Entries are now being accepted for the 2020 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters, to be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, 2020, during the first weekend of the 49th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country near Austin and San Antonio. The first 800 entries postmarked or submitted online by February 29 will be judged, and 24 finalists will be named in April.
Six songwriters will be named as 2020 New Folk Award Winners after performing, along with the 18 other finalists, at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds. A Kerrville New Folk Award Winners concert is slated for Sunday, May 31.
Songwriters may submit two original songs (written after Jan. 1, 2018) online by clicking on he Kerrville New Folk Competition logo or tab on the Kerrville Folk Festival website (www.kerrvillefolkfestival.org), filling in the requested information, and uploading two separate song files. Alternatively, CDs (with two separate song tracks in .mp3 or .m4a file types only) may be mailed to the Kerrville Folk Festival office along with a completed entry form. The entry fee is $25. Along with the entry forms, official rules and guidelines can be found on the website.
Established in 1972 at the urging of Peter Yarrow, the Kerrville New Folk Concerts have become a highlight of the annual festival that is geared towards singer-songwriters of various musical styles. It is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America. In addition to receiving cash awards and additional performance opportunities, being named as a New Folk Award Winner is regarded as a very prestigious honor.
Named as winners in the 2019 competition were Lisa Bastoni (Northampton, MA), Liv Greene (Washington, DC), Scott Mulvahill (Nashville, TN), Daniel Neihoff (Paducah, KY), D.b. Rielly (New York, NY), and Aaron Smith (Harrison, AR).
Like/Follow Us!