Archive for the ‘NewSong Music’ Category

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Q+A with NewSong finalist Erika Lewis

Monday, December 30th, 2024

Known for her lengthy tenure touring and busking with beloved New Orleans jazz band Tuba Skinny, prolific songwriter and singer Erika Lewis has been churning out American originals all her own for the past several years. From classic country to cosmic Americana to dreamy indie folk, Lewis continues to dip her toes more deeply into an ever-expanding pool of roots music styles. Her new record A Walk Around the Sun is a testament to Lewis’ songwriting prowess and exceptional vocal ability.

Erika will join seven other finalists to network and compete at the NewSong Performance & Songwriting Competition finals on Saturday, March 15, at Citizen Vinyl. Find tickets here.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

Erika: Motown, Blues, Country, Jazz, Soul 

What inspired you to become a songwriter?

Singing and making up melodies have always been a sort of default mode for me. And I like poetry, so it was sort of a natural progression of self expression. Also, I was very inspired by other people making music around me.

If you could partner with another living songwriter to co-write a song, who would it be?

Liliana Hudgens 

What attracted you to submit your song(s) to the NewSong Competition?

I live in Asheville and noticed the competition was being held here. And I’ve always had a stop and go relationship with songwriting and just feeling very ready to put more energy into it, hopefully by working on a new album in the coming year. So I thought this contest would be a good incentive.

Do you have any recent or forthcoming projects to tell us about?

My first studio album A Walk Around the Sun was released in 2022.

 

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Q+A with NewSong finalist Paula Boggs

Saturday, December 28th, 2024

Paula Boggs has written and recorded four full-length albums fronting the Paula Boggs Band, and has also recorded two EPs. She is a voting member and a Governor of The Recording Academy, Pacific Northwest Chapter Board, and member of the Americana Music Association.

Paula and her band mate Darren Loucas will join seven other finalists to network and compete at the NewSong Performance & Songwriting Competition finals on Saturday, March 15, at Citizen Vinyl. Find tickets here.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up? 

Paula: I grew up Catholic but my mom was African Methodist Episcopal, so in my home I heard the music of both faith traditions. My dad was actually a cantor in our parish church. Beyond church music we played mostly Motown in my house. By attending Catholic school I got exposed to folk music by Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel, etc. At 13, my family moved to Europe and while there I got exposed to jazz, classical, Europop, top 40s rock/pop and a broader range of folk, including the works of Joni Mitchell.

What inspired you to become a songwriter?

At age 10 I started writing songs shortly after learning how to play guitar. Guitar was the main instrument I heard when listening to folk music in school and its poetry mesmerized me. I wanted to do that too. The first song I ever wrote was “Ozymandias,” about an imaginary dog. I’m pretty sure Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Puff The Magic Dragon” inspired it.

If you could partner with another living songwriter to co-write a song, who would it be? 

Bruce Springsteen. The canvas he paints through song has wowed me since I first discovered his music in my college years. 

What attracted you to submit your song(s) to the NewSong Competition? 

Most songs I write, and our band performs, are rooted in storytelling. The NewSong Competition is prestigious and rewards songwriting so we decided to apply. We also love Asheville, having played at the now closed Isis back in 2017.

Do you have any recent or forthcoming projects to tell us about? 

We recorded our 5th studio album Sumatra last summer at Grammy-winning Tucker Martine’s Portland, OR studio. It releases in 2025 and features The Blind Boys of Alabama and Brandi Carlile’s longtime cellist Josh Neumann among other guest artists.

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Q&A with NewSong finalist Eliza Edens

Saturday, December 21st, 2024

On Eliza Edens’ sophomore album We’ll Become the Flowers, she seeks to understand what happens after the end. Whether grappling with heartache or a loved one’s mortality, the Brooklyn-based songwriter re-imagines endings not as finite events but as devotional experiences that give way to new beginnings. Edens takes inspiration from folk luminaries such as Nick Drake, Karen Dalton and Elizabeth Cotten.

Eliza will join seven other finalists to network and compete at the NewSong Performance & Songwriting Competition finals on Saturday, March 15, at Citizen Vinyl. Find tickets here.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

Eliza: The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Peter, Paul & Mary, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Eva Cassidy, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Norah Jones, Canned Heat, Bonnie Raitt, and lots of classical music.

