Pamela Machala (Boulder, CO), Aaron Nathans (Chester Heights, PA) and Karyn Oliver (Stokesdale, NC) have been named as winners in the 2020 South Florida Folk Festival’s Singer-Songwriter Competition.
A panel of judges chose the three winners from among 12 finalists after each performed two songs live during the festival at its new location, the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie, on Saturday, February 8. Each of the winners receive the Vic Heyman Songwriting Award – a $200 cash prize and an invitation to perform at next year’s festival.
The songwriting competition is co-presented by the Broward Folk Club (the nonprofit organization that stages the festival) and Reba Heyman. Along with her late husband, Vic, Reba has been an integral part of the folk community in South Florida and nationally for many years. The couple has been known for decades for their generous financial backing of folk festivals and artists. They ran a concert series in Rockville, Maryland known as Vic’s Music Corner, established scholarship funds for artists, and served on the boards for several music festivals.
Now in its 26th year and continuing through today, the South Florida Folk Festival features more than 40 artists/acts from the U.S. and Canada performing and leading workshops. The three singer-songwriter competition winners, along with the runners-up, also are being afforded the opportunity to play ‘in-the-round’ during the festival’s second day. In addition, there is a jam area where amateur musicians can play traditional folk and other acoustic styles of music.
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