JUST ANNOUNCED – OPEN TO THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES THIS YEAR!
UPDATE: The 2021 Performing Songwriter Finalist Showcase, normally held during April, will now be held in the Fall. We hope that by the Fall we’ll be able to have in-person shows again!
Entry Form at the Bottom of this page!
The songwriting entries are reviewed and judged by the songwriting merits alone. Production quality is not taken into consideration. We are looking for great songwriters, not great producers. A simple home or live recording of a song has the same chance of winning the songwriting contest as a professional recording has of winning. Many of the past winners have placed with simple vocal/guitar or vocal/piano recordings. Vocal ability is ‘not’ taken into consideration. Only the “songwriting” elements of the songs are considered when determining the winners.
PLEASE NOTE – contest submissions DO NOT become the
property of the competition. The author retains all
ownership.
CATEGORIES
Folk/Americana
Singer/Songwriter
Country
Cabaret/Standards (new this year!)
Instrumental
Blues
Pop/Rock
Gospel/Christian
Children’s Music
16 & Under
Submissions are $25 for the first song, and $10 for each additional song. You may enter as many as you like!
HOW WE AWARD THE PRIZES:
PRIZES
Once all of the material is judged, there will be one winning song representing each of the categories. During the second round of judging, those top songs then compete against each other to determine the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and director’s choice place winners. It will be these winners who will be awarded the cash and prizes.
First Place: $500
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $100
With more cash prizes and gift certificates….
A few more of our prizes….
WMVY Judges Choice (Jess Phaneuf) – opportunity to interview with Alison Hammond on mvyradio “Local MusiCafe” .
Judge’s Choice (Jon Evans) – A day of recording at The Studio at Brick Hill with grammy nominated producer Jon Evans
Judge’s Choice (Sarah Swain) – opportunity to perform (virtually)at Cape Cod Women’s Music Festival (*female songwriters only)
Director’s Choice (Monica Rizzio) – opportunity to virtually perform at a Vinegrass sponsored event in 2021.
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Mastering of a song by Jay Sheehan (http://www.beachpointmastering.com/)
Audio Mastering of a single song for streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify, etc. Includes any final touches to your mixed song, as well as metadata entry for song identification. Obtaining ISRC codes for streaming service tracking are the responsibility of the winner, however, Beachpoint Mastering can guide the winner on how to obtain a code.
Winner must redeem this prize by December 2021==============
MEET OUR JUDGES AND DIRECTOR!
MONICA RIZZIO (Director) monicarizzio.com
TEACHING Monica began teaching music in 2005 at Score Music, founded West Bend Music in 2008 and taught there until the Spring of 2020. Because of the pandemic, she began teaching remotely and it made sense to open her own music school (called Washashore Music) and focus entirely on her methodology of teaching and her own students. She specializes in Voice, Fiddle (Mark O’Connor Fiddle Method) individual and ensemble, Guitar, Ukulele, Piano, and Songwriting. She also teaches several adult students, whether they are beginning, picking it up again after years of collecting dust, or just want to advance their skillset. Over 90% of her students are female and many of them study with her through out their school years. She has developed a deep connection with these girls, as she tries to empower them to be strong, successful women, and often times their lessons go beyond music. She is actively looking for a physical studio so she can re-connect again in person once it is safe to.
TOURING Going back as far as she can remember, Monica has always been on stage. She has performed with various bands over the years, collaborated with the Cape Cod Symphony, Tom Rush, and many one-off projects. She currently tours, or hopes to again some day, as Monica Rizzio (solo) or with the band Monica Rizzio & The Round Up. Live music is the pulse of life in her opinion, it creates so many emotions for the listener, and there is no place she feels more comfortable than on stage. She looks forward to the day when we can all safely gather and let our hair down.
