NOVEMBER 12, 2009 ISSUE
MerleFest: 18th Annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest Now Accepting Entries
Submission Deadline February 18, 2010
Chris Austin, a Boone native, worked as a sideman for Ricky Skaggs and Reba McEntire playing guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle, before he was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1991. To honor Austin’s musical legacy, MerleFest has hosted the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest for the past 18 years. Photo submitted MerleFest 2010, presented by Lowe’s Home Improvement, is once again hosting the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. Now in its 18th year, the contest is an extraordinary opportunity for aspiring writers to have their original songs heard and judged by a panel of Nashville music industry professionals, under the direction of this year’s volunteer contest chairperson, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale.
Boone’s Chris Austin
Chris Austin, a Boone native, worked as a sideman for Ricky Skaggs for three years, singing and playing guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle. During that time, executives at Warner Brothers Nashville discovered Austin and offered him a recording contract. While releasing singles including “Blues Stay Away From Me,” “I Know There’s a Heart in There Somewhere” and “Out of Step,” Austin also developed his songwriting skills, as evidenced in “Same Ol’ Love,” recorded by Skaggs in 1991. On March 16, 1991, Austin’s life was cut tragically short when the private plane carrying him and six other members of Reba McEntire’s band, as well as her tour manager, crashed in the mountains near San Diego. Pete Fisher, then of Warnersongs and currently general manager of the Grand Ole Opry, and Kari Estrin, then MerleFest consultant and Pickin’ for Merle video associate producer, initiated the songwriting contest to honor Austin’s memory.
How to Enter
Contest entries are now being accepted and can be submitted by clicking to www.americansongspace.com/
chrisaustinsongwritingcontest, www.sonicbids.com/
chrisaustinsongwritingcontest or through snail mail by sending entries to PO Box 121855, Nashville, TN 37212.
Details about entry fees, eligibility and other requirements are available by clicking to www.chrisaustinsongwritingcontest.org. The deadline for submissions is February 18, 2010. To be eligible to enter, a songwriter must not derive more than 50 percent of his or her total income from songwriting or music publishing.
How to Win
Once submitted, a volunteer panel of Nashville songwriters, publishers and other music industry professionals judge songs. Judging is based on a song’s originality, lyrics, melody and overall commercial potential. Twelve finalists, three from each of the contest’s four categories, will be announced during the first week of April 2010. Each of the 12 finalists will compete on the Austin Stage at MerleFest 2010, which is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, April 29 to May 2, 2010. In addition, for the first time in the history of the contest, each of the 12 finalists will have the invaluable experience of a mentor session with Jim Lauderdale.
The contest recognizes winners in four categories—country, bluegrass, gospel and general. First place winners in each category receive: a performance on the Cabin Stage at MerleFest 2010, an acoustic guitar, a check for $300, two boxes of D’Addario strings and one-year subscriptions to both Acoustic Guitar and American Songwriter magazines. Second and third place winners in each category receive performance slots on the Friday night Songwriters Coffeehouse, as well as cash prizes, D’Addario strings and subscriptions to Acoustic Guitar and American Songwriter.
Previous winners of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest include Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, Michael Reno Harrell, Adrienne Young, Martha Scanlan, David Via and Johnny Williams.
For additional information about the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, call the contest hotline at 1-800-799-3838 or Laurie Hayes, CASC Coordinator, at 336-838-6158 or email laurie.hayes@wilkescc.edu.
Net proceeds from the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest support the Wilkes Community College Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. Since its inception, the scholarship has awarded more than $30,300 to 69 deserving students. The 2009-10 Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship recipients are Ian Tucker Francis and Dustin Rubio-Serrano.
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