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Archive for the ‘Contest’ Category
Cardinal Sons & Charlie Sexton arrive at Echo Mountain Recording to record Grand Prize EP
Sunday, March 2nd, 2014
The 2014 NewSong Contest Opens March 1!
Friday, February 7th, 2014
Friday, February 7. Asheville, NC. NewSong Music, producers of the annual, international NewSong performance and songwriting competition, announced today that the 2014 NewSong Contest will open for entries on Saturday, March 1. Details to follow.
2013 NewSong Contest Winners the Cardinal Sons to play New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Monday, February 3rd, 2014Congratulations to last year’s NewSong Contest grand prize winner the Cardinal Sons! It was recently announced that they’re on the bill of the 2014 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. They’ll be performing on May 2nd.
About the Cardinal Sons:
Balancing crunchy organ and guitar with steady-cadenced drums, the three brothers of Cardinal Sons cultivate a sound steeped in the musical identity of their upbringing. Made in Mississippi, later moving deeper south — John, Joe, and Dave play loud, folky pop leavened with three-part harmonies and a left hand for a bass player.
In the summer of 2012, Joe and Dave’s shared musical effort went into hibernation. Older brother John, hell-bent on seeing his brothers’ progression, decided to begin writing songs himself, forming a new band of brothers that laid latent all along. Their debut recording Cardinal Sons Make an EP honors the straightforward, whole-souled creative process that took root among them early on.
With the release of the EP came endearing videos, including “October Rolls,” Young Guns and Underdressed, an unmistakable dynamic and a quirky, but candid preview of themselves. Content reigns king with Cardinal Sons, as 2013 brings new videos, new recordings, and some memorable performances – inviting audiences into the family.
For more information about the Cardinal Sons, click here.
Chris Velan’s The Long Goodbye Makes the Dirty Impound 25 Favorite Album list of 2013
Thursday, January 23rd, 2014Congrats to NewSong Recordings artist, Chris Velan, whose most recent album The Long Goodbye was selected by as one of Dirty Impound‘s 25 Favorite Albums of 2013. The album was produced and mixed by Iestyn Polson at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Recording Studios.
Here’s what they had to say about it:
Chris Velan: The Long Goodbye
As exposed and brave as Joni Mitchell’s Blue or Elliott Smith’s Either/Or, the latest offering from Canadian songsmith Chris Velan tackles the tough but all too common experience of really, really loving someone and realizing you’re not the one for them. Where most of us crawl away to hide in the shadows, Velan took his guitar and notebook to scribble down some wisdom and helpful reflection from within the worst of times. To love and not be loved in return – at least not on the same level – is a pain worse than most blades or bullets can produce. But there is a balm in music that directly addresses the confusion, the lingering I-want-the-best-for-you ache, and undeniable hurt and sadness at knowing that despite one’s best efforts there’s no way to chisel one’s self into something other than what they are. The Long Goodbye is a succinct, beautifully drawn work that may well help folks move on from such hurts and hampering history. (DI Interview with Truth & Salvage Co.)
The album is in good company here; other albums on the list include releases by Akron/Family, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Jason Isbell and Hiss Golden Messenger. “I’m punching above my weight on this list of truly amazing releases,” said Velan. “If you enjoy top-notch music writing and want to hear what gems you might have missed this past year (as I’m realizing, going through this list), you’ll want to check out this curatorial gift from Dennis Cook.”
See the full list of 25 albums here.
2013 NewSong Contest Winner The Cardinal Sons Perform at Sundance Film Festival’s ASCAP Music Café
Thursday, January 23rd, 2014New Orleans based Cardinal Sons will perform at Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe on Thursday, January 23rd, 2014 as a part of their Grand Prize Winning package from the 2013 NewSong Contest.
As winners, they will also receive recording time at Asheville, NC’s Echo Mountain Recording Studios with producer, musician, and songwriter Charlie Sexton, and will perform on NPR’s Mountain Stage Show.
Other prizes include a Little Phatty analog synthesizer from Moog Music, and a handcrafted, made-to-fit Sonus Musician’s Chair from Brian Boggs Chairmakers in Asheville, NC.
Sundance ASCAP Music Café
The Sundance Film Festival presents the Sundance ASCAP Music Café, a dynamic showcase dedicated to exceptional live performances of new, emerging and established talent. Stop in during the day to hear a range of exciting songwriters and artists from across the musical spectrum in a program produced by ASCAP.
Back for a second year, check out select evenings of official Festival music programming as the Music Café presents Night Sessions. These special evenings feature a broad range of unique live performances that will provide the chance for music fans to experience their favorite Festival artists in a more intimate and personal setting.
For more information about Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe, Click Here.
For music, videos, and more info about the Cardinal Sons, Click Here.
