish, so she can communicate her lyrics to English-speakers and comfortably use Colombian sayings in her songs.

Before leaving the stage, Katari made sure to greet her family watching the livestream from Colombia.

In third place, winning a prize of $100 was Messier.

“It was awesome to be on stage and performing and connecting with people in the audience,” Messier said, beaming with pride.

Katari came in second place, winning a prize of $250.

“I feel so grateful for this opportunity that they gave me, and I was so excited to be part of it,” Katari said. “The scenario was so nice, so pretty, so well done. I just enjoyed it a lot.”

As for the Sun Dried Flies, they were just happy to perform.

“We didn’t care if we won,” Hudson said. “We just wanted to make the people feel good.”

Sun Dried Flies will play at The Rainbow Bistro in the ByWard Market on March 13 at 8 p.m.