Ten artists from across the U.S. were named as finalists in the 2008 Music to Life Songwriting Contest and had an opportunity to share their original songs of social and political significance during the recently concluded Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country.  Performing songwriters included grand prize award winners Ellen Bukstel and Nick Annis (who co-wrote “By My Silence”), Randy Browning (“Radical Rags”),  Ellen Bukstel (Tikkun Olam, Repair the World”), Ellis (“City on Fire”), Jon Fromer (“Welcome”), Rachael Kilgour (“Cheap Grace”), Lisa Rogers (“Jesus and Jesus”), Eugene Ruffolo (“Dear Father”), Amy Speace (“The Weight of the World”), and Amy Carol Webb (“Raise Your Hand”).

The Music to Life contest is sponsored by the Public Domain Foundation, a nonprofit organization launched by Noel Paul Stookey more than 30 years ago to encourage the making and use of music for social change.  The foundation seeks to foster awareness of issues, provide funds for causes of social concern, enhance the capacity of music to effect social change, and build community through shared values and global understanding.

Songs submitted in the contest were reviewed by a panel of well-established singer-songwriters that included Judy Collins, Christine Lavin, Holly Near, Tom Paxton, Stookey, Mary Travers and Peter Yarrow.  Each of the ten finalists received travel stipends and free passes to the Kerrville Folk Festival, where they performed on May 31.  In addition, the three top finalists won donations to the charities of their choice.

As the Public Domain Foundation’s website (www.pdfoundation.org) notes: “Artistic expression can serve as an emotional bridge – bringing our world closer together by reminding us of our common human condition.”  The foundation also assists artists in building relationships with nonprofits that might use their songs for promotional and educational purposes.