What inspired you to become a songwriter?

The absolute magic and mystery of music. I was always so mystified as a child when I saw someone playing a guitar or a piano. I wanted to learn how I could make beautiful sounds with my hands on those instruments too. So I suppose, mystery. I am still uncovering the mystery of music and songs.

If you could partner with another living songwriter to co-write a song, who would it be?

Stevie Wonder

What attracted you to submit your song(s) to the NewSong Competition?

I read about it somewhere online and submitted on a whim!

Do you have any recent or forthcoming projects to tell us about?

I am currently working on a new batch of songs about queerness and grief. They are very genre-diverse and a lot of fun!

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Q&A with NewSong finalist Rai Omri

Thursday, December 19th, 2024

Rai Omri is a Western Colorado-based songwriter inspired by dreams, stories, old melodies, ambient sound, and the natural world. In 2023, she was named a Finalist in Kerrville Folk Festival’s Grassy Hill New Folk Competition. Her first EP, Astral Plains, explores the dream world, the cycle of death and rebirth, and life in a small town.

Rai will join seven other finalists to network and compete at the NewSong Performance & Songwriting Competition finals on Saturday, March 15, at Citizen Vinyl. Find tickets here.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

Rai: My mom loved listening to Gillian Welch and John Prine on long drives. My dad loved Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Leonard Cohen, Bob Marley, lots of Arabic music – a bunch of different stuff. He and I did a lot of dancing.

What inspired you to become a songwriter?

It was a hodgepodge of things – there wasn’t really one seminal moment. I had this amazing elementary school music teacher, Mr. Mayer, who made me love music. I loved poetry and took some poetry classes in college – I got very lucky and had a brilliant poet/teacher, Dave Mason. At the same time, I was getting into old folk songs and the history of folk music. I couldn’t really play guitar back then, but I started going to this guitar summer camp for grown-ups, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. I had already been writing a little, but one year I worked up the courage to take a songwriting class there with Patrice Haan, who’s incredible and created a really safe space to share and create. I’ve been going to guitar camp for 10 years now. All that and just listening to music I loved and admiring people’s songcraft.

If you could partner with another living songwriter to co-write a song, who would it be?

This is so hard. Honestly, it’s gotta be Dolly. I had a dream once that she came over to me and said, “Girl, you’ve got everything going for you — you should just go for it!” I was in a good mood for, like, a week after that – I had been blessed with a visitation from Dolly. I don’t think I write in the style that she does, but I’d love to learn from her. She’s a genius and a legend, and I’d also just want to meet her and hang out. There are LOTS of dream co-writes though, so many people I’d want to learn from.

What attracted you to submit your song(s) to the NewSong Competition?

I heard about the competition through friends. Jackson Emmer encouraged me to start submitting to things, and Olivia Ellen Lloyd was a NewSong finalist. They’re both awesome songwriters.

Do you have any recent or forthcoming projects to tell us about?

Yes! I’m recording an EP right now which will be out sometime next year, so stay tuned. I also recently recorded a couple live songs at this place called The Tank – it’s a huge, seven-story empty metal water tank out in rural Northwestern Colorado. It has something like a 40-second natural reverb. I had a transcendent time in there. I’ll be releasing those songs in the New Year, too. If anyone wants to keep up on things coming out, I have an email list you can sign up for at raiomri.com or on Instagram!

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Announcing the finalists for the 2024 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition!

Saturday, December 14th, 2024

Thank you to all of the talented musicians who submitted, and to the music fans who follow along. And special thanks for your patience and understanding as we recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene here in Asheville. We’re sorry we needed to reschedule and postpone the finals until January, yet we’re very excited to celebrate these wonderful artists and their music as our community recovers.

This year’s NewSong Music Finalists are:

Eliza Edens

(Brooklyn, NY) — On Eliza Edens’ sophomore album We’ll Become the Flowers, she seeks to understand what happens after the end. Whether grappling with heartache or a loved one’s mortality, the Brooklyn-based songwriter re-imagines endings not as finite events but as devotional experiences that give way to new beginnings. Edens takes inspiration from folk luminaries such as Nick Drake, Karen Dalton and Elizabeth Cotten.

