South Florida Folk Festival Singer/Songwriter Competition

The 2014 South Florida Folk Festival is a two-day event that will be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park on January 18-19, 2014, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Weekend. The festival welcomes music loving fans to experience and enjoy great acoustic music performed by exceptional Florida-based and national musicians The festival is a celebration of many unique folk traditions (ranging from bluegrass and old time traditional to contemporary folk music). It is also an open venue for people who just enjoy playing in their spare time. Since its inception in 1992, the festival (in various formats) has been a combination of a music fest, family reunion, community gathering, and weekend musical retreat. This event will feature over 40 musicians performing on two stages, along with food and crafts vendors. The musicians will perform, lead workshops, and interact with an appreciative music loving crowd. There will also be a jam area and CD sales. Some of the best names in folk have appeared at past festivals, including Melanie, Bethany Yarrow, The Burns Sisters, Bob Franke, Susan Werner, Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, David Roth, Small Potatoes, Tom Prasada-Rao, David Massengill, Jack Williams, and Sloan Wainwright.

The Songwriting Competition:

The South Florida Folk Festival extends a warm invitation to musicians all over the country to participate in the Singer/Songwriter Competition. The competition was created by the South Florida Folk Festival to encourage and facilitate growth for singer/songwriters. Submissions will be $25. Each entry will consist of two songs. Songs submitted must be original songs in the acoustic, folk, Indie, Americana, singer/songwriter and associated genres. They may be on any topic, with any instrumentation, and of any length, and may include multiple instruments and other performers in addition to the applicants. Songs may be unproduced (bedroom recordings) or production quality (studio grade). However, all entries must be written and wholly owned (copyrighted) by the applicant. Please do not submit any songs written in part or whole by anyone else, or a song whose copyrights have been sold or licensed in part or whole to anyone else. Artists may submit as many two-song entries as they wish, but if they are selected as a finalist, they must perform the two-song entry for which they were selected.

Submissions will be accepted from September 15th, 2013 through November 10th, 2013. A preliminary selection committee from the local folk community will select twelve finalists from the many entries received. In addition, six alternates will be selected. Finalists and alternates will be announced by December 1st, 2013. Finalists will perform their two songs live at the South Florida Folk Festival Singer/Songwriter competition on Saturday, January 18th, 2014, before a panel of judges. Finalists will be allotted 4 minutes per song at the live competition, and they must compete acoustically alone or as a duo. The panel of judges at the Festival will select three winners. Each of the three winners will each receive the “Vic Heyman Songwriting Award” which consists of a $200 cash prize, as well as an invitation to perform at the following year’s South Florida Folk Festival. All finalists and winners will have an opportunity to play "in the round" on Sunday, January 19th (the second day of the Festival).

Alternates will be notified at the earliest possible date if a finalist is unable to attend the 2014 Festival. All contestants from outside the Broward area must cover their own travel and lodging expenses, although home hospitality may be provided if possible.

About The Broward Folk Club:

The South Florida Folk Festival is presented by the Broward Folk Club, a (501)(c)(3) non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote folk and acoustic music and to provide a community for people who share a love for it. The BFC held its first Song Swap in March of 1988, and today the Club has a large active membership which is open to anyone who has a love for folk music, be they performer or listener. Come see how alive and energetic folk music is in South Florida and all BFC is doing to keep it alive and thriving. Club events include monthly song swaps, open mics, special concerts, and picnics. The Broward Folk Club originated the annual Festival to encourage the creation, presentation and appreciation of folk and acoustic music, by continuing the American tradition of story and song into the next century.