Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2018 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. They were chosen by a panel of judges from among 32 finalists who performed two songs each during the New Folk Concerts on May 26 and 27 as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival, an 18-day event at the Quiet Valley Ranch in the Texas Hill Country.
Ben Bedford (Springfield, IL), John R. Butler (Matlacha, FL), Helene Cronin (Plano, TX), Rich Krueger (Evergreen Park, IL), Miller McKeown Leaphart Sr. (Nashville, TN), and Sarah Morris (St. Paul, MN) will each perform 20-minute sets during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Sunday afternoon, June 3, and will receive cash honorariums and other prizes.
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. Being named as a New Folk Winner is regarded as a very prestigious honor.
The 47th annual Kerrville Folk Festival extends through Sunday, June 10. Besides concerts each evening, Kerrville features “Ballad Tree” song-sharing sessions, late-night and afternoon song circles and jam sessions at various campsites, concerts and activities for children, organized canoe and kayak trips on the Guadelupe River and Hill Country bike rides, a professional development program for teachers, as well as a three-day songwriters school and instrumental workshops. For more information, visit www.kerrville-music.com.
Editor’s Note: A listing of all of this year’s New Folk Finalists was included in a previously posted article: http://acousticmusicscene.com/2018/04/14/finalists-announced-in-2018-grassy-hill-kerrville-new-folk-competition/
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