Philip Bowen poised for AGT premiere

May 25—Area fans of the popular NBC television show "America's Got Talent" could very well recognize a familiar face when the show's 18th season premieres at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 30.

Vocalist/musician/storyteller Philip Bowen, a Montgomery native, will be among the contestants who perform this season in front of the panel of "America's Got Talent" judges in search of a $1 million grand prize.

Earlier this year, Bowen traveled to California for a show taping for his first AGT appearance, and that journey simply marked the continuation of a busy, productive time in his life.

"AGT has been on my radar for a while, and I decided it was time just to go for it," Bowen said via email on Wednesday. "It's an honor to have done the audition and taping process out in Pasadena.

"I had an absolute blast and everyone on the AGT production team made the experience one to remember. I found it invigorating and inspiring to be around so many people that have amazing talents and are super passionate about what they do."

The foray into television is a win-win situation for him, Bowen said.

"For me, the chance to have the kind of exposure that a program like AGT can give you is a huge plus," he said. "AGT has a great track record in terms of really jumpstarting your career at a national level.

"It's the No. 1 show in the summer for almost 20 years running, so I am very proud to be on the show. It all feels a bit surreal to be a part of a production of this size and scale, and I am trying to enjoy the experience and count my blessings."

Auditions for the show are taped, but "America's Got Talent" will then initiate six weeks of live shows at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium beginning Tuesday, Aug. 22 on NBC. Results shows will air Wednesday nights (8 to 9 p.m. ET/PT).

Mum's the word on Bowen's choice of music or the judges' reactions for next week's show, but he said he aimed for a "memorable" appearance.

"I can't say what I performed or how the judges responded, but I can tell you that my goal going in was to give them something they had never heard before, and that would be memorable," he said. "I wanted to give myself the absolute best chance to stand out among an incredibly talented field of people.

"You can watch it on May 30 and see what you think."

In mid-January, Bowen appeared live on West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Mountain Stage, hosted by West Virginia legend Kathy Mattea and distributed by NPR Music. More recently, he was featured on a segment of the "Us & Them" podcast from West Virginia Public Broadcasting and PRX on May 10. He's also busy preparing for the early June release of the first single from his debut album.

Calling it a "super busy" time, Bowen says he's "very happy with how things are going."

Earlier this year, "I did shows for both the WVU baseball team and also performed a 90-minute full band set outside of the stadium for WVU's football spring game," he continued. "At the same time, I've been busy wrapping things up on my debut album 'Old Kanawha' and transitioning over to all the prep work running up to a release.

"The first single is the title track 'Old Kanawha' (featuring Charles Wesley Godwin). It comes out June 2, and I know people in the area are going to love it."

While in California to do the AGT taping, Bowen also found out he will be a showcase artist later this year in Nashville at Americanafest. "I am hugely honored by that," he said.

For more on Bowen, visit philipbowenmusic.com or follow on Facebook at Philip Bowen Music or on TikTok, Twitter or various other social media platforms.

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