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Announcing the 2026 NewSong Finalists

Friday, September 25th, 2026

Fist, a heartfelt thanks to ALL of the talented musicians and songwriters who have participated in this year’s program! The dedication to your craft has continued to inspire us for the last quarter century.

And, a huge congratulations to this year’s finalists, who will join us in Asheville, NC, to perform, network and compete for the grand prize of the 25th annual NewSong Music Competition, presented by Citizen Vinyl and held Sunday, October 25 at The Grey Eagle. 

Andrew Hoyt (Chicago, IL)

Andrew Hoyt is a full-time touring singer-songwriter blending folk, pop, and acoustic vibes into a sound that’s both warm and unique. His latest EP, Kind of Paradise, features songs co-written with acclaimed artists Matt Wertz and Andy Davis, weaving heartfelt lyrics with melodies that feel like sunshine and nostalgia. Andrew celebrated the release with a full-band show at The Basement in Nashville.

Artemis Montague (Rockville, MD) 

Artemis Montague is a Producer, Musical Theatre Writer as well as the creator of the blog, “Reflections of a Life Renewed.” They have over 200 songs, one of which was a finalist for the 2022 Write Out Loud Contest (“friend”), received an AudioFemme Agenda Grant in May 2023 to record an EP of original music, and have released two songs – “could you (I’m yours)” and “gets none” – as an independent singer-songwriter.

Bad Hints (Lancaster, PA) 

Bad Hints is the project of singer-songwriter Jes Plain, whose most recent single is “Action Potential.” Of the song, Jes writes, “On the day I wrote Action Potential, I played my guitar so loud it felt like it would swallow me whole. The words ‘wall of sound’ were always in my mind for this one.” Bad Hints released Pure Show in 2024, the single “Things in the Dark” last October, has an album release slated for November.

Jason Piquette (Black Mountain, NC) 

Jason Piquette is an indie folk singer-songwriter from Florida, creating heartfelt songs that blend warm acoustic sounds with honest, reflective lyrics. His music explores themes of hope, connection, and finding light in everyday moments. With tracks like “Hearts for Sale,” “Drop the Gun,” and “From the Ground,” Jason invites listeners into an intimate space where emotion and storytelling meet.

Kate Waters (Houston, TX) 

Hope—specifically the kind that’s hard fought-for—is the undercurrent of Kate Waters’ new full-length album. She finds light in every hardship, and never spares us the dirty, difficult work of searching for it. That honesty to the process lends even her most anthemic offerings a human authenticity, the feeling that we’ve stood by her side in every battle, and she, ours. So when Waters promises a happy ending on the stunning single “It Gets Better,” we believe her.

Logan Vath** (Norfolk, VA) 

A 2026 Kerrville New Folk Winner, Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Finalist; Rocky Mountain Singer Songwriter Festival Finalist, and winner of CF Martin’s “Lifespan” songwriting competition, Logan continues to perform at singer/songwriter festivals nationally: including showcases at 30A Songwriter Festival,  and an invitation to The Foundation Stage at the acclaimed Newport Folk Festival.
**2026 Early Bird Finalist

Sara Beth Go (Nashville, TN) 

Sara Beth is a 2025 Kerrville New Folk winner, a 2024 Kerrville New Folk finalist, and a top five finalist in the 2025 Rocky Mountain Songwriting Contest. Drawing from her colorful upbringing in New Orleans, she began creating stop-motion animations in 2022 to accompany her music. The result is a live show that feels less like a performance and more like an experience — something akin to a really good therapy session.

Your Friend Rachel (Brooklyn, NY)

Your Friend Rachel is first and foremost a crafter. Of lyrics, melodies, stories, and art made from trash. Her songs speak to the dissonance of being human in an increasingly inhuman world. A songwriter since childhood, her work blossomed in collaboration with spouse Pat Oberstaedt, a multi-hyphenate instrumentalist and music producer. Your Friend Rachel’s debut album Silly Little Human is currently in production.

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Logan Vath Named ‘Early Bird’ Finalist

Wednesday, August 19th, 2026

Congratulations to our Early Bird Finalist Logan Vath!

A 2026 Kerrville New Folk Winner, Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Finalist; Rocky Mountain Singer Songwriter Festival Finalist, and winner of CF Martin’s “Lifespan” songwriting competition, Logan Vath continues to perform at singer/songwriter festivals nationally — including showcases at 30A Songwriter Festival, and an invitation to The Foundation Stage at the acclaimed Newport Folk Festival.

