Thirty-two songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2011 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among 800 submissions from around the world, the finalists will perform their two submitted songs during the New Folk Concerts slated for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 28 and 29, as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival.

Scheduled to perform (in order of performance) at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds in the Texas Hill Country on May 28, from noon to 3 p.m. are Karyn Oliver (Boring, MD), Bobby Sweet (Beckett, MA), David Francey (Toronto, ON, Canada), Eliot Bronson (Atlanta, GA), Rob Lytle (Apex, NC), Terry Holder (Olympia, WA), A. J. Roach (Brooklyn, NY), Jen Cass (Bay City, MI), Tom Corbett (Woodland Hills, CA), Chet O’Keefe (Nashville, TN), Megan Burtt (Denver, CO), Owen Temple (Austin, TX), Grace Pettis (Harrisonburg, VA), Steve Chizmadia (Peekskill, NY), and Arlon Bennett (Northvale, NJ).

New Folk Finalists slated to perform on May 29 include Friction Farm (Greenville, SC), B. Sterling Archer (Austin, TX), Cassie Peterson (Nashville, TN), Aaron Nathans (Madison, DE), Ben Suchy (Bismarck, ND), Karisha Longaker & Sarah Nutting (Chico, CA), Tommy Byrd (Austin, TX), David Moss (Austin, TX), The YaYas (Mohegan Lake, NY), Wyatt Easterling (Nashville, TN), David Stukenberg (Austin, TX), Mai Bloomfield (Venice, CA), Randy Palmer (Amarillo, TX), Twangtown Paramours (Nashville, TN) and Phil Henry (Rutland, VT).

After performing, six songwriters will be selected as 2011 New Folk Winners by judges Michael Camp, Johnsmith and Patrice Pike. The six will receive cash honorariums and other prizes, as well as the opportunity to return the following weekend during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Sunday, June 5.

Now in its 40th year and geared towards singer-songwriters of various musical styles and their fans, the Kerrville Folk Festival is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America. In addition to concerts each evening, Kerrville features “Ballad Tree” song-sharing sessions, campfire jam sessions, concerts and activities for children, organized canoe trips on the Guadelupe River and Hill Country bike rides, a professional development program for teachers, as well as a three-day songwriters school and instrumental workshops.

The Kerrville Folk Festival runs for 18 straight days – Thursday, May 26– Sunday, June 12. For a complete festival schedule and additional information, visit www.kerrville-music.com.