The Goodnight Johnny’s music bar and restaurant in Burlington has begun up a new and exciting event for every Sunday night from 4:00pm to 7:00pm this spring. It is called the Goodnight Johnny’s Idol Competition, in reference to the famous reality TV show American Idol, for local musicians and students to participate in and enjoy. 

The Idol competition is an opportunity for singers, songwriters, and musicians to perform and compete against other artists to eventually reach the final championship. This helps local and smaller artists gain recognition in their communities and share their talents to a wider audience, and for a chance to win prizes and a studio recording of a song with a professional audio engineer. 

“Whether they're an amateur, whether they're someone that's a little beyond an amateur, or whether it's someone that's professional.” Gary Leavitt, entertainment coordinator at Goodnight Johnnys, said. “A lot of times people do not have an opportunity to get on stage, we're presenting that opportunity for people to be on stage.“ 

The competition was originally suggested by Leavitt himself, because he used to work in a Woburn function facility in 2006 that held Idol competitions as well. So then, when he started working at Goodnight Johnny’s, he continued the Idol competition legacy.

This event also has aspects that can help and open new doors for all of the groups who are involved. It benefits the Goodnight Johnny’s company, the performers, and the Burlington community.

Even as an audience member, the competition can be very fun to attend and experience the local music talent and possibly support someone they know. It can also just be great live entertainment as background while having a meal with friends and family.

“So I think it's great – I think other people would be like me, wanting to see something like that. And it's fun to see people that you know sing or do well.” Ms. Anderson, BHS business teacher, said. “Maybe not everyone's up to idol standards that we can watch on TV or The Voice, but to be able to do something locally does feel like a sense of community. Like, hey, here's our local talent, and this is what they can do.”

The Idol Competition is also an opportunity for all ages, not just adults, to get more experience performing live, or to spread their own music and talents to the community for popularity growth. The competition is open to everyone from the ages of elementary school to adults. There are certain divisions performers can specialize in such as elementary, middle school, high school, and so on. 

Allowing younger age divisions in the competition opens up opportunities for young kids and students to explore singing and performing for an audience for free without having to be a part of a group or membership. Many teens and kids do not have many options for places to sing and improve their performance and music. 

“Well, obviously kids have sports. That's a good outlet for kids today.” Leavitt said, “And they have different clubs after school and such. And sometimes, it misses out on the arts. I know you have bands and I know they have choirs and such. But for an individual, here's the opportunity to blossom.”

Usually it can be very nerve-wracking to sing in front of an audience, especially for teens and kids. To soothe this, Goodnight Johnny’s offers support and encouragement from the staff before someone performs, or during, if you want to have someone accompany you in your singing. There are also plenty of other ways and advice from others to feel more prepared when auditioning.

“My best advice for anyone doing a singing competition is to be yourself and relax.” Ms. Holmgren, BHS chorus teacher, said. “It’s great practice, it’s amazing that you’re putting yourself out there and trying something new, and everybody in the audience is there to cheer you on. Nobody’s gonna be harder on you then you’ll be on yourself, so it’s just great to go out and put yourself out there and have a good experience.”

When performers audition, they can also help the growth of the Goodnight Johnny’s company in general. The current restaurant in Burlington is a single building business and the only Goodnight Johnny’s in the world, so publicity and advertising can significantly increase their profits by a large margin. 

“When people who are already associated with it go, oh, I want to give the opportunity to perform, and the performers then will obviously invite their friends. And so what you're doing is you're widening out your customer base, and it's actually what we call word of mouth advertising. It's inexpensive. It's a great way to do it because people are getting other people who are also interested or want to support you if you're, say, the performer in there.”

People spread awareness about the restaurant when they invite guests and tell people about the conversation. After going to watch the competition for the performers, they will discover Goodnight Johnny’s and it can bring in more attendees each time.