2019 Winners
Grand Prizes:
1st Place – Maria – Hayley Sabela -PLYMOUTH
2nd Place – Heart of Stone – Lainey Dionne – RI
3rd Place – Like Lightning – Rachel Harvey Hill – RI
COUNTRY
Wild Fire – Nadine Miller
CHILDRENS
Black and White – David MacMillan
POP/ROCK
Like Lightning – Rachel Harvey Hill
RELIGIOUS
We All Die to Live Again – Kevin Hale
INSTRUMENTAL
Red Ballons and Dreams – Ryan Garifine
BLUES
Rednecks and Whiskey – Digney Fignus
SINGER/SONGWRITER
Selfish Like You – Kelly English
FOLK/AMERICANA
Letter From the Line – Digney Fignus
16 AND UNDER
Devil Tonight – Emily Celia
MVY (JESS PHANEUF) JUDGE – Selfish Like You – Kelly English
JON EVANS JUDGE – All The Pieces of your Great Big Heart – Vicky Harris
MONICA RIZZIO DIRECTOR – Best Laid Plans – Nate D’Angelo
SARAH SWAIN JUDGE – Maria – Hayley Sabella
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.
HOW WE AWARD THE 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.
PRIZES
First Place: $500
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $100
With more cash prizes and gift certificates….
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 at Cape Cod Women’s Music Festival in May 2019 (*female songwriters only)
Director’s Choice (Monica Rizzio) – opportunity to perform at a Vinegrass sponsored concert in 2019.
MEET OUR JUDGES AND DIRECTOR!
MONICA RIZZIO (Director) Every now and again you can pick up on the East Texas drawl in Monica Rizzio’s voice. Most people assume that she was raised in New England based on the melodic arrangements and harmonies she has produced as the former Tripping Lily front woman. She has left behind the acoustic, condenser mic style and has brought her East Texas roots up North for her debut album, fittingly named, “Washashore Cowgirl”. After leaving the band in 2013, she purchased a 1956 Martin O-18, named it Bo, and plugged in. Much of the album is like a stiff cocktail, deeply auto-biographical and mixed with a hint of fiction.
Monica has become one of the most reliable supporting acts as well, having shared the stage with Chris Botti, Boz Scaggs, Diana Krall, Joan Osborne, and Slaid Cleaves this past year. She has played the Main Stage at Strawberry Park Bluegrass festival the past two years and is a frequent collaborator with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra. In December of 2014, she performed as part of Tom Rush’s band at his annual show at Symphony Hall in Boston. She played fiddle, guitar, ukulele and sang backups as well as performing her originals “Luckier Than You” & “Willie Nelson” with Red Molly backing her up.
Rizzio is a founder and co-owner of the roots-based music school, West Bend Music, providing all-ages private instruction. In 2014 she founded and launched Vinegrass, a non-profit music production company, that raises money for scholarships, instruments, and grants through concerts and an annual roots-music festival. www.monicarizzio.com
JON EVANS (Judge) 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. www.jonevansmusic.com
JESS PHANEUF (Judge)
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, that 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, we 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.
Founded by Monica Rizzio (Frontwoman for the band Tripping Lily and Old Kings Highway) and her husband Pete Fasano in August of 2013, Vinegrass is a lifelong dream for Monica to give back to those who have helped her become a professional musician. Based on the shores of Cape Cod, Vinegrass is inviting the Roots & Rhythm world into our little mecca, full of artists, musicians, and fisherman.
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.
These therapies have been shown to go a long way in helping to reduce anxiety, provide comfort and improve the quality of life for those undergoing cancer treatment. The goal of the Collaborative is to make these services – and the wellness practitioners who provide them – more accessible to cancer patients in the local community.
WMVY RADIO (www.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.
