Now in its eighth year, The Mountain Stage NewSong Contest is one of North America's premier showcases for performing songwriters across ALL genres of music. The contest is interested in finding, promoting and working with the most talented songwriters who perform their own songs, regardless of style. At least one of the five NewSong Contest co-winners will be invited to perform on National Public Radio's Mountain Stage program.
ABOUT MOUNTAIN STAGE
NewSong's partne>...
Now in its eighth year, The Mountain Stage NewSong Contest is one of North America's premier showcases for performing songwriters across ALL genres of music. The contest is interested in finding, promoting and working with the most talented songwriters who perform their own songs, regardless of style. At least one of the five NewSong Contest co-winners will be invited to perform on National Public Radio's Mountain Stage program.
ABOUT MOUNTAIN STAGE
NewSong's partner MOUNTAIN STAGE™ is public television and National Public Radio's venerable live performance music program, produced both on the road and at home and heard worldwide on more than 125 radio stations, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio and the "Voice of America." Now in its
27th year, the show has a long and storied tradition of featuring national and international acts in all styles of music and of launching emerging acts to stardom.
Mountain Stage presents acts ranging from traditional roots, blues and country, to avant-garde rock, world beat, jazz and more. The show's guest list is the most stylistically varied of any national radio or television performance program. It has showcased over two thousand artists since 1983. The short list of those who have made their national debut on the show include the Barenaked Ladies, Ryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Alison Krauss.
FINALIST SELECTION
A total of 12 finalists will be selected to perform in the
international contest finals, held this year on Saturday, October 10 in Charleston, West Virginia's Cultural Center theater — the home venue of the internationally broadcast Mountain Stage radio and television program. All finalists will attend the Mountain Stage show on Sunday, October 11 in Charleston, where one of the contest's five co-winners
will be a featured performer of the show. As in the past, other
finalists could be invited back to perform on a future Mountain Stage show (to date, three of this year's five co-winners have already appeared on Mountain Stage since the 2008 finals).
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Finalists this year will be selected as follows: two (2) as Early Bird finalists of the General Round, six (6) from each of our six regional rounds (five in the States, one in Canada), and the remaining four (4) from the General Round (open to anyone, anywhere).
REGIONAL FINALS
New this year, our regional finals will be “virtual.” Entrants who advance to a regional round will be asked to upload a video performance of a song to YouTube. NewSong Contest judges will review each finalist’s footage to select a winner. In addition to the official winner there will be a "People's Choice" award for each region based on popular vote through our website.
| REGION |
ELIGIBLE STATES/TERRITORIES* |
| MIDWEST |
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin |
| CANADA |
ALL TERRITORIES & PROVINCES |
| NORTHEAST |
Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont |
| SOUTHEAST |
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia |
| SOUTHWEST |
Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah |
| WEST |
Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon,
Washington, Wyoming |
Please note: You do NOT have to submit a video when entering the contest. If you are selected as a regional finalist, however, you will be required to have at least one video performance available on YouTube.
IMPORTANT DATES
|
| JUNE 5 |
CONTEST OPENS FOR ENTRIES (All Regional & General
Rounds) |
| JULY 6 |
EARLY BIRD SUBMISSION DEADLINE (General Round)* |
| JULY 20 |
EARLY BIRD GENERAL ROUND FINALISTS ANNOUNCED** (2) |
| JULY 24 |
REGIONAL ROUND DEADLINE |
| AUGUST 5 |
REGIONAL ROUND FINALISTS ANNOUNCED |
| SEPTEMBER 1 |
GENERAL ROUND SUBMISSION DEADLINE |
| SEPTEMBER 10 |
GENERAL ROUND FINALISTS ANNOUNCED (4) |
| SAT, OCTOBER 10 |
INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN STAGE NEWSONG CONTEST FINALS
(CULTURAL CENTER THEATER; CHARLESTON, WV) |
| SUN, OCTOBER 11 |
ONE OF FIVE CO-WINNERS FEATURED ON AN INTERNATIONALLY BROADCAST
MOUNTAIN STAGE SHOW
(RECORDED LIVE IN CHARLESTON, WV) |
* All deadlines are at 11:59 PM EST on date listed above.
** All Early Bird entrants who are not selected as Early Bird finalists will remain in the General Round pool and be considered for the remaining four General Round finalist spots.