Sav Buist Wins 2022 Songwriter Serenade

Sav Buist, a Nashville, Tennessee-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, took top honors during the 15th annual Songwriter Serenade in Schulenburg, Texas on May 7, 2022. She was chosen from among 15 semifinalists in the songwriting competition 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.

Buist, who grew up in Michigan, co-fronts The Accidentals, an eclectic Americana power trio that had the most-played album and song on folk radio in March and was also the month’s most-played artist, according to charts compiled by Folk Alliance International that are also posted on AcousticMusicScene.com. The band also had the #1 song on the FAI Folk Charts (“Wildfire”) in 2021. During the Songwriter Serenade, Buist performed “Cityview” (a song that also helped to propel her as a winner in the 2021 Kerrville New Folk Competition) and “Leave It In The Dust” (a co-write with Gary Burr & Georgia Middleman that she describes as a song about the transition between the road and home).

“Being part of the Songwriter Serenade was an absolutely unforgettable experience,” said Buist. “Beyond the contest itself, I met so many incredible artists and songwriters from all over the country and learned of their stories, and through their songs, their hearts. Music has always felt like the introvert’s fast track to friendship, and I feel like that friendships that were made here, through the share d experience of art, are lifelong.”

“At the same time,” she continued, “the sheer experience of being there, in this wide expanse of nature and rolling hills and clods so big they leave shadows that you can’t see the end of on the plains … the beauty of the ranch, and the community that occupies it and keeps it a safe haven for musicians and artists to share their craft, is equally invigorating and inspiring.” Built said she has already written more since she returned home, much of it inspired by what she saw.

“Add on the generosity of so, so many people – most notably, Tom and Pat McDaniel, who not only put on the event and hosted us at their ranch, but also doubled the prize money to soften the blow that COVID-19 left upon most musicians’ incomes – and you get the true picture of what Songwriter Serenade is all about – the love and appreciation of performance and song,” Buist continued.

A violin, viola, bass, upright bass, guitar and mandolin player, Buist has also provided strings accompaniment for other artists’ recordings. She and her bandmate Katie Larson (a cellist) also write and arrange for orchestras and symphonies, commercial sync, and movie scores. With her bandmates (who also include percussionist Michael Dause), she hosts and leads workshops across the U.S. as part of an effort to help inspire other young musicians. Buist has also written a manual on live streaming. As the daughter of a multi-instrumentalist father and a R&B vocalist mother, Buist developed an early interest in music and had become an arranger, composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer and session player by the time she was 16. She cites songwriters Neko Case and Kim Richey among those who have inspired her own craft.

Taking second through a seventh-place tie, respectively, in this year’s Songwriter Serenade were Grace Morrison (Rochester, MA), Sarah Peacock (Ashland City, TN), Daniel Neihoff (Paducah, KY), Shawnee Kilgore (Austin, TX), Sam Robbins (Nashville, TN), Campbell Davis (Nashville, TN), and Shanna in a Dress (Nashville, TN).

Prize monies were awarded to all of the finalists, while Buist was also afforded the opportunity to perform as the opening act during the judges’ show at the TR Ranch in Halletsville in the evening following the songwriter competition. The finalists and seven other semifinalists were chosen from among nearly 130 entrants spanning 29 states and Canada.

There were no fees to enter the annual competition that was established in 2007 to provide performing songwriters with a platform to showcase their skills before their peers, a panel of esteemed judges, and an appreciative audience of Americana, folk and roots music lovers.

“Everyone is a winner in more ways than one just by getting the opportunity to be there,” said Buist. “But if that wasn’t enough, the mentorship and guidance of the judges – Walt Wilkins, Susan Gibson, Sam Baker, and Josh Grider – was something we all had a chance to experience once the contest had concluded and we had some time to talk one-on-one with each of them at the ranch. Being able to play my songs before these incredible writers – the judges, fellow contestants, and many other musicians (and audience members) who comprise the Songwriter Serenade community – was an honor and a privilege.”