We love to keep up with our past NewSong Music Contest finalists and winners, and, over the years, we have amassed a busy and hardworking group of musicians we admire.
NewSong songwriters live and perform across the continent and beyond, their work spans multiple genres, and these artists are always putting out new material. To keep track of all their news and upcoming shows, we will be highlighting NewSong artists in our weekly roundup.
We’ve put together a list of five shows, publications and recordings we think you should be paying attention to this week.
Halifax, Nova Scotia-based artist Rose Cousins is on tour this week in Alberta, and will continue play shows into the fall. Performances this week include the
Cousins’ 2012 album We Have Made A Spark won a JUNO Award, 3 East Coast Music Awards, a Canadian Folk Music Award, was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, and made picks/best of lists in USA Today, NPR Music and Oprah Magazine. Her music has found its way into several TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy.
Listen to Rose Cousins’ latest on Spotify.
Brie Capone was a finalist in our 2017 NewSong Songwriting Competition and the winner of the 2017 LEAF Singer Songwriter Contest. This soulful and accomplished songwriter has been playing shows around the US after the release of her 2018 album, If I Let You In.
Catch her next show at the Masonic Temple in Asheville, NC on Saturday Sept. 29 at 6:30 pm. For full event information, visit the event page on Facebook.
Listen to Brie Capone’s latest on Spotify.
The pre-order campaign for Kilgour’s forthcoming album, Game Changer, met its goal on Kickstarter last week. Two hundred and twenty-one backers pre-ordered $8,281 to help bring the project to life. The 2015 NewSong Music Contest winner, Kilgour has performed at Lincoln Center in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the prestigious ASCAP Music Café at the Sundance Film Festival.
Rachael’s new EP, Game Changer, is produced and mixed by NewSong co-founder and director Gar Ragland and recorded at Echo Mountain Recording Studios in Asheville, NC. “I believe in what I do as a songwriter and as a human being committed to connecting with others and building emotional literacy and resiliency through stories and songs,” says Kilgour of her work.
Listen to Rachael’s music on Spotify.
Wilder Adkins’ song “Side by Side” is featured on the “Starbucks Folk” playlist on Spotify. “Side by Side” is a tribute to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and a reflection on the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. According to Adkins, it’s “an anthem for peace and a call to keep hoping and never give up fighting darkness with the power of light.”
Wilder finds himself in good company on the popular playlist, among an eclectic mix of artists including John Prine, Shakey Graves and Laura Veirs.
Listen to the playlist on Spotify. Listen to “Side by Side” on Spotify.