Dear Rouge, Fricot, Klassen Top 3 acts in PEAK contest

It started with 20. And then, there were five.

The Top 5 PEAK Performance Artists were announced Thursday on 102.7 The PEAK.

This doesn’t quite mark the culmination of the many months these B.C. musicians have devoted to being involved in the process, leading up to the final three winners announcement. That happens on Nov. 22 at the Commdore Ballroom (Tickets: $10.27 at ticketmaster.ca).

At that event, more than $227,700 in prizes will be awarded to the Top 3 acts listed here in alphabetical order: Dear Rouge, Dominique Fricot and Jordan Klassen.

First place wins $102,700, second takes $75,000 and third $50,000.

Fourth place was awarded to singer/songwriter JP Maurice, who receives $10,000, and fifth went to Mike Edel with $5,000. Since its 2009 launch, the acclaimed artist development program designed by 102.7 The PEAK and Music BC has invested in excess of $3 million into the province’s independent music community and more than 70 artists have reaped the benefits of the PEAK Performance Project’s annual bootcamp, showcases, networking and professional training seminars and airplay.

You can check out all of this year’s participants at peakperformanceproject.com/top-20.

Past winners of the top prize include rockers We Are the City (2009), urban act Kyprios (2010), groovy pop crew Current Swell (2011). All of these won only $100,500 as that was the PEAK’s frequency at the time.

This year the station moved up the dial and the money moved up the scale for the lucky winners.

This year’s Top 3 is interesting as you have two fairly introspective and rootsy solo acts and a husband and wife straight-ahead pop duo in Dear Rouge. All three have charisma to spare, although after my time at the Bootcamp this year, the dry wit award would have to go to Fricot. This is not being one of the evaluation categories used by the judges, so who knows? You’ll have to go to the show to know.