Songwriting Context Announced

The 2012 Gathering in the Gap Music Festival offers area songwriters entry into its annual songwriting contest. A crowd favorite, the songwriting contest showcases outstanding, but under-recognized, performing songwriters who represent the spirit and traditions of Appalachian culture. Gathering in the Gap will be held at the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park in Big Stone Gap on Saturday, May 26th.

Song topics include songs relative to Americana and related topics and topical songs about historic or current events. Song genres should have roots in Appalachian culture, such as Old-Time, Folk, Bluegrass, Country, Gospel, Blues, and Rockabilly. A panel of professional songwriters, publishers, or other music industry professionals will judge entries based on the following criteria: originality, lyrics, melody, and relevance to criteria. Music production and performance quality of submittal are not considered.

From the original mailed cd entries, panelists will choose ten finalists, who will compete on the main stage in the Gathering in the Gap’s songwriting contest at 2pm. Each finalist will be given a free-access ticket to the festival, along with a festival t-shirt.

The first-place winner will receive a 5-hour recording session courtesy of the Grammy-award-winning recording studio, Maggard Sound of Big Stone Gap, and the top three winners will also receive cash prizes and plaques.

The entry deadline is April 17th, 2012 by 4 p.m. with an entry fee of $10 for the first song and $5 for a second song. Please send a cd copy of the submission with a check or money order payable to the Friends of the Southwest Virginia Museum, PO Box 294, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219 or drop off during business hours at the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park in Big Stone Gap, VA.  All entries must arrive by deadline, not by postmark.

For a complete set of competition rules, a schedule of events, or a downloadable registration form, please visit the festival website at www.gatheringinthegapmusicfestival.com and click on “Songwriting Contest.”  For more information about the songwriting contest or festival events, please call the Museum at 276-523-1322.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 at 10:41 AM and is filed under Contest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.