New York, NY. October 20, 2011. This evening, a panel of judges at New York’s Winter Garden in the World Financial Center chose Arthur Alligood as the overall grand prize winner of the tenth annual Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. Alligood, from the small town of White House, TN about 30 minutes outside Nashville, was chosen from over 2,000 entries and selected from 12 finalists who had been invited to compete in the live performance and songwriting competition here.

“Being a part of the contest this year was humbling,” said Alligood. “There were so many talented people involved and I feel fortunate to have won the grand prize.  I’m really excited about working with Mikal on a new EP.”

Arthur Alligood, 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest grand prize winner

As the grand prize winner, Alligood will go into the studio with producer, songwriter and hitmaker Mikal Blue (James Blunt, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat) to record an EP that will be released on Brooklyn’s NewSong Recordings label.

“Arthur is exactly the kind of artist I was hoping to meet thru the NewSong Contest,” stated Blue. “While remaining very true to his art, his lyrical and melodic sensibilities make his songs very accessible and his rich vocal tone captivates the listener. I can’t wait to see what we come up with in the studio!”

Additionally, Arthur will perform live on an internationally broadcast Mountain Stage show on NPR, hosted by Larry Groce who served as one of the contest’s judges.

“Arthur Alligood came out on top of an extremely strong group of five finalists that were chosen from a field of over 2,000 contest entries,” said Groce. “His performances are subtle and powerful, his songs are original and he’s an artist who knows who he is and is not afraid to do things his own way. I look forward to having him as a guest on Mountain Stage.”

Now in its tenth year, the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest has quickly evolved to become one of the premier showcases of emerging performing songwriters in North America. It has helped launch the careers of such acclaimed artists as Ingrid Michaelson, Jeff Ellis, Diana Jones and last year’s winner Amber Rubarth, whose grand prize album ‘A Common Case of Disappearing‘ was produced by Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, Tom Waits) and is currently in the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart Top15.

“Arthur’s songs are characterized by poetic lyrics and strong, memorable melodies, and he delivers them with a authenticity and connection that deeply engages the listener,” said Gar Ragland, director and co-founder of NewSong Music, which produces the competition. “This combination of strong performance and songwriting ultimately separated him from the rest of the finalists. We’re excited to head into the studio early next year with Mikal and Arthur and create something truly unique and memorable together.”

NewSong Music is an independent music organization based in Brooklyn, New York. It’s twofold mission is (1) To build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across all genres of music and levels of skill, and (2) To identify the truly exceptional artists within this community and to work closely with them to develop their careers and introduce their music to a broader, international audience.

– To learn more about NewSong Music, visit newsong-music.com or facebook.com/newsongmusic.

– To learn more about Arthur Alligood, visit arthuralligood.com

– To learn more about NPR’s Mountain Stage show, visit mountainstage.org or npr.org/mountainstage

For media inquiries and interviews, contact Lauren Stockner:
lauren.stockner@newsong-music.com; 718-788-0323

This weekend, National Public Radio’s Mountain Stage is broadcasting its show featuring the 2010 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest Grand Prize Winner Amber Rubarth. Other guests on the show include John Oates, Blame Sally, Frontier Ruckus and Mooreland & Arbuckle. To learn more about Mountain Stage and check broadcast times and local affiliate stations, visit the Mountain Stage website.

To coincide with the broadcast, Amber’s new album ‘A Common Case of Disappearing’ – also a prize for her winning the contest – is now available on iTunes. The album, recorded by Grammy winning producer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, Tom Waits, Cold War Kids), was recorded in March of this year at Saint Claire Recording Company in Lexington, KY.

‘A Common Case of Disappearing’ – the Grand Prize album from 2010 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest Winner Amber Rubarth Releases on iTunes this Friday, September, 30.

New album produced by Grammy-winner Jacquire King and released on Brooklyn’s NewSong Recordings.

New York, NY. September 28, 2011. As the 2010 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest grand prize winner, Amber Rubarth won the opportunity to go into the studio earlier this year to record an EP with Grammy-winning producer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Norah Jones).

“I met Amber last October in New York, at the NewSong Contest finals,” said Jacquire. “I was a judge on the panel, and Amber really stood out to me. She has a wonderful voice, and she is a very talented performer. I think that there are a lot of good things in store for her. I am really excited about what we recorded, and I look forward to watch it all unfold.”

The EP soon evolved into a nine song album entitled ‘A Common Case of Disappearing,’ and features an All-Star cast of musicians that includes bassist Frank Swart (Patty Griffin), drummer and percussionist Marco Giovino (Patty Griffin, Band of Joy) and guitarist Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Amos Lee). The album also features two duets, “Mirror” with Jason Mraz and “City Starts to Bloom” with Jason Reeves. It was recorded in the Spring of 2010 at Saint Claire Recording Recording Company in Lexington, KY.

“I feel extremely happy and grateful that it was originally supposed to be a five song EP,” explains Amber, “and now we’ve recorded and are releasing a nine song album!”

