Archive for the ‘News’ Category

NewSong Music & Arts Brookfield present ‘Come Together’ outdoor spring concert series in New York City

Monday, April 29th, 2019

 

New York, NY (Tuesday, April 30, 2019) — Arts Brookfield and NewSong Music are proud to announce the New York City spring outdoor concert series ‘Come Together: New original music inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ last studio album, Abbey Road.’ The series is presented by Arts Brookfield, and curated by NewSong Music.

The ‘Come Together’ series features five free outdoor lunchtime concerts taking place every Wednesday in May. Each concert begins at 12:30 PM at the Grace Plaza, located at 1114 6th Avenue, just north of Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan . The lineup features some of North America’s most talented performing songwriters who represent an eclectic array of styles and genres.

 

“NewSong is delighted to be partnering once again with Arts Brookfield to curate this springs ‘Come Together’ series in New York,” says NewSong music founder Gar Ragland. “The opportunity to invite this group of talented songwriters and performers to celebrate – through their own original material –  the enduring legacy of the Beatles and their iconic last studio album is something we’re honored and excited to help bring to life with our friends at Arts Brookfield.”

All of the performers featured in the ‘Come Together’ series are members of the NewSong artist community. 

 

Ordinary Elephant (5/1) 
(2017 LEAF Festival Finalists)

Ordinary Elephant (Austin, TX) captivates audiences with their emotionally powerful and vulnerable songs, letting the listener know that they are not alone in this world. The collaboration of husband and wife Pete and Crystal Damore, their connection, and their influences (such as Gillian Welch, Guy Clark, Anais Mitchell) all meet on stage. 
www.ordinaryelephant.net

 

Kaiti Jones (5/8)
(2018 NewSong Music Finalist)

A native of Portland, Maine, Kaiti Jones spent four years in Nashville, forming her sound in the backyard of Bob Dylan’s ballads and Flannery O’Connor’s southern gothic storytelling before returning north. Jones’ voice is simultaneously earthy and ethereal, carrying the listener a few feet off the ground on a cloud of rich, sophisticated melodies while whispering truth and contemplating the human condition through good old-fashioned storytelling.
kaitijonesmusic.com

 

Crys Matthews  (5/15)
(2017 NewSong Music Grand Prize Winner)

A southeastern North Carolina native who now calls Herndon, Virginia home, Crys Matthews blends Americana, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass and funk into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies and punctuated by honest, original lyrics. Having been compared to everyone from Toshi Reagon to Tracy Chapman to Ruthie Foster, Matthews’ eclectic infusion of genres won her the grand prize in 2017 of the international NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition finals at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
www.crysmatthews.com

 

Ana Egge  (5/22)
(2010 NewSong Music Finalist)

When Ana Egge (Brooklyn, NY) got bit by the music bug as a teenager, she took matters into her own hands, building her own guitar, and moving to Austin, TX to observe, absorb and take musical risks. The striking depth and unusual maturity of her singing, playing, and songwriting got her noticed, and she recorded her first album, River Under the Road (1997) with the legendary western swing band, Asleep At The Wheel.
www.anaegge.com

 

Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers  (5/29)
(2018 NewSong Music Grand Prize Winner)

Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers are a Nashville based indie rock band comprised of lovers and friends. Led by bassist and songwriter Mel Bryant, their screaming guitars are met with a unique feminine energy that is equal parts powerful and sensitive, groovy and grungy, memorable and true. Mel uses the gift of rock music to promote thoughtfulness, respect, justice and love throughout the human community. 
www.melbryantmusic.com

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About Arts Brookfield

Arts Brookfield presents exciting, world-class cultural experiences to thousands of people for free each year in both indoor and outdoor public spaces at Brookfield’s premier buildings in Denver, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto, Perth and Sydney. From concerts, theater and dance to film screenings and art exhibitions, Arts Brookfield brings public spaces to life through art. ArtsBrookfield.com

 

