Tristan McIntosh wows crowd despite illness

By P.J. GLISSON

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Ironwood - Following her Saturday night performance at the Historic Ironwood Theatre, singer Tristan McIntosh described her experience on Twitter as "the most humbling performance of my life."

McIntosh, who was a season 15 finalist on "American Idol," had explained to her audience during the seventh annual HIT Idol event that she had a lingering illness and said, "My upper (vocal) register is almost gone." On Twitter, she reported, "I could only sing a couple of notes."

In fact, however, McIntosh sang her heart out, and no one in the crowd would have known she was sick if she had not reported it herself, saying, "These were, like, none of the songs on my set," and thanking her band for "rolling with the punches" regarding her switching to tunes that better suited her voice range.

As the star of Saturday night's show, McIntosh sang a lot of old and new country, including songs by Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle and Carrie Underwood, and a touching rendition of "Go Rest High on That Mountain" by Vince Gill.

Dressed in black heels and a black jumpsuit with sparkly accents, McIntosh sometimes played a keyboard or a gold guitar and sometimes danced around the stage. Although still in high school, she displayed stellar poise as she addressed the crowd between songs.

"Everybody's just been so kind," she said of the hospitality she received from the theatre and from Ironwood at large. "I cannot even start on you guys' accent. It's adorable."

McIntosh said it also was "an honor" to perform with local musicians, whose talent she praised as "incredible." She sang two numbers with five winners from the 2017 HIT Idol show: Dustin King, Emily Dennis, Kristine Mieloszyk, Veronica Bolton and Hailey Mead.

They performed "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac and "You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt and received a lot of love from the audience.

McIntosh also sang "Crazy," the Willie Nelson song that became a hit in the past century with Patsy Cline's vocals. Peter Grewe, whom McIntosh called "a great musician," accompanied the singer during that song and also during the show's start.

Rounding out McIntosh's show was a little bit of rock, as well as soulful, acoustic tunes, including some of the singer's own compositions. By the end of one of her own songs, called "Words," McIntosh was wiping away tears.

Before singing the song, she said she had worked over the past few years on "who I am and my sound and who I want to be," adding, as a form of semi-conclusion, that the song implied what "power" there is in what we say to other people. After she finished singing it, she struggled for composure and said, "I just want you guys to have a nice night, and I hope you take something away from this."

McIntosh did not need to be concerned about making an impression. Already during the intercession, Cas Bordner of Hurley described the show as "amazing." Bordner won the HIT Idol youth category in 2016.

The A Capella Choir from the Ewen-Trout Creek School District kicked off the night with "On My Way Home" by Pentatonix and "This is Me" from "The Greatest Showman." Led by music teacher Brad Besonen, the band's harmonic sound drew a lot of applause.

Traditionally, the Friday portion of the two-night HIT Idol is a talent competition resulting in winners of several categories. Theatre president Zona Wick said this year was different in offering the alternative of a concert comprised of 16 former HIT Idol finalists.

The new show format was the result of Annette Burchell and Janie Williams taking a year off as HIT Idol director and co-director, respectively.

As he provided the welcome to Saturday's show, theatre vice president Rick Semo said the Friday show, which was directed by Nichole Lahti, "just brought a lot of joy to all of us."

Theatre operations manager Bruce Greenhill, who often greets the crowd at various theatre performances, played a more understated role Saturday, acting as an amiable stagehand, providing muscle or cleanup as needed.