Entries are currently being accepted for the International Acoustic Music Awards. Now in its sixth year, the competition promotes excellence in acoustic music performance and artistry. Awards will be presented in eight categories: Best Male Artist, Best Female Artist, Best Group/Duo, Folk/Americana/Roots, AAA/Alternative, Instrumental, Bluegrass/Country, and an Acoustic Open Genre category. An overall Grand Prize winner also will be named.

A panel of judges comprised of A&R representatives and other music industry professionals will evaluate entries based on music performance, songwriting/composition, music production and originality. In addition to valuable products and services, the winners and top runners-up in each category will be featured on a compilation CD that is distributed to radio stations. The first 1,000 entrants will receive a free subscription from Broadjam, one of the contest’s sponsors.

The Refugees (Cindy Bullens, Deborah Holland and Wendy Waldman) were named the overall grand prize winners in last year’s competition and also took first place for Best Group/Duo for “Unbound.” Other top winners included Kate Lush, Best Female Artist, for “Isabelle” and Wayne Southards, Best Male Artist, for “Sad is the Union.” Katy Kinard (“World’s Largest Peanut”) placed first in the Folk/Americana/Roots category, Wendy Colonna (“Right Where I Belong”) in AAA/Alternative, Jeanette Williams Byrd (“Enough of You”) in Country/Bluegrass, Larry Pattis (“Eleven Doors”) in Instrumental, and Victoria Vox (“C’est Noye”) in Acoustic Open Genre.

To enter this year’s competition, artists are required to submit a CD containing one song and a lyric sheet (except in the Instrumental category) along with a $35 fee per entry. There is no limit to the number of songs and categories an individual or group may enter. For more information and entry forms, log-on to www.inacoustic.com.