The album is being released by Brooklyn’s NewSong Recordings, the partner label of the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. It will be released digitally on iTunes and other online retailers on Friday, September 30 to coincide with the international broadcast of her performance on National Public Radio’s Mountain Stage, an appearance she also won as last year’s NewSong Contest winner.

“This is a unique opportunity for talented artists like Amber to work with one of the top producers in the industry,” said Gar Ragland, NewSong Recordings president and the director and co-founder of NewSong Music, which produces the contest.  “And, we’re also proud to continue our decade long relationship with NPR’s Mountain Stage.  For 25 years, they’ve been showcasing some of the world’s best music performers and songwriters.”    

Amber will be touring the US, Europe and Japan this Fall and in early 2012 in support of the album’s release.

To learn more about the album and stream selections from it, please visit acommoncaseofdisappearing.com.

To watch the video documentary of the making of the album, click here.

MEDIA: For more information, please contact Lauren Stockner  at lauren.stockner@newsong-music.com; call (718) 788-0323.

—————–

About NewSong Music

NewSong Music is an independent music organization with the following two-fold mission:  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 to work closely with them to develop their careers and introduce their music to a broader, international audience.   You can find out more about NewSong and NewSong Recordings at www.newsong-music.com.

About Mountain Stage

Mountain Stage is a two-hour live performance showcase distributed each week by NPR and Voice of America and featuring some of the world’s greatest singers, songwriters and musicians in a relaxed atmosphere. Guests are musical legends, well-known artists, and emerging performers. Each week week five acts perform on Mountain Stage, usually two or three who were not born when the show began in 1983.

Mountain Stage hosted the first national media performances of Lyle Lovett, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sheryl Crow, Barenaked Ladies, Alison Krauss, Ani DiFranco, Phish, Counting Crows, Ben Harper, Ryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Keb’ Mo’, Lucinda Williams, David Gray and many others. Musical pioneers Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Pops Staples, Odetta and Brownie McGee graced the Mountain Stage.

A good cross section of what Mountain Stage does might be gleaned from a list of some of the guests on its anniversary shows (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700th shows and 20th and 25th anniversaries). They included: John Hiatt, John Stewart, NRBQ, John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Bob Geldof, The Violent Femmes, Tony Trischka, The BoDeans, Sheryl Crow, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Henry, Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Louvin, Hazel Dickens, Iris Dement, Steve Earle, Bruce Cockburn, Jesse Winchester, The Holmes Brothers, Tim O’Brien, Robert Cray, The Low Anthem and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. www.mountainstage.org

This evening, as part of the NewSong Emerging Artist series at the David Rubenstein Atrium at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 2010 NewSong Contest winner Amber Rubarth will be performing to celebrate the release of her Grand Prize album ‘A Common Case of Disappearing.’ The album was produced by Grammy-winner Jacquire King and recorded earlier this year. The concert is FREE as part of  the Atrium’s Target Free Thursdays.For more information on the tonight’s show, please click here. To order and learn more about ‘A Common Case of Disappearing,’ click here.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted this year. We’ll announce our remaining General Round finalists and the 2011 People’s Choice winner on Saturday, October 1.

A special thanks to our 2011 partners Mountain Stage, ASCAP, arts>World Financial Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, WFUV and Global Positioning Services.

To learn more about the contest finals event held here in New York on Thursday, October, 20, please click here.

Let’s face it. Not everybody’s good at meeting deadlines. And given the emails we’ve received this morning since closing the General Round deadline last night at midnight, we’ve decided to extend the deadline until midnight on Tuesday, September 20. This will be the final chance to submit your songs to this year’s Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, where great artists are discovered. Enter now by clicking here.

Congratulations to the following regional round winners! They’ll be representing their regions in our live performance competition on October 20 at New York City’s World Financial Center Winter Garden.

While the regional winners have now been announced, the People’s Choice competition is still on, featuring videos from ALL of this year’s regional finalists. The artist with the most overall votes will join these artists at the finals.

INTERNATIONAL	NORTHEAST	SOUTHEAST
Ria Mae Halifax, NS	Clarence Bucaro Brooklyn, NY	Christopher Williams Nashville, TN
MIDWEST	SOUTHWEST	WEST
Ellis Minneapolis, MN	Megan Burtt Denver, CO	Dudley Saunders West Hollywood, CA

THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT TO THE GENERAL ROUND IS 11:59 PM ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16.

While our Early Birds and regional round winners have now been announced, we’re still looking to fill the remaining slots left in the general round of the NewSong Contest.

Haven’t submitted yet? Submit online or through mail-in before next Friday’s deadline.

Questions? Send ’em to contest@newsong-music.com.

To all of this year’s regional finalists. . .thanks for being part of a great regional run this year! Together, we’ve brought over nine thousand voters (and hopefully, new fans) to your music. Keep it up.

Thanks for supporting independent music, and congratulations once again to this year’s regional round winners.

Click here to watch, listen and vote.

Click here to enter the General Round of the 2011 NewSong Contest.

Sincerely –

Gar Ragland
NewSong Director & Co-founder