SolarFest -- slated for August 8-10, 2025 in Brandon, Vermont -- hosts a Singer-Songwriter Showcase. It’s free to enter and open to all artists who write and perform original music and are not currently signed to a major recording label.
Winners of the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters will embark on a Kerrville New Folk on the Road tour across Texas on Friday, November 8. Extending through Sunday, Nov. 17, the tour will include stops in Austin, Dripping Springs, New Braunfels, Wimberley, Houston, Kerrville, Fischer, and San Antonio.
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.
Twenty-four songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among a record-breaking 1341 entries, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 25 and 26, as part of the first weekend of the 52nd annual Kerrville Folk Festival.
Nashville, Tennessee-based singer-songwriter Halley Neal has been named the winner of the SolarFest 2023 Singer-Songwriter Showcase, which returns in July following a hiatus of several years. She and four finalists have been invited to perform of the festival’s solar-powered main stage in Brandon, Vermont on Saturday afternoon, July 15, and will also be awarded cash prizes. As the winner, Neal will be invited to perform a full set at next year’s festival as well.
SolarFest -- slated for July 15-16, 2023 in Brandon, Vermont -- is again hosting a Singer-Songwriter Showcase following a hiatus of several years. It’s free to enter and open to all artists who write and perform original music and are not currently signed to a major recording label.
Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2022 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 28 and 29 as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival, an 18-day event at the Quiet Valley Ranch in the Texas Hill Country.
Twenty-four songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2022 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among more than 500 submissions from around the world, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted at the New Folk Concerts slated for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 28 and 29, as part of the 50th annual Kerrville Folk Festival.
Fifteen songwriters have been invited to showcase their original songs and compete for prize money at the St. John’s Outdoor Pavilion in Schulenburg, Texas on Saturday, May 7, 2022, after being named as semifinalists in the 2022 Songwriter Serenade competition.
Several performing songwriter competitions are currently accepting entries. Although the Al Johnson Performing Songwriter Contest, Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition, and Songwriter Serenade take place in Texas, they are not solely for songwriters based in the Lone Star State.
Beth Snapp, a folk-pop singer-songwriter who hails from northeast Tennessee, took top honors during the 14th annual Songwriter Serenade in Schulenberg, Texas on October 2, 2021. 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.
Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2020 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 that streamed online October 10 and 11 on the Kerrville Folk Festival’s website, Facebook page and YouTube channel as part of a Virtual Celebration held in place of the annual event on the Quiet Valley Ranch in the Texas Hill Country. [To continue reading this article, including reflections from a couple of the winners, click on the headline.]
