Maine’s Jud Caswell, a 2006 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Contest winner and first-place recipient in last year’s Boston Folk Festival Songwriting Contest, continues to garner well-deserved recognition for his well-crafted songs, which he delivers in a warm & resonant voice, aided by his solid fingerstyle guitar-playing. On the heels of releasing Blackberry Time and winning the Plowshares Singer-Songwriter Contest in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania earlier this year, Caswell captured top honors in the Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the 2007 Sisters Folk Festival in Sisters, Oregon on Sept. 8. [To read the entire article, click on the headline]

Youth between the ages of 13 and 17 are invited to enter the 2nd Annual Voices of the Future Songwriting Competition, which was created to encourage and facilitate growth for young aspiring songwriters who reside in the continental U.S. Entrants will be evaluated on the basis of creativity, originality and artistry. A panel of music industry professionals will judge the submitted songs based purely on the quality of the writing and will select three winners, all of whom will be awarded two passes to the 2008 Nor-East’r Music & Arts Festival that takes place in Michigan in June, along with the opportunity to perform their winning songs on the main stage. In addition, the first place winner will be awarded a full scholarship with registration for two (the winner and a chaperone) to Lamb’s Retreat for Songwriters in Harbor Springs, Michigan, in November 2008. [For more details, click on the headline].

Nine finalists have been chosen for the 2007 Boston Folk Festival Songwriting Contest. Finalists in the adult category include Kevin Connolly, Marie Duprey, Reg Espinola, George O'Connor and Larry Pitt. The youth finalists are Matt Borrello, Sarah Borrello, Holly Howes and Casey Sullivan. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Ten finalists and two alternates have been named in the 2007 Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, a nationally recognized songwriter competition that is open to those who write and perform original music and who are not currently signed to a major recording or publishing deal. The finalists, each of whom will play two original songs on the main stage during the first day of the 17th Annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado on Aug. 17, are: Nels Andrews of Brooklyn, NY; Jim Beaver of Philadelphia, PA; J.E. Borgen of Boston, MA; Julie Clark of Norfolk, VA; John Common of Denver, CO; Cary Cooper of Dallas, TX; Julie Payne of Nederland, CO; Sarah Sample of Laramie, WY; and Amy Speace of New York, NY. Robby Hecht of Nashville, TN, is the first alternate, while Jenee Halstead of Boston, MA, is the second alternate. The finalists were chosen by a panel of music industry professionals, from among more than 675 entries, on the basis of the quality of original song composition, vocal delivery and overall performance. On Aug. 17, they will vie for cash prizes and the opportunity to play a main stage set during the 2008 festival.

Entries are now being accepted in the fourth annual International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA). Intended to “promote excellence in acoustic music performance and artistry,” IAMA is open to amateur and professional musicians and songwriters in various genres. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Twenty-four artists have been selected from among some 450 applicants to perform in the New Artist Showcase during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival on Friday afternoon, July 27, 2007. Appearing in this year’s Showcase, slated for noon to 4:30 p.m. on the Main Stage, are: Nick Annis, Derek Aramburu, Judith Avers, Ken Bonfield, Beaucoup Blue, Edie Carey, Sandy Cash, Joe Crookston, Anthony da Costa, Five2, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Joe Jencks, Jennings & Keller, Dawn Kenney, Lindsay Mac, Stephanie Marshall, Zoe Mulford, Chris O’Brien, Siobhan Quinn& Michael Bowers, Bob Sima, Vienna Teng, Heather Waters, The Whispering Tree and Randall Williams. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Eric Balkey may have won the 2007 Susquehanna Music & Arts Festival (SMAF) Songwriter Contest last weekend, but the 37-year old, self-described “traveling painter and poet” doesn’t let things like that go to his head. “I’m confident with what I do and believe that there’s great value in it,” he said, noting that, while nice, he does not need such awards and honors as an affirmation or validation of his work. For Balkey, who has been a performing songwriter since buying his first guitar at age 24, while completing his last semester in college, being named as one of the eight finalists in this year’s SMAF contest provided the impetus for him to get down to Darlington, Maryland “to hang out and share music with a bunch of friends and kindred spirits.” [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Performing songwriters in all musical genres are invited to submit entries in the sixth annual Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. The submission deadline for the general round, open to anyone from anywhere, is July 25. There is a May 18 deadline for entries into new live regional rounds for the Northeast, Southeast, New England, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic, Ohio River Valley and Canada. Eligible performing artists may submit entries in both a regional round (provided they live in the region) and the general round. All entries must be submitted online via sonicbids.com. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Eight finalists have been named in the 2007 SMAF Songwriter Contest and will perform Friday evening, May 11, during the Susquehanna Music & Arts Festival at the rustic Ramblewood Resort in Darlington, Maryland (near Havre de Grace). They are Erik Balkey of Pennsylvania, Karen Collins of Virginia, Stephen DiJoseph of Pennsyvania, Annie Dinerman of New York, Jennings & Keller of Florida, Glen Roethel of New York, Bob Sima of Maryland, and Victoria Vox of Maryland. The contest winner will perform on the main stage on Saturday, May 12. More than 30 other artists are slated to perform at SMAF over Mother's Day Weekend. For more information, visit www.smaf.info.

The Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival (SMAF) has extended the postmark deadline for its singer-songwriter contest to March 25. The contest is open to singer-songwriters who are not signed to a major label or publishing deal. If interested, send a CD or cassette (rewound, please) that is clearly labeled with your name and the title(s) of up to two songs that you would like the judges to listen to, along with a press kit and lyric sheet , as well as a check for $15. to Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival Songwriting Contest, P.O. Box 139, Abingdon, MD 21009. [To see the entire article, click on the title in red].