Paula Boggs

(Seattle, WA) — Paula Boggs has written and recorded four full-length albums fronting the Paula Boggs Band, and has also recorded two EPs. She is a voting member and a Governor of The Recording Academy, Pacific Northwest Chapter Board, and member of the Americana Music Association.

R.O. Shapiro*

(Los Altos, CA) — R.O. (Raphael Odell) Shapiro started performing at an early age, first with dance and then musical theater, before picking up guitar at the end of high school. R.O. is currently based in Northern California, and always on the lookout for new communities and stages where he can share his authentic warmth and wit.

* 2024 Early Bird Finalist

Rai Omri

(Carbondale, CO) — Rai Omri is a Western Colorado-based songwriter inspired by dreams, stories, old melodies, ambient sound, and the natural world. In 2023, she was named a Finalist in Kerrville Folk Festival’s Grassy Hill New Folk Competition. Her first EP, Astral Plains, explores the dream world, the cycle of death and rebirth, and life in a small town.

Admiral Radio**

(Columbia, SC) — Admiral Radio is the husband-and-wife duo of Becca and Coty. Together, they aim to leave listeners better than they found them. The duo recently won first place at the 2024 Tucson Folk and was a finalist in the legendary Kerrville New Folk Competition.

** 2024 LEAF Competition Winner

Erika Lewis

(Asheville, NC) — Known for her lengthy tenure touring and busking with beloved New Orleans jazz band Tuba Skinny, prolific songwriter and singer Erika Lewis has been churning out American originals all her own for the past several years. From classic country to cosmic Americana to dreamy indie folk, Lewis continues to dip her toes more deeply into an ever-expanding pool of roots music styles. Her new record A Walk Around the Sun is a testament to Lewis’ songwriting prowess and exceptional vocal ability.

Marcus Fetch

(Birmingham, AL) — Marcus Fetch’s songs are heartfelt and raw, with lyrics that paint unique life experiences. Red House is a coming-of-age album that squeezes every last drop of angst out of one’s late twenties. Breaking away from friends and the party scene, soul searching through late nights, house parties, and wild road trips. Fetch unleashes this powerful musical performance writing and recording almost the entire album himself.

Lindsay Foote

(Somerville, MA) — Lindsay Foote is a singer-songwriter and producer from Boston. Her heartfelt music has been featured on CBS and recognized in several national songwriting competitions. When she’s not songwriting, Lindsay spends her time rock climbing, hosting dinner parties, and trying to keep her house plants alive.

Tickets are on sale now for the NewSong Music Competition Finale at Citizen Vinyl: Join us for an evening of songs and connection on Saturday, March 15. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE.

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Q&A with NewSong Earlybird Finalist R.O. Shapiro

Tuesday, September 24th, 2024

R.O. (Raphael Odell) Shapiro started performing at an early age, first with dance and then musical theater, before picking up guitar at the end of high school. He forming the band Odell Fox with Jenner Fox and they started touring almost immediately, cultivating an energetic and intimate live show experience that R.O. has continued to build upon as a solo artist. The band parted ways at the end of 2017 and R.O., then in Austin, developed the full-band, electrified sound that you can hear on 2021’s King Electric Sessions, his first release since leaving Odell Fox. R.O. is currently based in Northern California, and always on the lookout for new communities and stages where he can share his authentic warmth and wit.

R.O. is this year’s early bird finalist and will join seven other finalists to network and compete at the NewSong Performance & Songwriting Competition finals on Saturday, November 16, at Citizen Vinyl. Find tickets here.
 
NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

R.O. Shapiro: A lot of jazz — Louis, Miles, Monk… Ella and Billie. And classic rock — Beatles, Stones, Grateful Dead, Steely Dan. 

What was your journey to music — were you classically trained? From a family of musicians? Self-taught?

I grew up doing a lot of musical theater, that’s really how I started singing. I didn’t pick up guitar until my senior year of high school, but as soon as I got a few chords down I started writing my own songs almost immediately.

What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?

I think I was proud of the first songs I wrote! Of course, I wouldn’t want to play them now, but I know I felt immense satisfaction from finishing them, and sharing them with my friends. I’m still totally hooked on that feeling.

 


What is your writing process like — do you write lyrics first, or music? Do you compose on a particular instrument? Do you need to write in a particular space or do song ideas come to you at random times?

