We love to keep up with our past NewSong Music Contest finalists and winners, and, over the years, we have amassed a busy and hardworking group of musicians we admire.
NewSong songwriters live and perform across the continent and beyond, their work spans multiple genres, and these artists are always putting out new material. To keep track of all their news and upcoming shows, we will be highlighting NewSong artists in our weekly roundup.
We’ve put together a list of five shows, publications and recordings we think you should be paying attention to this week.
1. Ordinary Elephant – new album announced, kickstarter in progress
If they aren’t already, Ordinary Elephant should be in your music rotation. After being awarded the Folk Alliance International Artist of the Year award, the 2016 LEAF Contest finalists recently announced that they’re heading in to the studio with producer Neilson Hubbard to record their next album.
Hubbard has produced albums by Mary Gauthier, Sam Baker, Glen Phillips, and Amy Speace. “After meeting with him,” says the band, “we’re confident that our visions are aligning, and that he’s going to help us serve these songs, giving them only what they are asking for. This means that overall this record will be fairly stripped down, highlighting the emotional intensity of our live performances.”
Pre-order your copy of the band’s new album and support the project via Kickstarter.
Listen to Ordinary Elephant’s latest on Spotify. Learn more about the duo on the band’s website.
2. Andy palmer – new music video For “The Switch”
Andy Palmer announced the release of a new video for his song “The Switch,” created by award winning digital, animation and claymation artist John Grigsby. The striking video has been accepted in film festivals across the country. In addition to the film release, Andy announced his indefinite hiatus from the music industry and invites fans to join him at his last show (for now) at the Walnut Room in Denver, CO on Oct. 20.
Andy Palmer and Brie Capone shared a bill at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in August 2017 as part of NewSong’s ‘Exploration of Song’ series there. Watch a video of Brie and Andy singing Andy’s song “Off” on YouTube.
Listen to Andy Palmer on Spotify.
3. Brie capone – Carole King Tribute oct. 7
Brie Capone is keeping busy this fall with a full lineup of shows. This week, you will find her at Isis Music Hall on Oct. 7th, performing songs from Carole King’s “Tapestry” album, with Asheville musician Jesse Barry and others.
Recorded and released in 1971, “Tapestry” is one of the best selling albums of all time. It received four Grammy Awards in 1972. With an all-star lineup of musicians including Peggy Ratusz, Kelly Jones, Aaron Price, Zack Page, Micah Thomas, Dean Mitchell, & Kate Kinney Barber, this is bound to be another night to remember.
Listen to Brie’s music on Spotify.
4. NewSong recordings spotlight: Kelly English
Kelly English is a singer-songwriter from Hartford, Connecticut. A finalist in the 2015 NewSong Songwriting Contest, Kelly traveled to Asheville to compete at the LEAF Singer-Songwriter Competition. There, she found a home at Echo Mountain Recording Studios and partnered with Gar Ragland and NewSong Recordings to record and release “City Limits.” The debut album was released a year ago, in October 2017.
Kelly will return to Asheville later this month to record songs for her follow up album, and we can’t wait to hear what’s next from this talented artist.
Purchase “City Limits” on Bandcamp. Listen to Kelly’s music on Spotify.
5. SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN FOR 2018 NEWSONG MUSIC PERFORMANCE & SONGWRITING COMPETITION
Now in its 17th year, the NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition is one of North America’s premier showcases of emerging performers and songwriters across an array of genres. To learn more and submit, click here.
