Joshua Talbot-Bowe (also known as Josh T Magic) hosted Show and Sell 002, his second open mic night for young creative artists and entrepreneurs, last night. Teenagers from as close as Naperville to as far as Bolingbrook came to The Comedy Shrine to show off their talents. Performances varied from rappers and cyphers to magic to small businesses and a motivational speaker.

Besides performing some of his magic routine, Josh also hosted the event. As soon as doors opened, performers came in to reserve their time slot on stage. “I wanted to start these as a place to bring artist together,” Talbot-Bowe said. Most of the performers were rappers or dancers, but the theme of the evening was creativity. Part of the vision for the event was to provide a stage for the sorts rapping, dancing, and performing not often encouraged in high school environments. “School is what, in my opinion, pushes art out of the way,” Talbot-Bowe said.

Among the talent was senior Josh Trunck, also known as Wae. He started performing in middle school after winning an anti-bullying contest with his lyrics on the subject. He performed two songs at Show and Sell, the first titled ‘Wildflower’. “It’s a song I actually wrote specifically for my mother, and some of the trials and tribulations she went through in her childhood,” Trunck said. He’s currently working on his next project, which will be on his Soundcloud when it drops (soundcloud.com/waeofficial).

One of the entrepreneurs showcased at the show was junior Brandon Baumet from Batavia high school. He bakes, packages, and sells energy bars on his website (bsquaredbars.com). “I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I’ve always been selling stuff, just randomly, my entire life. It’s kind of in my DNA,” Baumet said. He runs his business on his own, taking out a loan to start out but quickly began to run a profit. He’s excited about the Show and Sell shows and what his friends are doing there. “Everybody’s appreciating something other than the norms that we all know,” Baumet said.