About NewSong Music

NewSong Music is an independent artist development and music production company headquartered at Asheville, NC’s Echo Mountain Recording Studios. NewSong’s mission is to build and support a community of performers and songwriters across all genres and levels of skill, and to identify the truly exceptional artists to introduce their music to a broader, international audience. Its programs include a record label (NewSong Recordings), artist management services, concert production and the annual, international NewSong performance and songwriting competition.
newsong-music.com

2019 finalists announced in the sixth annual LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition

Sunday, April 21st, 2019

CONGRATULATIONS to this year’s LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition finalists:

Cat Terrones – San Pedro, CA
Demos Papadimas – Warren, OH
The Good Graces – Atlanta, GA
Grant Maloy Smith – Kingston, RI
Krista Shows – Candler, NC
Kristen J. Lloyd – Midway, UT
Parker Ainsworth – Venice, CA
Syd Caldera – Brooklyn, NY

 

 

They’ll be joining us at the 48th LEAF Festival on May 9-12 in beautiful Black Mountain, NC (just outside of Asheville) to showcase, network and compete in the sixth annual LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter Showcase & Competition, presented by NewSong Music.

 

On behalf of everyone at LEAF Community Arts and NewSong Music, THANK YOU to all the outstanding songwriters who entered your original music to this year’s program. Your songs and your dedication to your craft continue to inspire us all.

 

Weekend Flash Sale: Save 20% through Monday on submissions to the LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition

Friday, April 5th, 2019

Save 20% this weekend when submitting to the 2019 LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition.

This weekend is a GREAT time to submit your original music to the sixth annual LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition, presented by NewSong Music, presented by NewSong Music.

Now through Monday night (Apr 8 11:59 PM EDT), we’re offering 20% off the regular submission fee for this year’s competition.

To save some your hard earned cash, enter discount code LEAF19FLASH when entering your songs on our submission platform.

LEARN MORE AND ENTER HERE

Thanks and have a great weekend!

#singersongwriter#songwritingcompetition#newsongmusic#flashsale#leafcommunityarts

Announcing the 6th annual LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition

Thursday, February 28th, 2019

NewSong Music and the LEAF Festival announce the 6th Annual LEAF Singer-Songwriter Competition.

 

Friday, February 29. (Asheville, NC) – LEAF Community Arts (LEAF) and NewSong Music are pleased to announce the launch of the 6th annual LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition.

With a mission to identify and celebrate exceptional performers and songwriters from across North America, the competition aims to bring some of the continent’s most accomplished emerging artists to showcase, network and compete at the 48th LEAF Festival, which takes place May 9-12, 2019. Festival headliners include India Arie, Shovels and Rope and the War and Treaty.

The LEAF Festival Competition is accepting original song submissions now through Thursday, April 11, with discounted ‘Early Bird’ submissions ending Wednesday, March 13. 

LEARN MORE & ENTER

Judges will select eight finalists from the pool of entries, who will perform in the live showcase and competition finals at the Spring LEAF Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2019. A panel of music industry judges there will select the overall winner of the competition.


2018 NewSong Presents: LEAF Festival Competition winner Carly Taich

The GRAND PRIZE winner will be awarded a paid, featured performance (including lodging & accommodations) at the Fall 2019 LEAF Festival, held October 17-20 in Black Mountain, NC (near Asheville). The winner will also advance to perform and compete later this year in the live performance finals of the 17th annual, international NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition.

 

LEARN MORE & ENTER

Weekly Roundup: NewSong Artist News 1/28-2/3

Monday, January 28th, 2019

We love keeping you up-to-date on all the great shows, releases and collaborations that are in store this year for the ever-growing and talented community of NewSong artists. 

These performing songwriters live and perform across the continent and beyond, and their work spans multiple genres. To keep track of it all, we’ve put together a list of shows, album releases and other happenings that we think you should be paying attention to this week.