VINEGRASS In 2014, Monica founded the non-profit Vinegrass. They produce small Americana/Roots concerts and an annual festival to raise money for music scholarships, grants, and instruments for kids on Cape Cod. In 2020, so many of our local musicians and techs were blindsided by Covid and lost out on a significant part of their income. Monica established the Cape Cod Gig Relief Fund and was able to put over $11,000 directly into musician’s hands. Vinegrass maintained their scholarship program, which is for all (4) years of college, and to date has awarded over $75,000. Their programming is on hold until it is safe to return to live music settings.
LICENSING & PUBLISHING When Covid hit the touring stopped. Monica had always wanted to direct more of her time into writing and producing music specifically for TV, Film, and commercials. It is the exact opposite of writing for an album, you have a specific theme and sound you are trying to accomplish and much of the music is a deviation from her Americana style that she has written and toured with for so long. She has dipped her toes into POP, EDM, and of course Christmas Music. She looks forward to sharing some of these projects with you or maybe you will hear her on TV someday.
ARTISTS DEVELOPMENT Monica writes music with many of her students and some of their songs are really good, but what is the next step? She works with the students and introduces them to recording their music and navigating the endless paths of the music business. With 20 years in almost every aspect of the music business, it definitely helps to have a mentor when trying to figure it out. She also work with several of her fellow songwriters who are so talented when it comes to creating lyric but lack the business acumen to successfully get their music out to the world.
JON EVANS (Judge) jonevansmusic.com
Jon has been part of the bay area music scene since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1991. Just coming off the Sarah McLachalan -Shine On Tour 2014, he has also recorded and toured with such notable performers as Tori Amos, Cher, Linda Perry, Third Eye Blind, Elton John, Vanessa Carleton, Paula Cole, and Alex Digrassi, he has established himself as a flexible and accomplished engineer/producer/arranger.
In winter 2000, Jon decided to build what is now San Pablo Recorders. From the ground up, it is an intimate space designed to make artist, local and national, feel focused. In 2012 he relocated his studio to Orleans, MA and continues to make records for a wide range of artists as well as compose music for national commercials, major video games and NPR.
JESS PHANEUF (Judge) mvyradio.org
Jess is currently the Music Director at MVYRADIO on Martha’s Vineyard. She has been a public radio DJ in Massachusetts for 10 years, since she graduated from Emerson College in Boston. She hosts the new music show, Uncharted Waters on MVY. You may also occasionally hear her on The Public’s Radio out of Providence, as a fill-in morning show host. Jess has also worked at venues including Club Passim in Cambridge and the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River. Outside of work, she loves to sing and dance in community theatre productions.
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VINEGRASS ORGANIZATION (vinegrass.org) is a non-profit music company founded by Monica Rizzio and her husband Pete Fasano. It produces concerts, camps, and workshops, in order to raise money for our charitable mission. The mission is to provide scholarships to students pursuing Roots & Rhythm instruments in an accredited 4year music program. In addition to the scholarships, they will subsidize camps and instruments to younger students in need, and give an annual grant to an artist or band in the Rhythm & Roots genre.
CAPE COD WOMENS MUSIC FESTIVAL (capecodwomensmusicfestival.com) Proceeds from the Cape Cod Women’s Music Festival benefit the Cape Wellness Collaborative: A non-profit that connects people facing cancer with integrative therapies such as massage, nutritional counseling, reiki and energy work, acupuncture, yoga and chiropractic.
WMVY RADIO (mvyradio.com) The mvyradio mission is to present new and well loved music in a distinctive sound, inspired by a love for Martha’s Vineyard and a worldwide community of uncommon enthusiasm for music artistry, intelligence, and independence. Drawn from rock, alternative, singer/songwriter, blues, and roots – their music is connected by substance and quality, accessibility and craftsmanship.
To hear what a “winning song” sounds like – watch our Songwriting Awards Concert in it’s entirety below:
If you have any questions, please contact Sue Martin at songwriters@eventidearts.org
Eventide Arts is a 501(c)3 independent organization that presents plays, concerts, lectures, and mixed media events to promote the understanding of social diversity, music, dance, and the art of playwriting and songwriting.
Finalists will be notified by 8pm on May 3, 2021.
