Carol Hausner and Colin McCaffrey of Montpelier, Vermont were named as the winners in the bluegrass category in the 17th annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest for their song entitled “Love Gone By.” The two performed their winning song, along with the winners in three other categories (country, general and gospel), on the Cabin Stage at MerleFest on April 24 and won an acoustic guitar, a check for $300 and other prizes.

“Love Gone By” appears on Hausner’s latest CD, Still Hear Your Voice, which was produced by McCaffrey and released last November. The song can be heard in its entirety at www.carolhausner.com.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale chaired a volunteer panel of Nashville music industry professionals that judged contest entries based on originality, lyrics, melody and overall commercial potential.

The contest was established to honor the memory of Chris Austin, a songwriter and former sideman for Ricky Skaggs, whose life was tragically cut short when the private plane carrying him and six other members of Reba McEntire’s band, as well as her tour manager, crashed in the mountains near San Diego, California in 1991.

The contest finals take place annually during MerleFest, a popular “traditional-plus” Americana music festival that takes place in late April on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Previous winners of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest include Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, Michael Reno Harrell, Adrienne Young and Martha Scanlan.

An article announcing the 2009 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest finalists is archived in the Bluegrass & Beyond section of AcousticMusicScene.com.