MerleFest, presented by Window World, announces finalists fo

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MerleFest, presented by Window World, announces finalists for Chris Austin Songwriting Competition
Judges include The Milk Carton Kids, Radney Foster, and Cruz Contreras
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From its first incarnation in 1993, MerleFest’s annual Chris Austin Songwriting Competition has seen the likes of Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, and Martha Scanlan rise to the top of an always competitive field of up-and-coming songwriters. Legendary songwriters have presided over the competition from the start as judges, too. Darrell Scott, Hayes Carll, and the late, great Guy Clark have all taken a turn at judging the CASC. This year, the event will be judged by Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, better known as The Milk Carton Kids, Cruz Contreras of The Black Lillies, and Texas-troubadour Radney Foster. Mr. Americana Jim Lauderdale will host the competition and Mark Bumgarner will return as emcee for the finalist contest taking place at MerleFest’s Austin Stage on Friday, April 26th at 2:00 p.m.




This year’s Chris Austin Songwriting Competition Finalists each fall into one of four categories:




Bluegrass:

Wyatt Espalin (Hiawassee, GA): “Light Coming Through”

Anya Hinkle (Asheville, NC): “Ballad Of Zona Abston”

James Woolsey (Petersburg, IN) and David Foster (Petersburg, IN): “Sugar Ridge Road”




Country:

Hannah Kaminer (Asheville, NC): “Don’t Open Your Heart”

Andrew Millsaps (Ararat, NC): “Ain’t No Genie (In A Bottle Of Jack)”

Shannon Wurst (Fayetteville, AR): “Better Than Bourbon”




General:

Wright Gatewood (Chicago, IL): “First”

Alexa Rose (Asheville, NC): “Medicine For Living”

Bryan Elijah Smith (Dayton, VA): “In Through The Dark”




Gospel/Inspirational:

Ashleigh Caudill (Nashville, TN) and Jon Weisberger (Cottontown, TN): “Walkin’ Into Gloryland”

Kevin T. Hale (Brentwood, TN): “We All Die To Live Again”

Russ Parrish (Burnsville, MN) and Topher King (Savage, MN): “Washed By The Water”




All three finalists in each category will have the chance to perform their songs for the judges on MerleFest’s Austin Stage before category winners are ultimately decided on Friday.




Net proceeds from the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest support the Wilkes Community College Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. Since its inception, the scholarship has been awarded to 91 deserving students.




In addition to the songwriting competition, MerleFest’s band competition will take place on the Plaza Stage on Saturday the 27th from 11:00 a.m to 3:30 p.m. Judged by members of The Local Boys and emceed by Mark Bumgarner, the competition’s winners will be announced at 4:00 p.m on the Plaza Stage. The winning band will head over to the Cabin Stage, where they will perform to an enthusiastic MerleFest audience from 6:35 to 7 p.m. This year’s band competition finalists include Shay Martin Lovette (Boone, NC), Pretty Little Goat (Brevard, NC), None of the Above (Piedmont Triad, NC), Brooks Forsyth (Boone, NC), Alex Key and the Locksmiths (Wilkesboro, NC), Massive Grass (Wilmington, NC), Redleg Husky (Asheville, NC), and The Mike Mitchell Band (Floyd, VA).




A few friendly reminders now that MerleFest is less than one month away! Don’t forget to download the MerleFest app to help plan your festival experience. The MerleFest app can point you towards a variety of on-site activities for all ages. In between musical sets, the Shoppes at MerleFest is a centrally located shopping village of commercial vendors, official MerleFest memorabilia, and services such as first aid, lost and found, overnight storage, and internet access. The Little Pickers Family Area offers lots of fun and games for children as well as some fine storytelling, songwriting and music. Small 15-person backstage tours are available for purchase online and begin at the Merle Watson Garden of the Senses and continue into the MerleFest museum. The Pickin’ Place, an entire venue devoted to pickin’ and grinnin’, includes the Traditional Jammin’ Tent, Bluegrass Jammin’ Tent, Anything Goes Jammin’ Tent, and Hands-On Tent for pickers of all skill levels. Info for all of the above and more is available here.




