Thirty-two songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2018 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among more than 600 submissions from around the world, the finalists will perform their two submitted songs during the New Folk Concerts on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 26 and 27, as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country.
Slated to perform (in order of performance) at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds on Saturday, May 26, from 1-4 p.m., are Scott Cook (Sherwood Park, Ontario), Ian Flanigan (Saugerties, NY), Izzy Heltai (Boston, MA), Hope Dunbar (Utica, NE), Michael Braunfeld (Villanova, PA), Sarah Morris (St. Paul, MN), Mac Leaphart (Nashville, TN), Helene Cronin (Plano, TX), T. Buckley (Calgary, Alberta), Cari Ray (Nashville, IN), Dave Ray Cecil (Greensboro, NC), Rich Krueger (Evergreen Park, IL), Kora Feder (Brooklyn, NY), Austin MacRae (Ithaca, NY), Clint Alphin (Nashville, TN), and Susan Cattaneo (Medford, MA).
New Folk Finalists slated to perform on Sunday afternoon, May 27, include Teghan Devon (Myersville, MD), Rupert Wates (New York, NY), Ira Wolf (Nashville, TN), Chad Elliott (Lamoni, IA), Ezra Vancil (Dallas, TX), Kelly Augustine (Centennial, CO), Aaron Nathans (Chester Heights, PA), Nikhil Dasgupta (Portland, ME), Andrew Dunn (Lebanon, NJ), Brittany Jean (Brewster, WA), Ben Bedford (Springfield, IL), Jerry Green (Phoenix, AZ), Frankie Zwick (Nashville, TN), John R. Butler (Matlacha, FL), Erinn Peet-Lukes (Boulder, CO). and Prateek Poddar (Weston, MA).
Named as alternates were Scott Fab (Royal Oaks, MI), Angela Easterling (Green, SC), Laura Zucker (Lafayette, CA), Kristen Ford (Nashville, TN), Heather Styka (Chicago, IL), Mike P. Ryan (Clifton, VA), Grant Peeples (Tallahassee, FL), and Amy Aiken (Norfolk, VA).
After performing, six songwriters will be selected as 2018 New Folk Winners by songwriters Pierce Pettis, Jaime Michaels and BettySoo, who are serving as judges. The six, to be announced during the evening concert on May 27, will receive cash honorariums and other prizes, as well as the opportunity to return the following weekend to each perform 20-minute sets during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Sunday, June 3.
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 and 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 Winner is regarded as a very prestigious honor.
Besides concerts each evening, Kerrville (which extends for 18 straight days — Thursday, May 24-Sunday, June 10) features “Ballad Tree” song-sharing sessions, campfire jam sessions, concerts and activities for children, organized canoe and kayak trips on the Guadelupe River and Hill Country bike rides, yoga, beer and wine seminars, a Young Artists Performance Incubator, a professional development program for teachers, as well as a three-day songwriters school and instrumental workshops. For a complete schedule and additional information, visit www.kerrville-music.com.
Like/Follow Us!