KEN YATES (TORONTO, ONT)

Free Album Download!

David Berkeley •
Lincoln Center Live

This week’s *FREE* #MixtapeWednesday comes from David Berkeley, a 2010 NewSong Contest finalist. This album was recorded live in concert at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on December 27, 2012. Joining David on stage is noted guitarist and longtime accompanist Bill Titus.

The album was produced and mixed by NewSong’s very own founder and director Gar Ragland.

Click here to download.

#MixTapeWednesday

Win a Free 5-Song Entry to the NewSong Contest!

Let’s get the word out.

Share this image on instagram, facebook or twitter by simply clicking on the links below. Use #NSM2015 in your post and you could win a FREE 5-SONG ENTRY ($100 Value) to this year’s 14th annual NewSong Contest.

Make sure your post is public so we can see it. Winner will be announced on Friday at 3pm EST. Spread the word!

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Want to Perform at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, and Record at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Recording Studios?

Enter the 14th Annual NewSong Contest

#WhereGreatArtistsAreDiscovered

Tuesday, May 12. Asheville, NC. Eight singer-songwriters from across the country convened in the beautiful mountains of Western NC this past Saturday night (May 9) at the 40th LEAF Festival, to perform and compete in the second annual NewSong Presents: LEAF Singer-Songwriter Showcase & Competition. It was standing room only in the festival’s Barn venue, a historic wooden structure blessed with outstanding acoustics, history and vibe, having been constructed in the early 20th Century by the illustrious students of the now defunct Black Mountain College (whose alums include John Cage, Buckminster Fuller and Robert Rauschenberg).

The order in which these talented singer-songwriters presented their original songs was happenstance; despite having names drawn from a hat to determine the order just minutes before the program began, the energy and flow of the music from one performer to the next was remarkably cohesive and arcing, much like that of a favorite and well-worn album.

And while all the finalists played an integral role in the evening’s showcase, it was Duluth, Minnesota’s Rachael Kilgour who impressed both the judges and the audience the most; a packed house even awarded Kilgour the only standing ovation of the show after she completed her set in the contest’s second round.

“It was an impressive group of talented singer-songwriters,” stated Grammy-winning producer Steven Heller, one of the contest’s four judges. “The eight finalists are all winners. The grand star Rachel Kilgour, I hope, will become a household name, moving us with her insightful, emotive words and song.”

After the first round, Kilgour was selected along with Chad Elliott (Coon Rapids, IA) and Asheville’s own Brittany Ann to advance to the final and second round. According to judge Josh Blake, an Asheville-based producer, musician and president of iamavl.com, it was “the authenticity of Rachel’s performance, combined with her ability to describe her life’s experiences through her music, that allowed her to rise to the top of an extremely talented pool.”

“This year’s LEAF Contest received really strong entries coming from across the country and beyond,” stated judge Gar Ragland, the president and co-founder of NewSong Music, which produced the event. “The caliber of songwriting showcased at the LEAF Contest finals was very impressive, yet Rachael’s expressive and dynamic performance style – coupled with really well crafted lyrics and engaging melodies – set her apart from the other talent.”

“We’re also very excited to once again be able to support the wonderful LEAF Schools & Streets programs from proceeds from contest entry fees,” continued Ragland. “The LEAF Schools & Streets programs do amazing work across our communities in western NC and beyond, and we’re proud to support the program in this way.”

Rachael Kilgour performing an in-studio performance of her song ‘In America’ which she performed live in the second and final round of the 2015 LEAF Contest finals

As the winner, Kilgour will return to the LEAF Festival this Fall for a mainstage performance of her own, and she’ll also advance as a regional finalist in the next international NewSong Contest.

“I loved my time in North Carolina and at LEAF, thank you for the incredible opportunity! The tour of Echo Mountain Studio on Saturday blew my mind, and left me dreaming bigger recording dreams than ever before. I am inspired. I so enjoyed connecting with the other finalists and hearing their work. I think we all felt grateful to perform in such a sweet space to such an attentive and encouraging audience – a songwriter can’t ask for much more than that. I am happy that my work was received so well by the judges and by the audience, it is quite an honor to have been selected as the winner of the competition. Thank you for the recognition and for all of the work you do for folks like me. I can’t wait to return in the fall!” – Rachael Kilgour

Friday, April 10. Asheville, NC – Max Hatt / Edda Glass, Jazz-Americana duo, will take a break from recording their grand prize album at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Studios to perform a live studio webcast concert this evening, Friday, April 10th, at 9 PM EDT. To be released later this year by NewSong Recordings, the album is being produced by Pat Sansone of Wilco and the Autumn Defense. Max Hatt / Edda Glass were chosen for the recording session from the international Mountain Stage / NewSong Contest, held at Lincoln Center in New York City, where they were awarded the grand prize by judges from NewSong, ASCAP, Lincoln Center, and the producers of the upcoming LP.

