Pennsylvania Accordionist Garrett Tatano Voted Polka Star of Tomorrow
Accordionist Garrett Tatano of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was voted Polka Star of Tomorrow at a musical competition hosted by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 18, 2021. Three hundred polka music fans cast ballots for four entertainers at SNPJ Farm in Kirtland, Ohio, near Cleveland. Tatano received a plaque and will be featured at the 57th Annual Thanksgiving Polka Weekend, sponsored by the Polka Hall of Fame.
Tatano competed as the lead accordionist with his own orchestra, including Vincent Filipelli, Anthony Popovski, Logan Watson and Phil Yan III. Tatano also performs with Jack Tady’s Pittsburgh-based band.
All four of the polka contenders are under 25. The three other musicians were Joshua Kay and TJ Likovic, both Cleveland accordionists, and drummer RJ Zolka from Youngstown, Ohio. All four will perform with their bands on the main stage at the Thanksgiving Polka Weekend at the Holiday Inn Cleveland South, in Independence, Ohio, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 26, 27 and 28.
The National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame celebrates the style of American dance music that emerged from the city’s Slovenian neighborhoods and became a national sensation with America’s Polka King Frank Yankovic in the decades after World War II. The museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 11 to 4, at 605 East 222nd Street in Euclid, Ohio, in the city’s historic former city hall. For more information on Polka Hall of Fame events, check the website at www.PolkaFame.com
Garrett Tatano of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania was voted Polka Star of Tomorrow at an event hosted by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame at SNPJ Farm in Kirtland, Ohio, on Sunday, July 18, 2021.
Garrett Tatano receives a plaque as the Polka Star of Tomorrow by Sharon Staiduhar, a trustee of the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame. The accordionist from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, competed in an event at SNPJ Farm in Kirtland, Ohio, on Sunday, July 18, 2021.
Four polka musicians competed for the title of Polka Star of Tomorrow at an event hosted by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 18, 2021. From left: Cleveland accordionist TJ Likovic, Youngstoen drummer RJ Zolka, accordionist Garrett Tatano of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland accordionist Joshua Kay. Tatano was voted in as the polka musician of the future at SNPJ Farm in Kirtland, Ohio. All four musicians will appear at the Polka Hall of Fame’s Thanksgiving Polka Weekend, November 26, 27 and 28.
National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum
605 East 222nd Street • Euclid, Ohio 44123
(216) 261-FAME (3263) • Toll-Free: 1 (866) 66-POLKA • Fax: (216) 261-4134
polkashop@aol.com • www.polkafame.com
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