Tag Archive for "Mel Bryant" - NewSong Music

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Weekly Roundup: NewSong Artist News 1/14-1/20

Monday, January 14th, 2019

Happy New Year everyone!

After a somewhat relaxing holiday break, we’re rested up and super excited to help keep 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

Big congrats to Mel Bryant for her grand prize win this past December at the NewSong Music Competition finals. As part of her prize, Mel 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. Other performers at the ASCAP Music Cafe this year will include Patty Griffin, Lee Ann Womack, and others in an incredible lineup of both accomplished and up-and-coming songwriters.

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. Blue Yonder’s ‘Rough and Ready Heart’ places in No Depression‘s year-end Critic’s Poll

Blue Yonder’s 2018 album Rough and Ready Heart (NewSong Recordings) has received many accolades since its early June release, and was recently counted among the No Depression critics’ ‘favorite roots music albums of the 2018.’ Recorded at Echo Mountain Recording Studios in Asheville, NC, Rough and Ready Heart introduces listeners to characters dealing with life and death, love and loss, memories and aspirations – with stories set to a pleasing arc of Americana styles ranging from barn-burning rockers to gentle waltzes to mournful ballads to inspirational anthems.

The Charleston, West Virginia-based band was in great company among the other artists included in the year-end poll. We encourage you to check out the full list and catch up on some great listening!

Read full list of ND critics ’ pick s here

Stream album on Spotify

Purchase album on 180g vinyl, CD or download

3. Critics call Rachael Kilgour “Folk Music’s Next Big Thing” // vinyl pre-order for “game changer” available Feb. 1

Rachael Kilgour’s latest album Game Changer will be released on February 1 on NewSong Recordings, and is now available for pre-order on 180g vinyl, CD and digital download.

Leading up to the release, the Duluth, MN songwriter is garnering praise from critics across the country, including a recent feature in Rolling Stone for the EP’s first single, “Holy Are We.”

“Kilgour’s unapologetic lyrics are a real treat.” – Rolling Stone

“Master crafted indie-folk.” – Billboard

For more information on the pre-order, join the album release event on Facebook and visit the Rachael’s website.

4.OUR FIRST ‘NEWSONG IN NASHVILLE’ SHOWCASE SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 7, featuring finalists from the 2018 NewSong Present: LEAF Festival Singer-Songwriter competition.

Mark your calendars, Nashville music fans! Join us at the first ever ‘NewSong in Nashville’ performance showcase with recent NewSong alums My One and Only; Carly Taich; Alexa Rose; and Beth Snapp at the Listening Room in Nashville on Thursday, March 7, for a night of stellar songwriting and performances.

In the meantime, check out the artists’ music by clicking their names above.

RSVP to Facebook Event

Tags: Alexa Rose, ASCAP, Beth Snapp, Blue Yonder, Carly Taich, Mel Bryant, My One And Only, No Depression, Rachael, Rough and Ready Heart, Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe
Posted in NewSong Music | 2 Comments »

Mel Bryant wins the 17th annual International NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition

Wednesday, December 19th, 2018

MEL BRYANT WINS THE 17TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL NEWSONG MUSIC PERFORMANCE & SONGWRITING COMPETITION

AS GRAND PRIZE WINNER, BRYANT RECEIVES AN EP RECORDING PROJECT AT ECHO MOUNTAIN RECORDING STUDIOS, RELEASED ON THE NEWSONG RECORDINGS LABEL, A PERFORMANCE SHOWCASE AT 2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL’S ESTEEMED ASCAP MUSIC CAFE AND MORE

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Nashville-based singer, instrumentalist and songwriter Mel Bryant has been named this year’s grand prize winner of the seventeenth annual NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition. Bryant – along with seven other finalists – was selected from nearly 800 entries to this year’s contest. The finalists performed at Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC on Saturday, December 15, in front of a sold-out crowd. The panel of music industry judges included Gar Ragland, music producer and co-founder of NewSong Music; Diana Ezerins, director of public programs at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and Elysa Marden, Vice President of Arts Brookfield in New York City.

