Finalists have been named in the 22nd annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, hosted by MerleFest 2014, the popular roots-oriented music festival that takes place April 24-27 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale chaired a volunteer panel of music industry professionals that selected the writers of 12 songs from among nearly 600 entries in four categories (bluegrass, country, general and gospel) for the opportunity to compete on the Austin Stage at MerleFest on Friday afternoon, April 25. The finalists in the bluegrass and general categories are listed below.

Bluegrass: Jim Crews (Boone, NC) for “Crossties,” Paul Harrigill (Murfreesboro, TN) and Amber Nugent (Ferriday, LA) for “I’m Blue,” and Chelsea McBee of The Random Assortment & the Christian Lopez Band (Shepherdstown, WV) for “Gone-A-Rye”).

General: Clint Alphin (Dunn, NC) for “Nobody Knows My Name,” Sarah Potenza and Ian Crossman (both of Nashville, TN) for “My Turn,” and Joseph Terrell of Mipso (Chapel Hill, NC) for “Angelina Jane is Long Gone.”

Although AcousticMusicScene.com generally does not cover country and gospel music, the finalists in those categories are as follows:

Country: Dan Buchner (Salt Lake City, UT) and Ben Childs (Oxford, MS), both of Hollering Pines, for “Cadillac,” Kelsi Robertson-Harrigill (Murfreesboro, TN) for “If You Never Let Me Go,” and Becky Warren (Nashville, TN) for “Call Me Sometime.”

Gospel/Inspirational: Gary Alan Ferguson (Alexandria, VA) for “Time To Praise the Lord,” Frank Hurd (Raleigh, NC) for “Light,” and Allen Smith and Corey Smith of Ash Breeze (Robbins, NC) for “Without Love.”

Each of the finalists will be provided with free admission and lodging for three nights at MerleFest and will participate in a mentoring session with Lauderdale. First place winners in each category will perform on the Cabin Stage on Friday night during the festival. Noted songwriters Darrell Scott, Charles Humphreys III (Steep Canyon Rangers) and Niall Toner will be among the second-round judges who determine this year’s winners.

The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest was established to honor the memory of Chris Austin, a songwriter and former sideman for Ricky Skaggs. Austin’s life was tragically cut short when a private plane carrying him and six other members of Reba McEntire’s band, as well as her tour manager, crashed in California in 1991. In the contest that is open to those whose primary source of income is not derived from songwriting or publishing, songs are judged based on originality, lyrics, melody and overall commercial potential. Previous winners of the contest include Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, Michael Reno Harrell, Adrienne Young, Martha Scanlan, David Via, Eliot Bronson and Johnny Williams. The contest was established to honor the memory of Chris Austin, a songwriter and former sideman for Ricky Skaggs. Austin’s life was tragically cut short when a private plane carrying him and six other members of Reba McEntire’s band, as well as her tour manager, crashed in California in 1991.

MerleFest logoFounded in 1988 in memory of the late Eddy Merle Watson, son of American music legend Doc Watson, MerleFest is considered one of America’s premier music festivals. Initially created to celebrate “traditional plus” music – a mix of music based on the traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region — MerleFest now also embraces Americana, country, blues, rock and other musical styles as well. More than 130 artists and acts will perform on 13 stages during the four-day event.This year’s festival will feature what’s being billed as a “BanjoRama” — a one-time only assembly of some of music’s top banjo players in performance together. More information on the festival may be found at www.merlefest.org.