 

1. 2018 NewSong grand prize winner mel bryant to perform at Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe

2018 Grand Prize winner Mel Bryant will travel to Park City, Utah to showcase in the Sundance Film Festival’s esteemed Sundance ASCAP Music Café on Thursday, January 31 and Friday, February 1.

From Mel: “Post-NewSong, the band and I have been really invigorated with a new excitement about the future and our upcoming new music releases. We are really stoked to get to Park City and perform at Sundance. What I’m most looking forward to is meeting the fellow ASCAP Music Café artists and hearing their sets, connecting with them and exploring the Sundance Festival. We got a bunch of tickets for screenings that we’re really excited about. I studied media composition at the Frost School of Music, so music and movies have always been a very big part of my life.”

We’ll be doing a ‘Facebook Live’ webcast of her two performances from our Facebook page. Both shows begin at 2 PM MST / 4 PM EST.

RSVP for the Facebook Live webcast here.

See the full lineup and schedule of the ASCAP Music Café

 

 

2. Suzie Brown @ Nashville City Winery Mon. 1/28

2018 finalist Suzie Brown will perform at Nashville’s City Winery on Monday, January 28 at 7PM with Zoe Sky Jordan. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter is also an Advanced Heart Failure/Heart Transplant cardiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. After years of working hard for success in the medical field, Brown discovered a relentless pull towards music that has now yielded five albums, a succession of songwriting awards, featured placement of her music at retailers like Starbucks and the Gap, and invitations to TEDMED and other conferences around the country to speak about finding a vulnerability through music that makes her a better doctor.

Learn more about Suzie Brown and her upcoming shows on her website.

Ticket link: https://citywinery.com/thelounge/skylinesessiones012819.html
 
 
 
3. WATCH: Rachael Kilgour’s ‘Game Changer’
 

The Bluegrass Situation premiered Rachael Kilgour’s newest video, “Game Changer,” off her latest album. 

In Their Words: “After my divorce I took a long time to think about what kind of person I wanted to be and how best to share that self with another human. I obsessively deconstructed our ideas of romance and relationship and tried to pinpoint what exactly made a connection a healthy one. I met my current partner after a few years of living a fulfilling single life and was heartened to find someone who shared my sense of cynicism. With equal portions of self-awareness, hope and caution, we forged a relationship I have grown very fond of.” — Rachael Kilgour

 

4. Alexa Rose @ Isis music Hall (Asheville, NC) Thurs. 2/7

Alexa Rose, a finalist in the 2018 LEAF Competition and performer in the upcoming “NewSong in Nashville” performance showcase, will perform on Thursday, Feb. 7 at Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC. Moving deftly between complex dexterity and heart-tugging familiarity, Rose achieves a sound that pushes gently alongside the bright vocal experimentalism of Joni Mitchell and Joanna Newsom while maintaining the brassy attitude and simple refrains that run straight through American roots music from mountain ballads to rock n roll.

Learn more about Alexa Rose and her upcoming shows on her website

Buy tickets for the Feb. 7 show here

Mel Bryant to perform at the 2019 Sundance ASCAP Music Café

Monday, January 21st, 2019

2018 NewSong Music Competition Grand Prize Winner, Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers, will perform at the 2019 Sundance ASCAP Music Café on Thursday Jan. 31 and Friday Feb. 1. 

All are invited to watch the live webcast of the performance. Both shows start promptly at 2 pm MST (5 PM EST). Join the Facebook Live event here

About the Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe:

Whether it’s enhancing drama, building atmosphere, or underscoring an unforgettable moment, music is essential to the movies. The Sundance ASCAP Music Café honors the love affair between music and film with eight days of performances from artists and songwriters you need to know (and some you already know). Stop by to discover some great tunes and find a collaborator for your next project. Courtesy of your friends at ASCAP, home to more than 690,000 of the world’s greatest music creators, and proud partners with the Sundance Film Festival for 21 years.

The Sundance ASCAP Music Café takes place at 751 Main Street, Park City, UT. It is open to all Festival credential holders (21 and older).

