The Cascade Of Talent started as a modest talent show in Great Falls, giving teens a stage inside a local elementary school. Just four years later, it's a popular city-wide event, giving teens a chance to shine in front of hundreds inside the Mansfield Theatre.

And just as the event has grown, so has the talent.

We caught up with one of the show's early stars to see how this community talent show helped him on the path to what he hopes could be international stardom.

Eric Brown, former Cascade Of Talent participant, said, "Kids go through a ton of fads, but music was the one thing that lasted."

And now, that lasting love could soon pay off big for 20-year old Brown and his band, The Hope Movement.

His band recorded a few demos in their hometown of Great Falls, and in popular music fashion, posted the songs to their MySpace page (link).
     
Eric explained, "We started to get plays (of our music). Like hundreds of plays and then thousands of plays, and then soon enough we get a message from a producer who works out of Minnesota who's worked with Justin Timberlake and Fall Out Boy."

Suddenly the The Hope Movement was in Minnesota, laying down their first album in a studio that's seen the likes of music legends like Aerosmith and Journey.
     
Eric said of the experience, "It's really kind of unreal."

As he awaits the release of "Signals Through Your Stereo" and looks ahead to a tour at the start of the year, Brown reflects on hometown opportunities like the Cascade Of Talent: "It's a great experience and it just kind of gave me the drive like 'yeah, I really want to do music'.  I love music and I wouldn't want my life any other way than doing that for the rest of my life."

Any high school student in Cascade County can audition for the upcoming Cascade Of Talent, which will feature Eric as a judge.

Auditions are January 9th, but you need to sign up before the end of the year. The event will be held at the Civic Center on February 22nd.

Call 750-8852 for more information or to sign up for an audition.