Liz Longley (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Grace Pettis (Austin, Texas), BettySoo (Austin, Texas), David Via (Greensboro, North Carolina), and Reed Waddle (Boston, Massachusetts) were named as winners of the 2009 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, presented by Folk Alliance International. The contest’s international finals took place on Saturday, October 10, at the Cultural Center in Charleston, West Virginia — home to the internationally broadcast “Mountain Stage” radio and TV show that has showcased more than 2000 artists since its inception in 1983.

The five 2009 co-winners will be featured in a showcase during the 2010 Folk Alliance International Conference in Memphis, Tennessee next February, while Pettis joins Squirrel Nut Zippers, Southern Culture on the Skids, These United States and The Coal Men in performing live on “Mountain Stage” from the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio on October 11. This year’s co-winners and other contest standouts will also be invited to participate in future NewSong productions across the country and may be considered for future releases on the NewSong Recordings label.

Other performing artists in this year’s Mountain Stage NewSong Contest finals included Luke Brindley (Vienna, Virginia), Jon Brooks (King City, Ontario, Canada), Wes Castro (Marietta, Ohio), Shaun Cromwell (Los Angles California), Fictionist (Salt Lake City, Utah), Honey Dewdrops (Scottsville, Virginia), and Danielle Miraglia (Somerville, Massachusetts).