Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. They were chosen by a panel of judges from among 24 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 near Austin and San Antonio.

2024 Kerrville New Folk Winners include (l.-r.): Rachel Sumner, Lucy Clearwater, Lila Blue, Robin Bienemann, and Lila Talmers. Not pictured: Sean Keel. (Photo from Kerrville Folk Festival's Facebook page)

2024 Kerrville New Folk Winners include (l.-r.): Rachel Sumner, Lucy Clearwater, Lila Blue, Robin Bienemann, and Lila Talmers. Not pictured: Sean Keel. (Photo from Kerrville Folk Festival’s Facebook page)

Robin Bienemann (Chicago, IL), Lila Blue (New York, NY), Lucy Clearwater (Lafayette, CA), Sean Keel (Austin, TX), Rachel Sumner (Boston, MA), and Lily Talmers (Birmingham, MI) will each perform 20-minute sets during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Saturday afternoon, June 1, and will receive cash honorariums, a mentoring session with a professional songwriter, some Kerrville Folk Festival swag, and other prizes. Singer-Songwriter John Flynn hosts the concert that is set for 1 p.m. CT and will also livestream via kerrvillefolkfestival.org (where videos of the May 25 and 26 New Folk Concerts may also be viewed), as well as on the festival’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. This year’s Kerrville New Folk competition drew a record-breaking 1341 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.

Now in its 54th year, the Kerrville Folk Festival 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, Hill Country bike rides, guided nature walks, yoga, beer and wine seminars, a Young Artists Performance Incubator, a professional development program for teachers, as well as a songwriters school and instrumental workshops.

A listing of all of this year’s New Folk Finalists was included in a previously posted article: https://acousticmusicscene.com/2024/04/17/finalists-named-in-2024-kerrville-new-folk-competition/.