The beginnings of a song almost always come when I’m absentmindedly messing around on my guitar. I’ll find a lick or progression that I like, a melody to go with it, and then eventually some words affix themselves based on the rhythm or cadence of the musical phrase. More often than not, these lyrics will be related in some way to whatever thoughts or feelings which are already bouncing around the front of my brain. That’s how I find the germ of a song, and I expand it from there, usually in sporadic quiet moments over the course of weeks, months, or years.

Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — could be a show you played, a tour you took, a recording you made, a concert you attended, etc. Tell us about an experience that really stood out for you.

I actually started booking and promoting shows, even running sound, at a venue in Caspar, CA, a tiny town on the coast between Mendocino and Fort Bragg, three hours north of San Francisco. It’s now called Good Bones Kitchen, but used to be the Caspar Inn, a legendary roadhouse for decades drawing acts like Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and J.J. Cale. It’s been an amazing honor to work to restart the music program in that historic space, and really exciting to learn new skills and and gain a much better understanding of the ins and outs of the production side of our industry.  

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Q&A with NewSong Finalists Admiral Radio

Sunday, September 8th, 2024
Admiral Radio is the husband-and-wife duo of Becca and Coty. Together, they aim to leave listeners better than they found them. With a personal sincerity and honest performance, you might shed a few tears and roll with laughter. The duo recently won first place at the 2024 Tucson Folk Festival Songwriting Competition and 2024 LEAF NewSong Songwriting Competition, and was a finalist in the legendary Kerrville New Folk Competition, International Songwriting Competition, and more. Admiral Radio is taking leaps of faith to share their songs and stories with listeners across the country, inviting you to gather ‘round the radio in modern times.
 
Admiral Radio was the grand prize winner of the 2024 LEAF / NewSong Competition, which advanced them into the finals of this year’s NewSong Performance & Songwriting Competition.
 
NewSong: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?


Admiral Radio: Something that sounds just familiar enough that you can feel at ease, like an old favorite song your Nana used to hum down the hallway, but something new that you can’t quite place, that speaks to the times we’re in. Just two voices, close harmonies, and a guitar or two. 

What is the first album you bought, and why?

Coty: Baha Men, because who really let the dogs out? 
Becca: Selena, because Selena was a revolution and remains the queen of our hearts. 

 
Becca and Coty of Admiral Radio in a bed of flowers.What is one influence on your music that might surprise us?


Neither of us really grew up with the music we write and play together today. We discovered the heart of folk, roots, and Americana music over time and as a shared journey, and continue to learn more everyday.

What projects are you currently working on?

We’re about to launch our new album and Patreon, an online platform that allows us to connect with our community without the algorithm’s nonsense. We’re excited to build a monthly writer’s circle there, host livestreams, and just share in those ordinary little tidbits together. The album we’re about to release on September 13 is called Good Things Take Time. It’s an ode to the passing of time and what we can do with it, and not to give up on yourself, no matter how slow you have to take it.

Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — could be a show you played, a tour you took, a recording you made, a concert you attended, etc. Tell us about an experience that really stood out for you.

We’ve been jaunting around the Midwest for most of the summer in Soulie, our white Kia Soul. It’s been quite the adjustment to stay out longer than a few days at a time, but we’ve learned a few hacks along the way like keeping healthy road snacks and eating a bagged lunch at rest areas. (It turns out there are some really beautiful rest stops out there.) We’ve been able to see and experience so much this summer, but the biggest highlight has been getting to know a new region of the country and its people. There are some truly genuine people out this way and we’ve been grateful to feel so much kindness and support. Music is the great connector and we’ve seen that time and time again this summer.

 

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Slow Runner drops new single, “Farthest Star”

Thursday, August 22nd, 2024

A few days before indie-pop singer-songwriter Michael Flynn performed in the 2021 NewSong Music Songwriting Competition finals, he learned that his father had mere months to live. Flynn dearly wanted to win the competition so that he could share some good news with his dad — and that’s exactly what happened.As part of his grand prize, Flynn (known musically as Slow Runner) was invited to record an album at Citizen Studios, resulting in the deftly crafted, emotional, and ultimately hope-infused Yesterday Don’t Fail Me Now, set for release on the NewSong Recordings label on all streaming platforms on October 11, 2024.

An album release show will take place at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, NC — where the record was recorded and pressed — also on October 11. Show info here.