Get to know the full lineup of the 2019 Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe at www.ascap.com/sundance19.

About Mel Bryant:

Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers are a Nashville based indie rock band comprised of lovers and friends. Led by bassist and songwriter Mel Bryant, they exude an infectious energy that is equal parts powerful and sensitive, groovy and grungy, memorable and true. The four musicians run their own recording studio, Electric Church Records, and work as the backing band for various local artists. They are currently self producing their debut album, to be released in Spring 2019. Their debut single, “In My Head,” can be heard on all major music outlets.

www.melbryantmusic.com
instagram.com/melbryantmusic
twitter.com/melbryantmusic
facebook.com/melbryantofficial

Join NewSong finalists for first ever ‘NewSong in Nashville’ performance showcase March 7

Friday, January 18th, 2019

NewSong is proud to announce our first ever “NewSong in Nashville” performance showcase on March 7 at The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville. Four past finalists from the LEAF Festival Competition will reunite for a night of songwriting and performances. 

Performers include Beth Snapp, who recorded her latest album, Don’t Apologize (2018), with NewSong Recordings; Carly Taich, who won the 2018 LEAF Competition and went on to be a top three finalist in the NewSong Songwriting Competition in December; Nashville-based duo My One and Only; and Asheville, NC-based songwriter Alexa Rose. See below for artist bios. 

Purchase tickets here

About Beth Snapp:

Singer-songwriter Beth Snapp might be considered pop infused roots, but her appeal has little to do with the box of a genre. It’s a connection. She flits around and between folk, bluegrass, pop, early R&B and jazz to create a unique sound with one purpose – to serve a story. Snapp recorded her latest album, Don’t Apologize, with NewSong Recordings at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC.

About Carly Taich:


North Carolina-based musician, Carly Taich, is tough to pin down. Just when you think you’ve got her figured out, she takes off in a new direction with her hand out-stretched, waving for you to follow. She may be quick but she’d never leave you behind. This patient yet resolute nature has been revealed, like most innovative things, to be a strength for the seraphic songwriter. She holds a magnifying glass to her own soul before turning it on others. She has an unexpected, laissez-faire way of tackling the human experience, then holding it with humor and grace as if to always be secretly saying to her audience, “You are not alone.”

About My One And Only:

My One And Only gathers it’s strength from Southern-Soul mixed with Curious-Grit. They’ve honed their sound in individual crucibles on stage, TV, radio, solo recording, engineering and producing. The merger brings true-to-life lyrics that bid you to wander through hidden scenes in their lives – to find heart, emotions, the real. Blanket the raw with hollow-body guitars and home-grown harmonies, and My One And Only’s music cuts through. My One And Only released their debut album “The Past Year”, produced by Grammy Award-nominated Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes,) and features all original songs by the duo – husband and wife Benjamin and Kassie Wilson. They have played stages throughout the U.S., as well as touring in Uganda, Africa, and have both graced the stage of the famed Ryman Auditorium in their hometown of Nashville.

About Alexa Rose:


Alexa Rose has the rare ability to find strikingly original melodies that nevertheless sound like they must have existed for a long time, stored away maybe in the ether of creativity, self-evident and awaiting discovery. Moving deftly between complex dexterity and heart-tugging familiarity, Rose achieves a sound that pushes gently alongside the bright vocal experimentalism of Joni Mitchell and Joanna Newsom while maintaining the brassy attitude and simple refrains that run straight through American roots music from mountain ballads to rock n roll.

NewSong artists featured in No Depression’s annual year-end readers poll

Saturday, December 8th, 2018

No Depression’s annual year-end readers poll is now open for voting, and this year’s list includes a handful of albums from some of our favorite NewSong artists, past and present, with two releases from our own NewSong Recordings label:

Rough & Ready Heart from BLUE YONDER: Acoustic Honky-Tonk Music (NSR 1801)

 

Don’t Apologize (EP) from Beth Snapp (NSR 1802)

 

Idaho from DAVID ROBERT KING (2017 NewSong Music Competition finalist)

 

White Tiger from Ana Egge (2007 NewSong Music Competition finalist)

Lots of great releases featured in this poll, so head over to nodepression.com and cast a vote for your favorites!