PASTE Premieres David Berkeley’s New EP “Lincoln Center Live” – out 12.20 via NewSong Music
Thursday, December 19th, 2013For Immediate Release:
“Berkeley sings in a lustrous melancholy voice with shades of Tim Buckley and Nick Drake … as his melodies ascend to become benedictions and consolations, the music shimmers and peals.” – The New York Times
“Berkeley crafts his songs like watercolor paintings. Intimate and introspective, his gentle yet colorful melodies are graceful and resonate long after the last note fades.” – Creative Loafing, Atlanta
New York, NY – December 19, 2013
NewSong Music is proud to announce the December 20th release of a digital EP from David Berkeley’s concert at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium. The fine folks at Paste have an exclusive premier of the record in its entirety, which can be heard right here: http://bit.ly/1fpGyDh
Lincoln Center Live, performed at the close of 2012 to a full house, features songs drawn from Berkeley’s five critically acclaimed studio albums. Known for his emotional, intimate and inspiring performances, Berkeley was also at his comic best that night, and several moments of his unique repartee are showcased on Lincoln Center Live.
This is only the second official live release from the veteran songwriter, and for those familiar with the magic of Berkeley’s performances it comes none too soon. NewSong’s executive director Gar Ragland produced and mixed this collection, highlighting Berkeley’s vocals and finger picking guitar style and the ethereal guitar work of Berkeley’s longtime sideman Bill Titus.
As with all of his recordings, Berkeley’s elegiac, insightful lyrics take center stage. His gift as a songwriter and storyteller is that he manages to both reveal the sorrow at the heart of the human condition and the blazing joy and beauty in the same. It’s a duality that audiences experience at all of Berkeley’s shows as he tells uproarious stories between heartbreaking songs. His deft way with words prompted the San Francisco Chronicle to dub him a “musical poet.”
Lincoln Center Live is available through the NewSong Recordings site, allowing listeners to pay what they wish for a download. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation and its efforts to combat the effects of poverty in New York City. Included in the download of the EP is a beautiful, seven page digital pdf booklet, complete with song lyrics, photographs of that night’s performance and liner notes by music writer and critic Lee Zimmerman.
“Nearly one year ago to the day, David performed in the series we curate at Lincoln Center,” said Ragland. “This was not too long after the back-to-back tragedies of Newtown and Sandy. David’s performance that night struck me as a salve of sorts, offering equal doses of comfort, gravity and levity. Our aim with this release is to share that experience with a larger audience, and to help support and promote the inspiring work this holiday season of the Robin Hood Foundation, which provides support to those most in need in the New York City area.”
About David Berkeley:
Recently featured on Public Radio International’s This American Life, The Huffington Post, Mountain Stage, Acoustic Cafe, and Art of the Song, David Berkeley has opened/toured with Adele, Mumford & Sons, Ben Folds, Don McLean, Ray LaMontagne, Nickel Creek, Michelle Shocked, Ollabelle, Dido, Rufus Wainwright and many more. Berkeley is the recipient of ASCAP’s Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award.
In addition to Berkeley’s studio releases, he penned a memoir titled 140 Goats and a Guitar, which accompanied his 2011 album Some Kind of Cure. Both written during the year Berkeley lived in a remote village of only 35 people on the island of Corsica, Goats tells thirteen stories, which led to the writing of the album’s thirteen songs. Within months of arriving in new home Santa Fe – his sixth in as many years – and still overwhelmed by the palette of reds and browns and the endless open sky, Berkeley wrote and recorded The Fire in My Head, his most haunting and personal songs to date. He is currently finishing his second book, and as with Goats, Berkeley is writing a song to accompany each story.
About NewSong Music:
NewSong is an independent music and artist development company founded in 2001 and now based in Asheville, NC. NewSong’s mission is to build and support a community of performers and songwriters across all genres and skill levels, introducing their music to a broader international audience.
newsongrecordings.com
newsong-music.com
davidberkeley.com
robinhoodfoundation.org
For further information, interviews, photos etc., contact Ever Kipp ever@tinyhuman.com
New Orleans’ Cardinal Sons win grand prize of the 12th Annual Mountain Stage NewSong Contest
Monday, October 21st, 2013
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NewSong Contest Finalist Q&A: Boris McCutcheon
Wednesday, October 16th, 2013
This is a truly inspiring and insightful interview from NewSong Contest finalist Boris McCutcheon. We are honored to have Boris as a part of the contest and look forward to all of the finalists performing on October 19th at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in NYC. 1. From reading your bio, it is clear that you draw a significant amount of your songwriting inspiration from the landscape that surrounds your home in New Mexico, and from your experiences throughout the US. What is it about natural beauty that drives you to write music?
Deep connection to the woods is something that has always saved me when I was angry or felt like an outcast, which was a lot in my childhood. Sometimes I am more sensitive to the changes of the seasons and to the voice of the land. This latest album was inspired by a very intense fall in New Mexico from a rush of impending upheaval in my off-the-grid existence. There were underpinnings happening in my life and maybe I was also reacting to a force that was coming to me directly from the earth itself. It always runs the risk of sounding cheesy, but it is true and my music is written by it sometimes. It writes itself. I just try to capture it.