Singer-songwriter Logan Vath performs with a guitar.

Songs from Logan’s EPs In the Presence of the Kingdom and Lost on Leaving have found themselves on Spotify’s “Roots on the Rise” and “Fresh Folk” playlists as well as Apple’s “Breaking Singer/Songwriter.”

Logan lives in Norfolk, Virginia with his wife and two boys. He is actively working on a forthcoming release of songs and enjoying select performances both regionally and nationally.

Logan will join seven other yet-to-be-selected finalists at the NewSong Performance and Songwriting Competition finals in Asheville, NC, on Sunday, October 25, at The Grey Eagle. Tickets on sale soon!

 

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NewSong Music’s 2025 Retrospective

Tuesday, January 6th, 2026

A huge thank you to all of the songwriters, musicians, and music fans who made 2025 a phenomenal year from start to finish. From our delayed 2024 finals and our LEAF Songwriter Competition to NewSong Recordings projects in the works at Citizen Studios and our amazing end-of-year 2025 finals, it’s been a year made magical with songcraft and sound. 

Lindsay Foote won the rescheduled 2024 NewSong Competition

Lindsay Foote from Boston, Massachusetts, was the 23rd annual NewSong Grand Prize Winner. During the Saturday, March 15 performance and competition finals (rescheduled from the fall of 2024 due to Hurricane Helene), Lindsay showcased six songs with tender emotionalism and dreamy melodies that highlighted her lithe voice. Her grand prize package included a fully funded six-song EP, recorded and mixed at Citizen Studios, with vinyl records pressed at Citizen Vinyl.

“I’m so honored to have won this competition,” Lindsay said. “I’ve been at this for a while, and this industry can be tough. So, it’s really encouraging to get a little validation on my songwriting! And I can’t wait to get working on my next project at Citizen Vinyl!”

Jackson Grimm won the 10th annual LEAF/NewSong Competition

The LEAF Songwriter Competition — celebrating 10 years in 2025 — is a collaborative effort between NewSong Music and LEAF Global Arts. It aims to identify and recognize exceptional performers and songwriters from across the country.

This year’s winner, Jackson Grimm, has immersed himself in traditional Appalachian music, from studying with Wayne Erbsen and Kevin Kehrberg and Warren Wilson College to enlisting Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist and storyteller Josh Goforth as the producer on his album. Onstage at the LEAF Performance & Songwriter Competition, on Saturday, May 10, at the LEAF Global Arts Retreat, Jackson’s songs contained elements of old-time and bluegrass — but were also wholly original and fresh; surprising yet relatable.

“I am incredibly honored to be selected as the winner of this year’s competition,” Jackson said “There were many talented songwriters on that stage throughout the night and we had an attentive and full crowd up there at the barn stage.”

NewSong projects in the studio

Natalie Price, the grand prize winner of the 2023 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, started to work on a full-length album with producer Gar Ragland. Part of the NewSong prize package is the opportunity to record an EP at Citizen Vinyl.

While still exploring what shape this album might take, Natalie knows she doesn’t want it to be a break-up album, though, “whatever album I do will always have relationship songs represented,” she says.

Natalie has been playing acoustic guitar on the scratch tracks — something new for her that she says has her feeling empowered. For the recording, she hopes to lean into Asheville’s musician community to find players. “It’s always exciting — and a privilege — to be in a studio,” she says.

Lindsay Foote, the 2024 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition grand-prize winner, has been working on an album at Citizen Studios. Part of the NewSong prize package is the opportunity to record and mix a six-song EP at Citizen Studios, produced by Gar Ragland and released on the NewSong Recordings label.

Lindsay brought her Boston-based band (Noah Harrington on bass; G Rockwell on guitar, banjo, and mandolin; and Russ Sternglass on drums) to Asheville for a multi-day recording session. “I wanted us to collaborate and make an album together,” Lindsay says. By including her band, instead of working with session musicians, she’s able to bring the group’s palpable chemistry to the project.

The quartet tracked six songs during their session. While none of the songs has been recorded before, Lindsay did play three tracks from the forthcoming album during her winning NewSong performance earlier this year. The group rehearsed together in Boston prior to heading to Asheville and, in studio, “we’ve made something that sounds really good and polished,” Lindsay says, “but at the same time it breathes.”