From No Depression: 

1) Select up to 10 albums from the list by clicking the checkboxes. (You don’t need to rank your picks.)
2) Choose carefully! Only one ballot per person is allowed.
3) When you’re finished, be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the ballot and click SUBMIT.

Please submit your ballot by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. We’ll report the results at nodepression.com soon after the polling closes, so stay tuned!

*** Click here to take the 2018 No Depression Year-End Readers Poll ***

Meet 2018 NewSong Competition finalist: Alex Wong

Friday, December 7th, 2018

From the artist’s bio: Alex Wong’s curiosity has a varied appetite, and he’s always fed it well. A steady diet of projects as artist, producer, composer, and fittingly, as chef, has taught him that the connections between seemingly separate disciplines can be a source of inspiration rather than distraction. Perhaps this understanding stems from his synesthesia, a rare neurological condition where the brain perceives relationships between unrelated senses. Alex sees sounds and hears colors. What a doctor might deem peculiar, his creative mind appreciates as a gift: this multi-sensory approach allows him to find magic in unexpected connections.

Following those connections has rarely led Alex in a straight line, but it has led him to a Latin GRAMMY-nomination (Miguel Bose), song placements in film, television (One Tree Hill, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Last Song) and major ad campaigns (Google, Aquafina), as well as production credits with Delta Rae (Big Machine), Vienna Teng (Universal), Elizabeth and the Catapult (Compass) and Ari Hest (Columbia), among others. It has led him around the globe, to perform at festivals like Coachella and Outside Lands, arenas in Mexico City and theaters in Europe and Japan. Read full bio on Alex’s website

We asked Alex some questions about his songwriting process and what it means to be a NewSong finalist. To purchase tickets for the Dec. 15 event at Isis Music Hall, visit our ticketing page. 

What does it mean to you to be selected as a NewSong finalist, and what do you hope to get out of the experience?

 
Being selected as a NewSong finalist is especially meaningful to me because it’s the first time I’ve put music out under my own name. I’ve been really lucky to have had a career making music as a collaborator, band member and as a writer/producer in support of other artists, but fear always held me back from releasing music under my own name. Even when I put a solo album out over 6 years ago, I used a moniker (A City On A Lake) because I wasn’t comfortable using my name.
 
I realized I’d grown up learning to hide … as a minority kid growing up in suburban U.S., we were taught to fit in to white culture and downplay our cultural identities. As a drummer, I learned my place was in the back of the band and that writing songs and being out front was a job for someone else. It’s been a long path to try and re-write that narrative, to stand in my own space as an artist and to let myself truly be seen in the world without the protective layer of a band or collaborator. The Quiet Voice was the first song I’ve ever released under my own name so it means the world to me that it was recognized by NewSong.
 

What is your songwriting process like, and where do you find inspiration?

 
For me, songwriting has always been a way to ask questions. I’m not really moved to write until I feel there is a question I’ve been wrestling with and can’t figure out. Sometimes I feel I’m most interested in trying to write (what I pretentiously call) “secular spirituals” because even though I’m not religious, the questions that are most interesting and that pop up in my writing the most are metaphysical in nature and often have to do with the relationship between life on Earth and the before/after life, if there is such a thing.
 
I am fascinated with why we are here, what lessons we are here to learn and whether we’ve been here before, and I think that seeps into my writing all the time. As far as inspirations, I used to have a big sign in my studio that said “WWTPD” (what would Tom Petty do?) and anytime I was stuck in the writing process I would just try to channel him. I always admired his ability to cut out all extraneous crap and his brilliant economy with lyric and melody. I also tend to worship Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, Radiohead, Quincy, Pharrell, Stravinsky and Chopin, to name a few.
 

What important news about your music do you have coming up?