“I was mesmerized by the music of Max Hatt / Edda Glass from the first moment I heard them,” says the album’s producer Pat Sansone. “They have the ability to create a deep sonic landscape […] with songs that possess a mysterious and soulful magic. I’m more than excited to be working with them.” “Max Hatt/Edda Glass often defied categorization,” said Gar Ragland, NewSong’s director and the album’s executive producer, calling them “arguably the most distinctive finalist act – let alone winner – we’ve ever had in the program’s thirteen year history.” In conjunction with the album’s forthcoming release, Max Hatt / Edda Glass will play on NPR’s Mountain Stage and at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

After the contest, the duo entered into an intensive creative phase to come up with new material for the album. “That was the best prize of all— to suddenly be immersed in creative work,” says Glass. “Gar and Pat have really encouraged and supported us to go after something unique and artistic,” adds Hatt, saying that the material explores new rhythmic territory, which they are thrilled to be recording with a quartet, featuring Clipper Anderson on bass and River Guerguerian on drums. Guerguerian, an Asheville-based award-winning multi-percussionist, has recorded on over 200 albums and film soundtracks, and has played with such groups as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Lizz Wright, and The Gipsy Kings. Likewise Anderson has played with a long list of jazz greats, including Michael Brecker, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Benny Golson. Based in Seattle, he is known for his virtuosic bass lines, and has already collaborated with Max Hatt / Edda Glass on the NewSong-released single ‘Occasional Summer.’  

“Our recently released song ‘Occasional Summer’ with Clipper is a taste of what we’re driving at here at Echo Mountain,” says Glass. “Tracking live in the studio with Clipper and River has been exactly the deep musical conversation we were hoping for— only different of course, because those magic surprise moments are what it’s all about. Now that the basic tracks are down we’re digging into the conversation between our jazz influences and these other textures and feels we want to evoke. We want it to resonate primally, immediately, in addition to all the deeper stuff that’s there musically. So with all of Pat and [co-producer] Josh [Shapera’s] experience in pop and rock, it’s a huge privilege to have their ears and ideas and direction. Combined with Pat’s innate sensitivity for what this is all about, I feel like something special and unique is in process this week.” For more info on Max Hatt / Edda Glass, click here. For more info on NewSong Music, click here. For more info on Echo Mountain Recording Studios, click here.

New York, NY. Tuesday, November 24. Among a talented field of singer-songwriters from across North America who showcased at last Saturday’s 13th annual Mountain Stage / NewSong Showcase and Competition, it was the jazz and bossa nova influenced duo Max Hatt / Edda Glass whom the judges chose as this year’s grand prize winner.

“Once again the caliber of artists who performed at this year’s NewSong showcase and competition exceeded what were already high expectations,” says Gar Ragland, NewSong’s director and co-founder. “Among this year’s talent, the songs and performance sensibilities of Max Hatt / Edda Glass often defied categorization, making them arguably the most distinctive finalist act – let alone winner – we’ve ever had in the program’s thirteen year history. We’re excited to introduce their music to a broader audience, and along with producer and musician Pat Sansone, to create a recorded body of work that’s as unique, artful and engaging as their performances were at Lincoln Center last weekend.”

Based in Santa Fe, NM and previously from Helena, MT, the winning duo’s influences range from “Girl from Ipanema” to Neil Young. At Lincoln center they played songs about high plains, pioneer women, and gunslingers. They also played songs featuring jazz guitar improvisation, including their original Bossa, ‘Occasional Summer.’ ”Longing across distance,” says Glass, “be it prairie or time or an unresolved chord— that’s what ties it together for me.”

The jazz influence comes as no surprise to Max Hatt / Edda Glass’s New Mexico and Montana fans, who know them first as Rio, featuring Hatt’s improvisation, Glass’s knack for Brazilian Portuguese, and the works of great composers like Cole Porter and Antonio Carlos Jobim. “The songs we play with Rio— Stardust or Girl from Ipanema — those songs were massively popular in their day. People would lose themselves in the sheer melody of it,” says Glass. “With our original music we want to draw more people into that listening experience again, both through the lyric and the composition. We want it to be immediately accessible and beautiful, but with the musical depth and richness of jazz— so the more you listen the more you get.”