Tickets for this year’s festival, backstage tours, as well as the Late Night Jam sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation, may be purchased at www.MerleFest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. MerleFest offers a three-tiered pricing structure and encourages fans to take advantage of the extended early bird discount. Early Bird Tier 2 tickets will be available through April 24th. Remaining tickets will be sold at the gate during the festival. Headliners include The Avett Brothers, Brandi Carlile, Amos Lee, Wynonna & the Big Noise, Del McCoury Band, Dailey & Vincent, Tyler Childers, Keb’ Mo’, Sam Bush, The Earls of Leicester, and Peter Rowan and The Free Mexican Air Force. The Late Night Jam sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation will be hosted by Chatham County Line. In addition to the above-mentioned artists, the following will be performing at MerleFest ‘19:




American Aquarium, Andy May, Ana Egge & The Sentimentals, Ashley Heath and Her Heathens, AZTEC SUN, Banknotes, Bob Hill, Cane Mill Road, Carol Rifkin, Carolina Blue, Casey Kristofferson Band, Catfish Keith, Charles Welch, Chris Rodrigues with Abby the Sthingylady, David LaMotte, Dirk Powell Band, Donna the Buffalo, Driftwood, Elephant Sessions, Elizabeth Cook, Ellis Dyson & The Shambles, Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys, Happy Traum, Irish Mythen, Jack Lawrence, Jeff Little Trio, Jim Avett, Jim Lauderdale, Joe Smothers, Jontavious Willis and Andrew Alli, Josh Goforth, Junior Brown, Junior Sisk, Larry Stephenson Band, Laura Boosinger, Lindi Ortega, Mark Bumgarner, Mark & Maggie O’Connor, Maybe April, Michaela Anne, Mile Twelve, The Milk Carton Kids, Mitch Greenhill and String Madness, Molly Tuttle, Nixon, Blevins, & Gage, Pete & Joan Wernick and FLEXIGRASS, Presley Barker, Professor Whizzpop!, Radney Foster, Roy Book Binder, Salt & Light, Scythian, Sean McConnell, Shane Hennessy, Si Kahn & The Looping Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, Steve Poltz, T. Michael Coleman, The Black Lillies, The Brother Brothers, The Gibson Brothers, The Harris Brothers, The InterACTive Theatre of Jeff, The Kruger Brothers, The Local Boys, The Trailblazers, The Waybacks, Todd Albright, Tom Feldmann, Tony Williamson, Uncle Joe and The Shady Rest, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, Wayne Henderson, Webb Wilder, and Yarn. The lineup and performance schedules are accessible via MerleFest.org/lineup.




MerleFest is pleased to partner with Come Hear NC, a promotional campaign of the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources and the North Carolina Arts Council, to celebrate 2019 as “The Year of Music,” a designation Governor Roy Cooper announced in November of last year. MerleFest, honoring its locale, has programmed over 40 artists who currently call North Carolina home, each artist representing a different aspect of the state’s great musical history. Come Hear NC was designed to celebrate North Carolinians’ groundbreaking contributions to many of America’s most important musical genres — blues, bluegrass, jazz, country, gospel, Americana, rock and everything in-between. It’s fitting then, with 2019 as “The Year of Music,” that the Steep Canyon Rangers, also proud North Carolinians, would debut their North Carolina Songbook set at MerleFest.




About MerleFest:

MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of the son of the late American music legend Doc Watson, renowned guitarist Eddy Merle Watson. MerleFest is a celebration of "traditional plus" music, a unique mix of traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including old-time, classic country, bluegrass, folk and gospel and blues, and expanded to include Americana, classic rock and many other styles. The festival hosts a diverse mix of artists on its 13 stages during the course of the four-day event. MerleFest has become the primary fundraiser for the WCC Foundation, funding scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs.




About Window World:

Window World®, headquartered in North Wilkesboro, N.C., is America’s largest replacement window and exterior remodeling company, with more than 200 locally owned offices nationwide. Founded in 1995, the company sells and installs windows, siding, doors and other exterior products, with over 15 million windows sold to date. Window World is an ENERGY STAR® partner and its windows, vinyl siding and Therma-Tru doors have all earned the Good Housekeeping Seal. Through its charitable foundation, Window World Cares®, the Window World family provides funding for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, which honored the foundation with its Organizational Support Award in 2017. Since its inception in 2008, the foundation has raised over $8 million for St. Jude. Window World also supports the Veterans Airlift Command, a nonprofit organization that facilitates free air transportation to wounded veterans and their families. Window World has flown over 100 missions and surpassed $1 million in flights and in-kind donations since it began its partnership with the VAC in 2008. For more information, visit www.WindowWorld.com or call 1-800 NEXTWINDOW. For home improvement and energy efficiency tips, décor ideas and more, follow Window World on Facebook and Twitter.




About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources:

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state's history, conserving the state's natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.




NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennette's Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please call [phone] or visit www.ncdcr.gov.




About the North Carolina Arts Council

The North Carolina Arts Council builds on our state’s long-standing love of the arts, leading the way to a more vibrant future. The Arts Council is an economic catalyst, fueling a thriving nonprofit creative sector that generates $2.12 billion in annual direct economic activity. The Arts Council also sustains diverse arts expression and traditions while investing in innovative approaches to art-making. The North Carolina Arts Council has proven to be a champion for youth by cultivating tomorrow’s creative citizens through arts education. www.NCArts.org









For more information, visit www.MerleFest.org.