AC Sapphire, the 2022 NewSong Music grand prize winner, has been working on her forthcoming album Heavy Flowers. The project is currently completed and being mixed by Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Angel Olsen, Dawes, Margo Price, Conor Oberst and Billy Strings).

“The album speaks to the wanderer’s heart,” says AC. Themes include mental health, self love, unapologetic nostalgia, unhealthy love, corporate greed, climate change, as well as “feeling the cards stacked against us [and] yearning to see your dreams reach the surface.”

Artists on the project include Julie Odell, Jobi Riccio, Kendall Lujan, Claude Coleman Jr. of Ween, Dave Hartley of War on Drugs, John James Tourville of The Deslondes, Kramer (pictured above, with AC), Ian Wade, Lynx DeMuth, Clay White, and Travis Wetzel. 

Albums released this year by NewSong alumni

• Reclamation by Crys Matthews

• Avec la Courant by Dustin Dale Gaspard

• Every Godforsaken Morning by Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers

• Morning and Midnight (dual albums) by Ezra Vancil

• Consider Me a Lighthouse (EP) by Admiral Radio

• Saltwater Country by Grace Morrison

• Dog Days (EP) by Finn O’Sullivan

• Appalachia Forever by Philip Bowen

• I.A. Volume 1 by Indus Adams

• Do It Myself by Olivia Ellen Lloyd

• All Throughout the Day by Wilder Adkins

• Atmosphere by Alexa Rose

• Echo Mountain Sessions by Susan Anderson

Other NewSong family news

Dustin Dale Gaspard appeared on “The Voice” this fall, beginning with a four-chair turn when he auditioned with a version of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home to Me”, switching to Cajun French mid-performance. Dustin was a favorite on the reality competition show (we’re not surprised) but was knocked out on November 25 after missing a rehearsal due to a bout of Covid.

Congratulations to Olivia Ellen Lloyd whose song “Do It Myself” was an NPR Music song of the day. The song appeared on the websites of more than 20 public radio stations across the country.

 “Do It Myself,” the title track of Olivia’s most recent album (which dropped in March) debuted on Paste as part of a set recorded live at The Jalopy in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Erika Lewis makes a brief cameo with her band, Tuba Skinny, as New Orleans buskers in the film Spinal Tap 2.

Susan Anderson was named the 2025 NewSong grand prize winner

During the Thursday, December 11, finals — the 24th annual NewSong Music Perfornace & Songwriting Competition, held this year at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC — Susan Anderson shared five compositions that showcased her virtuosic violin playing, expansive vocals, and haunting lyrics. She was accompanied onstage by Isaac Hadden on electric guitar, who provided a tasteful sonic palette over which Susan painted her spellbinding songs. Susan’s grand prize package includes a fully funded six-song EP, recorded and mixed at Citizen Studios, with vinyl records pressed at Citizen Vinyl.

“I had so much fun performing my songs, meeting people in the audience, and laughing with the other contestants backstage. It was an incredible night from every angle,” Susan said. “Winning this competition feels like the door I’ve been knocking on for years has finally opened. I am so thankful for this chance and ready to run full speed into what comes next.”

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Introducing the NewSong Competition Judges

Thursday, December 4th, 2025

Meet the judges for the 24th annual NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition:

Anna Pearson — Artist Manager, Red Light Management
Anna Pearson has been with Red Light Management since 2013 where she currently co-manages Larkin Poe, Lissie, Cat Clyde, Ruthie Foster, Tyler Ramsey and Rodney Crowell with long-time partner and mentor Peter Leak, who she began working for in 2007 as an assistant at Nettwerk Management. Anna graduated from UT Austin with a BS in Communication Studies and a Minor in Business, got her foot in the door through several music industry internships including the Recording Academy’s Texas Chapter, and started working in LA at an indie music PR company. After a long stint in LA, Anna relocated to Asheville, NC a few years ago where she loves the music scene and hanging out in nature with her husband and 2 dogs.

