Melody Nowicki won the 2023 UP Voice competition at a packed Gallery Coffee Company on Thursday, Nov. 30. The 18-year-old singer and guitar player took the title with her performance of “Jolene” by Dolly Parton and sang an encore of “Something in the Orange” by Zach Bryan after her victory was announced.
“It’s unreal. When they said my name, I wasn’t sure if I would smile, cry or pass out, but it was meant to be,” she said.
A Marquette native, Nowicki heard about the contest through a friend of her mother. The success was instant, as the performance was her first time behind a live microphone.
“I thought, ‘I might as well do it’,” Nowicki said. “I figured I would play my strongest song and had ‘Something in the Orange’ just in case.”
Toni Miller and Mira Linsenman took second after performing “Tennessee River Runs Low” by The Secret Sisters and Paavo Mannisto took third place by performing “Straight and Narrow” by Sam Barber. Altogether, 17 performers took the stage, including last year’s runner-up Wyatt Kulik and youngster Echo Johnson, who was known for her showstopping performance at the Alger County Fair.
According to the four-judge panel of Marquette Symphony Orchestra’s Andrew LaCombe, Lorrie Hayes of Flat Broke Blues Band, last year’s inaugural winner Heather McNally and local musician Rod Gendron, the talent has increased from last year.
“If you didn’t finish in the top three, that doesn’t mean that you didn’t kill it tonight,” Gendron said. “Everyone had great stage presence tonight, no one was nervous and the performances were great. There was some tremendous growth from last year, so keep on coming back.”
Nowicki was thinking of having more performances after the win, but will also focus on going to cosmetology school. She said she will use the prize money to help pay for her schooling.
The event was free to the public with a cash bar, with proceeds going to the Roam Foundation.
“We can always count on the community to come out and support UP Voice,” said Roam Foundation’s Ana Dolaskie. “We knew we had a gem of an event back in 2019 and it’s only grown from there. We’re thrilled we could deliver a night full of amazing local talent, a packed house and a memorable way to kick off the Christmas season.”