“This year’s live performance finals of the NewSong Competition was a particularly special and noteworthy one for us,” said Ragland. “Not only was the caliber of performances and songs as high as it’s ever been, it marks the first time we’ve hosted the event here in Asheville, our beloved headquarters now for the last six plus years. Moving this event to Asheville from New York’s Lincoln Center was long overdue, especially given how amazing and appreciative the fans of live music are here. The energy, enthusiasm and support that the audience provided our finalists’ made for a really magical experience for everyone involved.”

As the grand prize winner, Bryant will receive a fully funded six-song EP, recorded and mixed at Asheville’s own Echo Mountain Recording Studios and released on the NewSong Recordings label. Bryant also receives a performance showcase at the esteemed 2019 ASCAP Music Café at the Sundance Film Festival (January 31) in Park City, Utah and a featured performance in the 2019 Arts Brookfield ‘Summer Plaza’ series in New York City. All finalists receive a Shure MOTIV microphone, and will be strongly considered for future ‘NewSong Presents’ paid performances across the United States.

Bassist and songwriter Bryant leads the Nashville-based indie rock band Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers. The four musicians moved together from Philly and New York to settle in East Nashville where they run their own recording studio, Electric Church Records, and work as the backing band for various local artists. Bryant competed in the NewSong Music Competition with her accompanist, Aaron Hicks, on acoustic guitar. Musical influences range from Fall Out Boy and Green Day to Laura Marling, B. B. King and the Allman Brothers.

“It was truly an honor just to be recognized as a finalist and to have been a part of such a wonderful night of music,” says Bryant of her win. “That show was really a career highlight and you could feel the mutual astonishment of all the finalists throughout the show— such an absolutely gorgeous group of musicians. Winning this competition could not have come at a better time for us; it’s so easy to get lost and discouraged by a career in music, but to be recognized by such a wonderful and authentic organization is incredibly heartwarming and life-affirming. I’m so excited to continue working with NewSong, and I can’t wait to see what this next chapter has in store.”

For the first time in its seventeen year history, the live performance finals of the NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition was held in Asheville, NC, 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.

For more information about Mel Bryant, visit the artist’s website, and listen to her band, Mel Brant and the Mercy Makers, on Spotify.

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

For media requests, contact Lea McLellan at leamclellan@gmail.com.

Tags: Asheville, Isis Music Hall, Mel Bryant, Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers, newsong, NewSong Music, songwriting competition
Posted in Contest, NewSong Music | 1 Comment »

Weekly Roundup: NewSong Artist News 12/10-12/16

Monday, December 10th, 2018

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.

The NewSong Music Songwriting & Performance Competition will be held at Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC on Dec. 15. Purchase tickets here. RSVP for the Facebook Live webcast of the finals.

1. Meet our 2018 NEwSong competition Finalists (and judges!) on the blog

We hope you have enjoyed meeting our 2018 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition finalists on our blog this week. We’ve been sharing videos, artist links and interviews with all of the artists who will compete at Isis Music Hall on Dec. 15.

Visit the blog to read our interviews with Alex Wong; Alice Howe; Carly Taich; Kaiti Jones; Liz Frame, Mel Bryant and Suzie Brown, as well as an interview with our guest performer and 2016 grand prize winner, Wilder Adkins.

Stay tuned this week for interviews with our judges.

2. Crys Matthews — New tour dates announced

Crys Matthews, grand prize winner of the 2017 NewSong Music Competition, is back on the road, this time playing shows mostly in the Northeast, along songwriter Chris Pureka. Her first show is Thursday Dec. 13 at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA.

Vist Crys’s website for full list of tour dates.