 
I just finished my second solo album, called The Elephant and the Seahorse, which I plan to release in April 2019. I will also be releasing a duo concept album with Jesse Terry in 2019, about a town in Alaska struggling with climate change. I’m currently writing a musical called The Paper Raincoat with former NewSong winner Amber Rubarth and NewSong finalist Devon Copley (The Animators, 2006). I will be continuing to release exclusive content and videos on my Patreon site, which I adore. As a producer, I just started work with NC natives Delta Rae on their upcoming double album.

 

Listen to Alex Wong on Soundcloud and Spotify. Follow Alex Wong on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

 

NewSong Music to bring its 17th annual songwriting competition finals to Asheville this Dec. 15

Friday, November 16th, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

NEWSONG MUSIC TO BRING ITS 17TH ANNUAL, INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE & SONGWRITING COMPETITION FINALS TO ASHEVILLE THIS DECEMBER

EIGHT EMERGING ARTISTS FROM ACROSS NORTH AMERICA TO SHOWCASE & COMPETE

GRAND PRIZE WINNER RECEIVES AN EP RECORDING PROJECT AT ECHO MOUNTAIN RECORDING STUDIOS, RELEASED ON THE NEWSONG RECORDINGS LABEL

COMPETITION HELD AT ISIS MUSIC HALL IN ASHEVILLE, NC, SATURDAY, DEC. 15

November 16, 2018 (Asheville, NC) – For the first time in its seventeen year history, the live performance finals of the NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition will be held this December in Asheville, where NewSong Music has been headquartered since 2012. The move marks a new direction for the program, relocating from its longstanding host venue, New York City’s venerable Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

“We’re delighted to bring the competition finals to Asheville for the first time this year,” says NewSong co-founder and director Gar Ragland, a North Carolina native (Winston-Salem) who relocated the organization to Asheville from New York City just over six years ago. “The NewSong Competition attracts and features exceptionally talented emerging artists from across the continent, and bringing the program here to Asheville where we’re based is long overdue.”

Eight finalists – selected from advance online submissions from across North America and beyond – will come to Asheville to perform, compete and network with one another in the live showcase and competition finals at Isis Music Hall in Asheville on December 15. “Isis Music Hall is the perfect venue for this event,” states Ragland. It’s one of the best sounding listening rooms in the southeast, and the intimacy of the space is very well suited to the music we’ll be presenting.”

A panel of national music industry judges will select the overall winner of the competition. This year’s grand prize winner will receive a fully funded six-song EP, recorded and mixed at Asheville own Echo Mountain Recording Studios and released on the NewSong Recordings label. The grand prize winner will also receive a performance showcase at the esteemed 2019 ASCAP Music Café at the Sundance Film Festival (January 24 – February 3, 2019) in Park City, Utah and a featured performance in the 2019 Arts Brookfield ‘Summer Plaza’ series in New York City. All finalists will receive a Shure MOTIV microphone, and will be strongly considered for future ‘NewSong Presents’ paid performances across the United States.

NewSong Music is an independent music organization that aims to build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across various genres of music and skill levels, while identifying truly exceptional artists and introducing their music to a broader international audience.

 

WHAT: NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition Finals

WHERE: Isis Music Hall // 743 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC

WHEN: Dec. 15, 2018 // 8 pm

TICKETS: $12/$15 https://public.ticketbiscuit.com/IsisAsheville/Ticketing/357131

 

About NewSong Music

NewSong Music is an independent artist development company headquartered in Asheville, NC. NewSong’s mission is to build and support a community of performers and songwriters across all genres and levels of skill, and to identify the truly exceptional artists to introduce their music to a broader, international audience. Its programs include a boutique record label (NewSong Recordings), artist management services, concert production and the annual, international NewSong performance and songwriting competition. Its presenting partners include Arts Brookfield and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, the ASCAP Music Café at the Sundance Film Festival.

For more information about NewSong Recordings and the NewSong Music Competition, visit newsong-music.com/