'America's Got Talent' Alums at Kent Stage Friday

Three popular performers from this season’s hit NBC show America’s Got Talent are planning on wowing an audience Friday evening at with their singing, juggling and BMX tricks.

Award-winning juggler Charles Peachock has arranged a show in which he will perform, as will fellow AGT alums “Lady Guy-Guy” singer and pianist Daniel Joseph Baker and Yellow Designs Stunt Team BMX cyclist James McGraw.

Tickets for the two-hour show – which will be followed by a meet-and-greet session and photo ops – are $25 and can be purchased by phone at 330-677-5005 or online at www.kentstage.org. As an added bonus, ticketholders are welcome to attend a private after-party on the second floor of the .

While their art forms are diverse, the performers’ common bond is the respect and admiration they gained for each other through their shared experience of competing on a TV show watched weekly by 10 million Americans.

Peachock, whose two-month run on AGT ended Aug. 17, said he created Friday’s event to give all three performers a chance to show fans the full extent of their talents – and for Peachock to thank his many Kent-area supporters.

“I think this will be a unique experience for people to see what we are really capable of. The response all of us received from our work on (AGT) was immense … However, the show limited what we could do. We are excited to show our fans what we can do outside the show’s restricted format,” he said.

The show will open with a 15-minute set by McGraw performing his wide range of Flatland BMX tricks on stage. The Denver resident has been riding, competing and performing all over the world for 27 years.

“I have some unique stunts I do with a wheel and what I call an ‘un-bike’ … kind of a unicycle without pedals,” McGraw said. “I will of course do my tricks like standing on the handlebars (while riding) backwards and numerous spinning tricks that I am the creator of.”

The 41-year-old said being on AGT was a great learning experience.

“There would have never been any reason to go as far out on the theatrics had it not been for (AGT)," he said. "Having done this, now I have a new desire to push the bikes in a new direction … Shows like the one I am doing this Friday are possibly the beginning of what could become a new platform for BMX flatland.”

Singer and pianist Baker, 20, will share the stage with a baby grand piano and perform a 45-minute show that will include backing tracks on some numbers. Peachock said he looks forward to Baker’s set “because he’s a natural-born performer. He’s just so talented all around.”

Baker, of Katy, TX, said his AGT run transformed his life.

The biggest changes have been in my self confidence and my drive to follow my dream,” Baker said. “Since the show I've actually quit my job in the mall, withdrawn from University of Houston and moved to Los Angeles. The show made it clear what needed to change in my life. I'm going after my dreams full force now.”

After intermission, Peachock will take the stage to perform a full Las Vegas-style show that he’s been developing for 17 years. His 45-minute segment will likely feature 13 to 14 routines.

“Everything moves really quickly. It’s not like I’m going to take my AGT material and stretch it out to fill the time,” Peachock said with a laugh. “I’m going to perform what I couldn’t do on the show and even more. They will see some familiar stuff from the show, like the glow routine and the bounce piano.”

Peachock is also excited to show his Kent-area fans a four-minute introductory video montage of his AGT appearances that has been firing up his cruise ship audiences the past six weeks.

“Before on the ships when I would come out there was a nice round of applause, but they had no idea who they were going to see … But now when I play that video before I get on stage, I’m (received) like a rock star,” he chuckled.