2. How would you describe your experience as a NewSong Contest Regional Finalist? What similarities and connections, if any, did you find between your music and the music of other artists in your region? To other finalists who will join you at the finals in New York in October?
I am touched and honored to have been selected. In New Mexico, I have been praised and shown support for this accomplishment. Folks have expressed their excitement and relief that my songs might possibly reach a greater audience in the States. Someone even went as far as to write a magazine article about my music going to New York as a mystical earth prophecy. To be honest I have been too busy to even check the other finalists out. I will try and make sure that I do.
3. You started out as a poet but then switched to songwriting – what was that transition like? It seem they would be very connected. What are the similarities you see? Differences?
I discovered in high school that I could express myself well with poetry. A woman came to the school and did a workshop and I was blown away by her. I wrote endlessly for that entire year and then became the poetry editor for our high school literary magazine. I was pretty cocky and thought myself a lot better than I actually was. However, this false sense of confidence got me into College in Vermont and then later into University of California at Santa Cruz. I could not keep up with the workload and found myself more and more creating songs from my poetry. It took me a long time to understand how to write a good song and how more disciplined the process can be than a stream of consciousness outpouring. I also discovered I could reach more people with song.
4. Lincoln Center is widely renowned as one of the world’s greatest venues for the performing arts. With the NewSong Contest live performance finals taking place on Oct 19th, what does the opportunity to perform at Lincoln Center mean to you?
Thank God I had the sense this time to invite Salt Lick member Susan Holmes on upright bass. I wanted to take her last time but I was too broke and was having a second baby with my wife Laura. (Hectic wonderful times.) Looking back I was so damn nervous to be playing first I did not play as well as I should have. Once again, I am pleased as can be and proud to perform some good songs with the bonus of bringing one of the finest bass players in the Southwest. What can I say? It’s about damn time we played there. I will enjoy it and tell my children about it. I am lucky and honored and feel like I have a mission of some kind not yet revealed altogether.
Q&A with NewSong Contest ‘People’s Choice’ Winner Victoria Vox
Tuesday, October 15th, 2013
We are very excited to have this year’s People’s Choice winner, Victoria Vox as a 2013 NewSong Contest Finalist! Victoria received the most votes of the 60 Regional Finalists to move on to the live performance finals at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in NYC on October 19th. We had the opportunity to ask Victoria some questions and are happy to share her answers with you. Read the full interview below and click here for more info about Victoria and her music.
1. Victoria, you are this year’s NewSong Contest People’s Choice Winner. Your fans voted and propelled you to the live performance finals in New York City, congratulations! Do you have a message for your fans?
Thank you 🙂 I think I have the best fans ever. I actually prefer to call them “supporters.” Having them turn out in the polls to vote for me only reinforced that. I am so grateful for their constant support. They are the movers and shakers that get behind me or my projects. Together we make things happen 🙂
2. How would you describe your experience as a NewSong Contest Regional Finalist? What similarities and connections, if any, did you find between your music and the music of other artists in your region? To other finalists who will join you at the finals in New York in October?
I watched the videos of regional finalists in my region. It’s a tough way to really “hear” an artist. Some videos were really well produced and others rather basic (I mean, I did my video with my iPhone!). I’m looking forward to hearing everybody in person, but even more, meeting them. It’s hard to get a feel for a performing artist from one video, or one song.
3. You began writing songs at an early age on the guitar but you have since moved on to the ukulele as the primary vehicle for your songwriting. What was that transition like and why is the ukulele such a great fit for your style?
The switch to the ukulele happened pretty naturally. I began playing the ukulele in 2003, and stopped writing on the guitar altogether in 2007. By 2009 I performed solely on ukulele and feel that my songwriting improved significantly. I could be my eclectic self and use ukulele (with it’s limitations) to be more versatile and diverse. Some people may think that “ukulele music” is a genre. I do my best to break down that misconception.
4. Lincoln Center is widely renowned as one of the world’s greatest venues for the performing arts. With the NewSong Contest live performance finals taking place on Oct 19th, what does the opportunity to perform at Lincoln Center mean to you?
I’ve never been to Lincoln Center before. I value every chance I have to perform. Not only will this be a great opportunity to perform in an amazing performing arts center (with the other finalists), it will be a really exciting way to see the venue, from the stage.
Lincoln Center to host the 12th Annual Finals of the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest
Tuesday, October 15th, 2013Lincoln Center to host 12th Annual Mountain Stage NewSong Contest on Saturday, October 19.
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New York, NY. October 15, 2013. NewSong Music and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts are hosting the live performance competition finals of the 12th Annual Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. The event will be held on Saturday, October 19 in Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium, and feature a 2 PM matinee semi-final round followed by a 7:00 PM evening Award Round. Both shows will be free to the public.
