Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2019 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 25 and 26 as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival, an 18-day event at the Quiet Valley Ranch in the Texas Hill Country. Winners were also named in the Songwriter Serenade that took place elsewhere in Texas earlier this month.

8c8624_98ed97625bae49ac8eff73ef42550255Lisa Bastoni (Northampton, MA), Liv Greene (Washington, DC), Scott Mulvahill (Nashville, TN), Daniel Neihoff (Paducah, KY), D.b. Rielly (New York, NY), and Aaron Smith (Harrison, AR), will each perform 20-minute sets during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Sunday afternoon, June 2, and will receive cash honorariums and other prizes. They were selected as 2019 New Folk Winners by songwriters Joe Crookston, Ellis Delaney and Rebecca Loebe who served as judges. More than 500 songwriters had initially submitted entries.

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. It is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America.

“New Folk is our way of finding new, exciting, excellent songwriters from around the world,” said Dalis Allen, producer of the Kerrville Folk Festival. “Our line-up every year is full of artists who have remained a part of the festival long after their first introduction in the competition.”

Kerrville, completing its 48th year, extends through Sunday, June 9. 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. A listing of all of this year’s New Folk Finalists was included in a previously posted article: http://acousticmusicscene.com/2019/04/16/2019-kerrville-new-folk-finalists-announced/

Justin Farren is Top Winner in Songwriter Serenade

Songwriter Serenade logoNeihoff was also among the winners in the 13th annual Songwriter Serenade that took place on May 4 in Moravia, TX. First-Place honors in that competition went to Justin Farren, a Sacramento, California-based singer-songwriter, who was also a 2016 Kerrville New Folk Winner and is one of the “Most Wanted to Return” artists at this summer’s upcoming Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, NY, following audience voting after last year’s Grassy Hill Emerging Artists Showcase. He was chosen from among 15 semi-finalists in the Songwriter Serenade by a panel of judges who evaluated them based on lyrics (imagery, story, creativity, and originality), melody (structure, phrasing, and rhythm), and performing ability (vocals, musicianship), as well as stage presence/audience rapport.

Taking second through seventh place, respectively, were Scott White, Wyatt Espalin, Daniel Neihoff, Kyle Donovan, Kora Feder, and Scott Marin. In eighth through 15th – in alphabetical order – were Hilary Adamson, Helene Cronin, Teghan Devon, 
Jackson Emmer, Claudia Gibson, 
Keith Larsen, 
John Statz, and
Alicia Stockman. Prize monies were awarded to all of the finalists.

Singer-songwriters Mary Bragg (last year’s first-place winner), Susan Gibson and Walt Wilkins judged the Songwriter Serenade.