Photo by Deb Gau Lake Benton native Joslynn Rose struck a powerful chord with the audience at “Tune Into Magic” Saturday night in Marshall.

MARSHALL — It was an event that was over a year in the making. But the final elements didn’t start coming together until the middle of last week, illusionist Max Fleet said.

“Everyone involved in the show tonight was not in the same room until three days ago,” Fleet told an audience gathered in the Red Baron Arena on Saturday. Fleet worked with performers and crew from around the country for the “Tune Into Magic” show, but a lot of their collaborating was done long-distance. “Creating the show remotely has been the scariest part of the process.”

But the show went on before a cheering crowd this weekend. “Tune Into Magic” brought together musicians and magicians, including performers with local roots. Both Fleet and singer Joslynn Rose, who helped open the show, are from Lake Benton.

“This has been so fun,” Rose said of performing for a southwest Minnesota crowd.

Magician and performer Sean Wilson said seeing the audience reaction was one of the best parts of performing for the audience.

“It’s the smiles, and the laughs, and the families coming together,” Wilson said.

“Definitely the crowd reactions, and people’s face expressions,” Fleet agreed. “It’s exciting to see an excited crowd.”

Fleet said the inspiration for “Tune Into Magic” was something that came to him around three years ago, starting with the show’s name.

“It had started out as almost an old-fashioned radio thing,” Fleet said. Then the idea grew into a combination concert and magic show.

Fleet reached out to performers including Wilson, a third-generation magician and entertainer from Branson, Missouri.

“At the beginning of the year, Max gave me a call and asked if I would want to be part of this big production,” Wilson said. They worked together on putting together set lists for a show, and talking about the kind of performances, music and imagery they wanted to use. “We tried to build that collaboration to where it made sense.”

“Tune Into Magic” included music from “Violin Guy,” a performer and videographer with millions of streams on TikTok and YouTube, and from Joslynn Rose. Rose sang several songs to help open the show, including Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade” — the same song that wowed judges when Rose auditioned on “The Voice.” Later she’d return to assist with the magic show.

Fleet and Wilson performed a variety of illusions for the crowd, with Wilson adding elements to the show like aerial acrobatics and fire-eating.

Although the show’s acts had a lot of variety, music was the common thread through all of it.

“Music has been a part of my life longer than magic,” Fleet told the audience.

Fleet and Wilson said they hoped to inspire people and create a sense of wonder with the show. Fleet also said the crew had filmed a lot of the process of creating and performing the show, and they planned to share it on social media.

At the close of this weekend’s show, Fleet announced he would be going on a nationwide tour in 2024. But there may still be future installments of “Tune Into Magic” for fans to look forward to, Fleet said.

“We want to do this again,” he said.