Arts & Entertainment

Donna's Tavern Crowns 7th Annual Dundalk Idol

Just a handful of votes separated the top three finalists in the closest Dundalk Idol voting ever.

Donna’s Tavern owner Donna Sekora and 2010 Dundalk Idol Gina Barilone “discovered” Nick Walsch singing karaoke at McAvoys in Parkville earlier this year.

“We found him on one of our recruiting trips,” Sekora said smiling. “We convinced him that he should come down the first night and give it a try.”

Sekora and Barilone’s pitch to Walsch that he enter the 2011 Dundalk Idol competition proved difficult to resist. It also paid off.

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Walsch, a 30-year-old who works in corporate asset protection in Aberdeen, earned the 2011 Dundalk Idol title Saturday night, sealing the win with a knockout cover of The Temptations' hit “My Girl” in the final round. He was just the second male winner in the contest's seven-year history.

Afterward, Judge Marty Smith praised Walsch’s versatility—he opened with the judges' selection of Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative,” and The Script’s “For the First Time”—before closing with the 1964 Motown single.

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Judge Maryanna Fama, the 2008 Dundalk Idol winner, asked Walsch, “Is there any song you can’t sing?”

Judge Jim Childress told Walsch after singing his last song, “You may have just won this competition.”

As it turned out, Walsch was second in the order of final singers, and Childress eventually told two other contestants the same thing. Childress’ remarks proved prophetic—the voting was the closest in Dundalk Idol's seven-year history with just four votes separating the top three contestants.

Finalists included Ricky DiDamencio, Denise Bailey, Samantha Flanagan, John Panto, Calvin Morris, Alicia David, Monique Dallas Williams, Leon Moses and Henry Herring.

Damencio’s cover of Journey’s “Separate Ways” was an early highlight, as was Flanagan’s rendition of Alannah Myles' sexy “Black Velvet.”

“I felt dirty just listening to it,” Fama told Flanagan.

Barilone and 2009 Dundalk Idol winner Jenn Feyjoo, covering Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” opened the show. Dundalk’s Citizen of the Year, Joe Stadler, served as master of ceremonies. Walsh closed things out with an encore of “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain.

With the win, Walsch picked up a $1,000 check. He said he’ll put $500 toward his bike and laptop, and keep the rest for fun.

Walsch may have been “discovered” singing karaoke at McAvoy’s—“my neighborhood bar,” he called it—but he’s not new to performing. He sang in the choir at Calvert Hall, and more recently, has performed with Baltimore-area bar bands Definite Maybe and Driven.

In 1995, he sang the national anthem before a Baltimore Orioles game. 

“The tryouts were nerve-racking—singing it was easier,” Walsch said of his Camden Yards debut. “No, I didn’t get to meet Cal Ripken.”

Now that he’s won, Walsch said he’s considering following in Barilone’s shoes and trying out for Baltimore Idol, which launches this week at Padonia Station in Timonium.

But truthfully, Walsch said, after he showed up for the first round of this year’s Dundalk Idol four weeks ago, it hasn’t been about winning or the $1,000 check that comes with the title.

“I kept coming back because I was having a great time,” Walsch said. “Donna, the staff, the bartenders, all the good people I met, that’s why I kept coming back—it was just a lot of fun every week.”


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