Official Site of the ZanaFest Youth Talent Showcase
2024 ZanaFest Youth Talent Showcase
Sunday, June 2, 1 pm
at the Hard Rock Cafe, Pittsburgh
The Region's Premier Youth Talent Event & Competition
for Musically Talented Students of All Ages - K thru Grade 12
Vocalists & Instrumentalists
Registrations Accepted Until
Memorial Day - Monday May 27
Jack Hunt (aka Jonnie Angel)
Judge of Talent
Johnny Angel aka Jack Hunt grew up on the North Side of Pittsburgh and has been entertaining Steel City music fans since 1972 as Johnny Angel and the Halos. As a resourceful youth, Jack made money with a paper route, but soon teamed with a elder neighbor, Mr. Camino, with a green thumb selling fruits and vegetables from his garden. The venture was dissolved when Jack confidently told his partner that he would one day marry his granddaughter. But his resourcefulness continued as he slyly escaped accordion and trumpet lessons to play drums. Jack played with multiple groups in the 1960s like The Cordells, who cut a record in 1966. They later became Harombee and Slow Cooker While his bands were playing all over the area, covering doo-wop, rock and pop, it wasn't until Sha Na Na took the stage at Woodstock in front of half a million hippies that Johnny Angel and the Halos took. And while many think that the name Johnny Angel derives from the 1962 Shelley Fabares hit song of the same name, it was Mr. Camino who dubbed him the devil who thought he was an angel. Influenced by the likes of James Brown, The Four Tops and the Temptations, Johnny and the Halos sound is reminiscent of these artists and spanned the 1950s to the 1970s. By day, Jack worked 27 years for Bell Telephone and by night, he transformed into Johnny Angel covering James Brown, Chuck Berry, and The Kingsmen among many others. And, in the end Jack did marry Mr. Camino's granddaughter, Mary Lou, to whom he has been married for nearly half a century. He continues to perform as Johnny and the Halos and has interest in multiple restaurants.