In celebration of its 22nd anniversary, NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition will welcome eight finalists to Asheville, NC, for an evening of songs and connection on Saturday, November 18, 2023. The internationally recognized event, previously held at the prestigious Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, has since found a home in the mountains of Western North Carolina. NewSong is proud to partner with Citizen Vinyl, a multifaceted event space in downtown Asheville, to present the finale showcase.
2023 FINALISTS (YouTube + Spotify playlists below):
@maisceu_music (Lenoir, N.C.), @cloudbellytheband (Turners Falls, Mass.), @bethjamesband (Austin, Tex.), @natpricemusic (Austin, Tex.), @reecesullivan (Lafayette, La.), @senobiamsmithmusic (Midway, Ga.), @stacyantonel (Nashville, Tenn.)
Clockwise from top left: Damon K. Clark, Beth // James, Reece Sullivan, Natalie Price, Stacy Antonel, Senobia, MaisCéu, Cloudbelly.
VIP PACKAGE: Join us as a patron of the arts for a pre-concert gathering. Enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres, an exclusive meet & greet with this year’s finalists, preferred seating for the evening and a digital recording of the night’s performances mixed by our own Gar Ragland, Co-Founder and Director of NewSong Music and Founder and CEO of Citizen Vinyl. Doors at 5:30PM.
GENERAL ADMISSION: General admission seating will include concert style and cafe tables as well as some bar stools. Seating is first come first serve. Doors at 6PM / Show at 7PM.
2022 NewSong Music finalists (with NewSong founder Gar Ragland, center back). Image by Aaron Stone Photo
The finalists, selected from advance online submissions from across North America and beyond, will bring their musical chops to Asheville to perform, compete, and connect with one another. A panel of music industry judges will select one grand prize winner who will receive a fully funded six-song EP, recorded and mixed at Citizen Studios, plus 500 vinyl records pressed at Citizen Vinyl, and a featured, paid performance at Arts Brookfield’s Summer Concert Series in New York City in the summer of 2024.
Citizen Vinyl, established by NewSong Music director and co-founder Gar Ragland, is North Carolina’s first vinyl pressing facility, and boasts a variety of amenities including a full-scale recording studio, a vinyl-themed craft cocktail and coffee lounge, a record and art store, and more.
Now in its 22nd year, the NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition is one of North America’s premier showcases of emerging performers and songwriters today. This crowd-sourced effort seeks to identify the truly exceptional artists within our communities and to work closely with them to develop their careers and introduce their music to a broader, international audience while building a supportive community of performers and songwriters across all genres of music and levels of skill.
