Finalists have been named in the 2016 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition. Now in its 15th year, the contest showcases emerging performing songwriters. It is open to artists performing in all genres, although all songs must include a vocal with lyrics.

Wilder Adkins (Birmingham, AL), Brad Cole (New York, NY), Ethan Crump (Hartwell, GA), Jomo & The Possum Posse (Austin, TX), Market Junction (Houston, TX), Ashley McMillen (Nashville, TN), Middle Child (Roxbury, MA), J Shogen Shanghai’d (Centennial, WY), Andrea Silva (Los Angeles, CA), The Small Glories (Winnipeg, MB, Canada), The Vaughns (Springfield, NJ), and The Young Novelists (Toronto, ON, Canada) have been invited to perform their original songs during a live showcase competition at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Auditorium in New York City on Saturday, Dec. 10, beginning at 11 a.m.

From among these finalists, a grand prize winner will be selected to receive recording and performance prizes including a six-song EP recorded and mixed at Asheville, North Carolina’s Echo Mountain Recording Studio, and the opportunity to perform in concert at the David Rubenstein Atrium in 2017. Rachael Kilgour, a Duluth, Minnesota-based singer-songwriter, was the grand-prize winner of the 2015 contest and performed in New York in September.

NewSong Music is an independent music organization that aims to build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across various genres of music and skill levels, while identifying truly exceptional artists and introducing their music to a broader international audience.