Inaugural Circa-Blue Fest songwriting contest winners announced

The winners have been announced this afternoon in the very first Circa-Blue Fest Song Contest. 30 entries were submitted in this bluegrass songwriting competition, and the judges have spoken.

Winners will pick up their prizes during the Circa-Blue Fest, and proceeds from the competition will be donated to the Bluegrass Country Foundation, which has assumed management of the radio signal run for so many years by WAMU, Bluegrass Country.

And the winners are…

  • Grand Prize – Bruce Jepson (Warren, NJ) for Just Like Yesterday. $300 and a chance to perform the song during the festival.
  • Second Place – Mike Swartzentruber (Centerburg, OH) for The Story of Life. $150
  • Third Place – Randy Steele (Chattanooga, TN) for Mobile Soon. $75

Honorable Mentions went to:

  • Aaron Bibelhauser (Louisville, KY) for Southwind
  • Lee Leanders (Alabama) for Weather Vane News
  • Dan Mack (Germantown, MD) for 15 Miles From Mexico

Judges for the competition were Shelby Gold of Gold Heart and the award-winning songwriting team of Dawn Kenney and David Morris.

Kenney tells us that they looked for the basics in choosing the winners.

“There’s nothing harder than judging another writer’s creative work. But ultimately it came down to fundamentals – solid lyrics, engaging melodies and marketability of the song. Congrats to all of the entrants on their wonderful songs.”

The festival is scheduled for May 12-14 in Martinsburg, WV, hosted by Circa Blue. You can find all the details about entertainers, tickets, workshops and camping online.

Well done, all!

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.