The second single, “Farthest Star,” is out now on all streaming platforms.

Despite being mostly written during the five month period that Flynn’s father lived with (and died from) inoperable pancreatic cancer, the songs on YDFMN are only occasionally explicit in their funereal inspiration. While soaking up time with and helping to care for his dad, “There was a lot of time for thinking about weighty things, death and time and love that pushes up against the limits of reality,” Flynn says. “And there was a lot of time for writing, going over lyrics in my head or picking out melodies on the old upright piano I learned to play on as a boy.”

YDFMN is a collection of pop songs that touch on feelings that transcend any specific loss, Flynn says. “Everybody has something they dread facing, or something they wish for, despite long odds, or someone they want to splash in a fountain with.”

When it came time to record the songs at Citizen Studios in Asheville, Flynn and co-producer Gar Ragland tried to fully realize what, at the time, felt like an ambitious and eclectic palette of beautiful sounds — bass clarinet, mandolin, congas, vocoder, and strings. Every creative decision was made with a goal of drawing as short a line as possible between the listener and the emotion the song was trying to evoke. There was a conscious effort to recklessly blend organic instruments with samples and electronic instruments with no thought about what might be “authentic” or fit in a certain genre. Favors were called in and friends from Asheville, New York, Nashville and elsewhere were cajoled into helping.

“Making the record was an essential part of grieving for me,” says Flynn. “It wasn’t just a recording, it was a barn-raising. It was an outrageous act of spiritual defiance, building something joyful on the ashes of a life well lived and deeply missed. The sound of searching for and cherishing what is essential even while it’s slipping through your fingers.

Interested in entering this year’s NewSong Music performance & Songwriting Competition, presented by Citizen Vinyl? Click here to submit your original songs.

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Admiral Radio wins 10th annual LEAF Songwriter Competition

Tuesday, May 14th, 2024

Admiral Radio — a South Carolina-based husband and wife Americana duo — won this year’s LEAF Songwriter Competition.

Coty Hoover and Becca Smith of Admiral Radio share a palpable connection onstage, and a desire to leave audiences better than they found them. At the LEAF Songwriter Competition, held Saturday, May 11, at LEAF Global Arts Retreat, they offered up sweet harmonies and deftly crafted lyrics that left few if any dry eyes in the room. For their encore song, after they were announced as winners, the couple chose to play off-mic, surrounded by the enthusiastic audience.

“The moment we pulled up to the LEAF Global Arts Retreat, we caught the wave,” Hoover says. “Everyone we passed was at ease. Having known about LEAF for so long, it was nothing short of an honor to be included amongst so many amazing songwriters in the LEAF Songwriting Competition — to win was even more surreal! LEAF is the epitome of community and culture colliding.”

As part of their LEAF Competition win, Admiral Radio advances as one of only eight finalists at the annual, international NewSong Competition, to be held in Asheville in November. Hoover and Smith will also return to the Fall LEAF Festival, held October 17-20, 2024, as featured, paid performers.

Submissions are now open for the The 23rd Annual NewSong Music Competition, presented by Citizen Vinyl. Entries can be uploaded here: https://www.newsong-music.com/contest/

“We can’t wait to head back to Asheville this fall to take part in the NewSong Music Competition and meet some more incredible songwriters sharing their stories with the world,” Hoover says. 

Award-round runners up:

Participating finalists:

Judges for the event, culled from Asheville, N.C.’s music industry professionals, included arts and culture journalist Edwin Arnaudin; tour and band manager and guitar tech André Cholmondeley; and artist manager and consultant Stacy Claude.

“This year’s LEAF Songwriter Competition was the most magical yet,” says Alli Marshall, NewSong Music’s artist communications director. “The song craft caliber was incredibly high. But my favorite part was witnessing the near-instant friendships that developed between the finalists — by the end of the night they were making plans to share shows in each other’s hometowns.”

Genres ran the gamut from folk and Cajun-Americana to indie-pop. Seven finalists and their accompanists traveled from as far as Louisiana’s Vermilion Parish to share their songs.

The LEAF Songwriter Competition is a collaborative effort between NewSong Music and LEAF Global Arts. It aims to identify and recognize exceptional performers and songwriters from across the country.

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Q+A with LEAF Songwriter Competition Finalist Admiral Radio

Sunday, April 21st, 2024

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