3. No depression Year-end readers poll — deadline is 12/14

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 and Ready Heart” from Blue Yonder (NewSong Recordings, 2018); “Don’t Apologize” from Beth Snapp (NewSong Recordings, 2018); “Idaho” from 2017 NewSong finalist David Robert King; and “White Tiger” from NewSong 2007 finalist Ana Egge.

Click here for album links and instructions on how to vote.

4. Wilder Adkins — guest performance at 2018 NewSong Music competition & Listen: ‘Christmas and chill’ spotify playlist

Birmingham, Alabama-based songwriter Wilder Adkins will travel to Asheville on Dec. 15 to be our guest performer at the 2018 NewSong Music Competition at Isis Music Hall.

Adkins received the grand prize in 2016 and has this to say about his NewSong win: “I really have gotten a lot of opportunities to play in some neat venues, and all that really pads the resumé. … Getting to record at Echo Mountain is cool – it’s a world class recording studio.”

Read the full interview with Adkins here, and be sure to check out his new Spotify playlist, “Christmas and Chill,” which features Adkins’s rendition of the traditional hymn “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.”

5. NewSong founder Gar Ragland featured in “Capital at play” magazine

Curious about the history of NewSong Music? An article titled “Production Line” in Capital at Play Magazine, gives an in-depth view of the story behind the competition and record label, which has grown considerably since its beginnings as Mountain Stage NewSong Festival in 2001.

“Over the past 10 years or so it has become an increasingly well-respected for emerging artists,” says Ragland in the article. “Last year we had more than 5,000 artists enter the competition. I’m continually surprised by the caliber of artists we attract.”

Read the full article here.

Tags: Alex Wong, Alice Howe, Capital at Play, Carly Taich, crys matthews, Gar Ragland, Kaiti Jones, Liz Frame, Mel Bryant, newsong, NewSong Music, No Depression, No Depression year-end readers poll, Suzie Brown, Wilder Adkins
Posted in NewSong Music | 3 Comments »

Meet 2018 NewSong Competition finalist: Mel Bryant

Thursday, December 6th, 2018

Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers are a Nashville-based indie rock band led by bassist and songwriter Mel Bryant. The four musicians moved together from Philly and New York to settle in East Nashville where they run their own recording studio, Electric Church Records, and work as the backing band for various local artists. Mel will travel to Asheville to compete in the NewSong Music Competition with her accompanist, Aaron Hicks, on acoustic guitar.

We asked Mel some questions about her 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?

The recognition as a songwriter is so heartwarming and self-affirming in the midst of self doubt and those pesky feelings that we don’t deserve to do this thing we love to do. I’m really excited to connect with like-minded songwriters for future collaborations and play in a really awesome Asheville venue!

What is your songwriting process like? Who inspires you?

My songwriting process is fairly inconsistent, but usually starts with a lyrical idea: something short like a sentence or even a word pairing, and maybe a rhyming scheme along with that, something that I thought of during my daily life, working as a server at a brunch place, or out of things I’ve overheard or read somewhere. I usually flesh it out on a guitar or just with my voice, and then will refine it with another member of my band, or with my entire band, if I think the song would gel with my bandmates.

Some of my biggest inspirations growing up were punk rock bands like Green Day and Fall Out Boy, along with folk songwriters like Laura Marling, Joni Mitchell, etc, but as I got older and delved into other genres, some big influences have been blues artists like B. B. King, classic rock bands like the Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, etc. Lately, the low-key, heartfelt indie rock vein has informed a lot of my writing, with artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Pinegrove.

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

We released our debut single In My Head in October and we hope to have a lot more music out later in 2019. We are nearly finished building our home studio, which we plan to use to record and film ourselves for weekly videos and to record other musicians in Nashville.

Listen to Mel Bryant on Soundcloud, watch on YouTube, and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Tags: Asheville, Isis Music Hall, Mel Bryant, Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers, NewSong Songwriting Competition
Posted in Contest, NewSong Music | 1 Comment »