Mary Bragg Wins 2018 Songwriter Serenade Competition

Nashville-based Americana singer-songwriter Mary Bragg has been named the first-place winner of the 2018 Songwriter Serenade Competition after showcasing two of her original songs, along with 14 other semifinalists, at Moravia Performance Hall in Moravia, Texas, during the day on Saturday, May 5. As the first-place winner, she received prize money, as well as an opportunity to open a concert featuring the three judges that evening at The Bugle Boy in La Grange, TX: Susan Gibson, Phoebe Hunt and Walt Wilkins – along with Gurf Morlix.

The Songwriter Serenade win for Mary Bragg came one year to the official release date of her fourth and latest studio album, Lucky Strike. Bragg was named the winner in the country category of the 2017 Merlefest Chris Austin Songwriter Contest for the album’s title track, a co-write with Liz Poston. Last year, the small-town Swainsboro, Georgia native also was a finalist in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk and Telluride Troubadour competitions.

Second- to seventh-place winners in the Songwriter Serenade Competition were, respectively: Mia Rose Lynne (Cross Plains, TN), Clint Alphin (Nashville, TN), Heather Styka (Chicago, IL), Brian Pounds (Austin, TX), Renee Wahl (Nashville, TN), and Chad Richard (Orange, TX). The other semifinalists (in alphabetical order) were Edan Archer (Nashville, TN), Jordi Baizan (Houston, TX), Daniel Boling (Albuquerque, NM), Charles Bryant (Pasadena, TX), Jackson Emmer (Carbondale, CO), Dan Johnson (Fort Worth, TX), Rich Krueger (Evergreen Park, IL), and Jodee Lewis (Chicago, IL).

The Songwriter Serenade is an annual competition that was established in 2007 to provide performing songwriters with a platform to showcase their skills before their peers, a panel of esteemed judges, and an appreciative audience of Americana, folk and roots music lovers. Songwriters had to submit three-four songs in .mp3 format that were written and/or copyrighted within the last three years. They were evaluated based on lyrics (imagery, story, creativity, and originality), melody (structure, phrasing, and rhythm), and performing ability (vocals, musicianship). Stage presence and audience rapport also were taken into consideration during the semifinal and final rounds.