MerleFest Announces the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest Finalists

WILKESBORO, N.C. (April 4, 2017) – The  Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, hosted by  MerleFest, announces the finalists for the 2017 contest. MerleFest 2017, presented by Window World, takes place from April 27-30, on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C.
 
Writers of the following 12 songs, selected from over 846 entries, will compete on the Austin Stage in Alumni Hall on  Friday, April 28: 

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Bluegrass
Mike Bentley (Virgie, Ky.) – “Waiting at the Harbor”
Linda Jean Stokley (Versailles, Ky.) – “Cigarette Trees”
Matthew Hurd (Rogersville, Tenn.) – “Life Underground”
 
Gospel/Inspirational
Ian Meadows (Chester, Conn.) – “Faithless Preacher”
Kevin Hale (Brentwood, Tenn.) – “I’m Finally Going Home”
Paul Kelly (Santa Fe, N.M.), Buddy Guido (Mohawk, N.Y.), Willie Schoellkopf (Buffalo, N.Y.) – “Trap Door (In the Ceiling)”
 
Country
Carly Burruss (Cumming, Ga.) – “Communion Wine”
Mary Bragg (Nashville, Tenn.), Liz Poston (Nashville, Tenn.) – “Lucky Strike”
Erin James (Nashville, Tenn.) – “Wilted Flower”
 
General
Alexa Rose (Boone, N.C.) – “Borrow your Heart”
Catherine Backus (Bedford, Va.) – “Tomatoes”
Shay Martin Lovette (Boone, N.C.), Locke Griffith (Carrboro, N.C.) – “Bermuda Run”
 

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale serves as the volunteer chairperson of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest.

Now in its 25th year, the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest is an extraordinary opportunity for aspiring writers to have their original songs heard and judged by a panel of Nashville music industry professionals, under the direction of volunteer contest chairperson, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale. The first-place winners will receive $500 cash from MerleFest and a performance slot on the Cabin Stage on Friday night at MerleFest 2017.  

All finalists will also get to take part in a songwriting mentoring session with Jim Lauderdale and the on-site judges for the final round of this year’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. Those judges are lifelong songwriter Mark Brinkman; Berklee College of Music songwriting scholarship recipient  Maya de Vitry, who is a member of The Stray Birds; and  Joseph Terrell   of Mipso.
 
The first round of the CASC competition takes place in Nashville, Tenn., and is narrowed down to 12 finalists representing four categories: bluegrass, country, general and gospel/inspirational. The first-round judges were critically acclaimed bluegrass instrumentalist Chris Jones; North Carolina musician Jim Avett, who is father to Seth and Scott Avett of The Avett Brothers; natural-born storyteller Ken Tizzard; and Country Hall of Fame honoree Ed Snodderly.
 
Net proceeds from the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest support the Wilkes Community College Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. Since its inception the scholarship has been awarded to 84 deserving students.
 
The lineup for MerleFest 2017 is viewable at www.MerleFest.org/lineup. And, tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at MerleFest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. An advance ticket discount runs through April 26, 2017. Gate pricing begins on the first day of the festival.
  
About Chris Austin
Chris Austin, from Boone, North Carolina, worked as a sideman for Ricky Skaggs for three years, singing and playing guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle. During that time, he was discovered by executives at Warner Bros. Nashville, who offered him a recording contract. While releasing singles including “Blues Stay Away from Me,” “I Know There’s a Heart in There Somewhere” and “Out of Step,” Austin also developed his songwriting skills, as evidenced in “Same Ol’ Love,” recorded by Skaggs in 1991. On March 16, 1991, Austin’s life was cut tragically short when the private plane carrying him and six other members of Reba McEntire’s band, as well as her tour manager, crashed in the mountains near San Diego. Pete Fisher, then of Warnersongs and currently general manager of the Grand Ole Opry, and Kari Estrin, then MerleFest consultant and “Pickin’ for Merle” video associate producer, initiated the songwriting contest to honor Austin’s memory.