“Pop music is on a well-documented trend toward simpler and simpler music that doesn’t push its melodic and harmonic envelope,” adds Hatt. “As a songwriter I’m trying to tell the musical stories that aren’t being told. Edda does the same thing with the lyric and the delivery. The trick is that it has to resonate, even as it surprises.”

As grand-prize winners, Max Hatt / Edda Glass will perform on NPR’s Mountain Stage, at the Sundance Film Festival’s ASCAP Music Café, and in their own Lincoln Center concert. They will also make an EP with producer Pat Sansone of Wilco and Autumn Defense, recorded at Asheville, North Carolina’s Echo Mountain Recording Studios. “The excitement of that creative collaboration is only just dawning on us now,” says Glass. “Doing our work— living in the creative zone— that’s the whole point.“

“It was an honor and a pleasure to be a part of last weekends NewSong Showcase,” says producer and musician Sansone, who served as a judge. “I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of talent on the stage that day, and I truly enjoyed meeting and listening to all of the artists in attendance.  It was a fantastic experience and I can’t wait to get to work on the EP with the winners Max Hatt and Edda Glass early next year.  NewSong celebrates great undiscovered songwriting, and this past weekend definitely felt like that…a celebration.”

This year’s panel of judges included Sansone, NewSong’s Gar Ragland, Lincoln Center’s Claudia Norman and ASCAP’s Loretta Muñoz.

“For more than 10 years, the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest has provided a platform for some of today’s most talented singer-songwriters to be discovered and take their music career to the next level,” says Muñoz. “As part of our mission to foster the next generation of great songwriters, ASCAP is proud to partner with NewSong in providing this opportunity. We congratulate all of this year’s semi-finalists, it was a very difficult decision…. the talent was exceptional. We’re thrilled to be able to showcase this year’s winners, the sublime Max Hatt / Edda Glass, at our Sundance ASCAP Music Café in January.”

Now in its 13th year, the NewSong Contest is one of the premier showcases of emerging performers and songwriters in North America, produced in association with NPR’s Mountain Stage. Its mission is to build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across all genres of music and levels of skill, and to identify the truly exceptional artists within this community and then work closely with these artists to develop their careers and introduce their music to a broader, international audience.

“There are so many of us listeners and musicians who want more from music, but we’re all getting lost in the noise— we can’t even find each other,” says winner Glass. “NewSong is narrowing the gap. Even before we went to New York, I was already really intrigued by some of our fellow finalists whom I only discovered through NewSong. Then to meet them and see them live— really cool. To create an atmosphere of mutual support and camaraderie, have the excitement of a contest, and do it all in NYC in two days time—  that is really quite a feat.”

For more information on NewSong, visit newsong-music.com

For more information on Max Hatt / Edda Glass, visit maxhatteddaglass.com

Come join us on Saturday, November 15 at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for the 13th Annual NewSong Showcase and Competition, featuring some of North America’s most talented emerging artists.

The show is free, and seating is on a first come, first serve basis.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE EVENT INFO.

Special thanks to oursupportive partners and sponsors Red Jacket Orchards, Mountain Stage, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, ASCAP, & Echo Mountain Recording Studios.

GENERAL ROUND WINNER	GENERAL ROUND WINNER	GENERAL ROUND WINNER
Daniel Shearin Fletcher, NC	Allie Farris Nashville, TN	Korby Lenker Nashville, TN
INTERNATIONAL ROUND WINNER	NORTHEAST ROUND WINNER	SOUTHEAST ROUND WINNER
Kim Harris Halifax, Nova Scotia (CAN)	Ryan Hobler Montclair, NJ	Laney Jones Mount Dora, FL
MIDWEST ROUND WINNER	SOUTHWEST ROUND WINNER	WEST ROUND WINNER
Corey Hart Barneveld, WI	Max Hatt/Edda Glass Santa Fe, NM	The Banner Days Snohomish, WA
EARLY BIRD WINNER	EARLY BIRD WINNER	PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNER
Dennis Ellsworth Charlottetown, PEI CANADA	Queen Esther New York, NY	Phoebe Elliot Nashville, TN

THANKS again to all of you who participated in this year’s program. We applaud the hard work and inspiration all the artists who submitted put into writing and recording original music.