Kramer — Producer, composer, musician, filmmaker, and multi-instrumentalist, Shimmy-Disc
Kramer is the founder of the label Shimmy-Disc. In the 1980s & 90s, he produced hundreds of recordings at his Noise New York and Noise New Jersey studios. As a producer, he helped to create seminal recordings for artists as diverse as Daniel Johnston, Galaxie 500, Half Japanese, Pussy Galore, Urge Overkill, Will Oldham, and LOW, to name but a small few. He lives and works in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Gar Ragland — Producer, President and Co-founder of NewSong Music
Gar Ragland is a producer, musician, and president and co-founder of the NewSong Music Group. It was in Boston, while studying composition and improvisation at the New England Conservatory, and there her started producing his fellow classmates’ demos and records, and co-founded NewSong Music. In 2005, Ragland moved to New York City, working out of his studio in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. In 2012, he relocated with his wife and three children to Asheville, NC to take up residence at Echo Mountain Recording Studios; and in 2020 founded Citizen Vinyl, presenting sponsor of NewSong Music. Ragland is a voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammys), and currently serves on the board of the Asheville Area Arts Council.  

 

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Q&A with 2025 NewSong Finalist Susan Anderson

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025

Susan Anderson is a singer, songwriter, and violin player. She has performed across the country as a classical, jazz, punk, bluegrass, children’s-music, sacred-ritual, folk and country artist. Equally at home in a concert hall as an intimate jazz club or DIY basement space, Susan has always embraced the expansive creativity and endless possibilities that music has allowed her to explore.

Susan and seven other finalists will gather in Asheville on Thursday, December 11, to connect and perform at the 24th annual NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, held at The Grey Eagle. Tickets are on sale HERE.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

Susan: My mom is a piano player, so the foundation of my musical DNA are the songs that she was playing while I was growing up. There were songs that I knew really well like Fats Waller’s “Honeysuckle Rose,” or Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low,” or practically Carole King’s entire catalog that I had never heard a recording of. I just learned them all from her playing. Later, when I learned to read music I would play out of her music books and make my own arrangements of the songs, still, without ever hearing a real recording of any of the songs. As a family, we listened to a lot of Oldies, Country and Classical music. You were just as likely to hear George Strait as you were Dvorak 9 cranked to 11 on our family stereo. Driving to violin lessons, my mom, sister, and I were singing along to The Commitments soundtrack, or the Oldies or Country stations. That’s also how I learned how to sing harmony.

What was your journey to music — were you classically trained? From a family of musicians? Self-taught?
 
We had a lot of instruments in the house when I was growing up. When I was 3, I found a full size violin and wouldn’t leave it alone. It was way too big for me, so I would haul it into the kitchen, pull out the silverware drawer, balance the neck of the violin on the drawer, then go to town on the open strings.  My mom would wheel our upright piano into the kitchen to accompany me as I sawed away on the open strings. Our biggest hit was a rousing rendition of “Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle.” After a few months of this, my parents saw that I was genuinely interested in learning how to play and got me lessons. Since then, I just never stopped. Classical violin lessons were consistent throughout my schooling, but I also studied jazz violin, took piano lessons, and started playing in bands when I was in college. I kept looking for any opportunity to play. I actually didn’t start writing music until I was out of college and performing my own music is the newest part of my musical journey.

What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?

 
I’m not sure if there’s a specific song that I can pinpoint that I was first proud of, but something that really makes me feel good is when people comment on my lyrics. I feel really accomplished when I find a good turn of phrase, or can get a metaphor to span a couple verses, or find that one line that turns everything in a direction you weren’t expecting. It might be because I considered myself an instrumentalist for decades before I considered myself a songwriter, but I feel a special sense of pride when I really nail a lyric that speaks to someone.

What is your writing process like? 

 
Lyrics almost always come to me first, and it’s almost always a chorus. I always joke that I could never teach someone how to write a song, because my method is to just think a lot. All of the time. Occasionally, I’ll get a general idea or theme for a song and go from there, but usually it’s one line that is part of a chorus that gets everything started. I’m really fortunate that I’m able to write in my head, without an instrument. I worked as a preschool teacher for a long time, and there are a lot of my songs that were written while I was walking around the playground watching the kids. Then, when I’d have the chance, I could sit down at the piano and get everything out of my head. Now that I have more time, I don’t have to do as much mental writing, but I do get all of my best ideas when I’m driving when there’s nary an instrument in sight. I’ve always been a night owl and can usually be found playing and writing music until the wee small hours of the morning. 

Share a musical adventure from this summer with us.

 
This actually happened in the early fall, but I had a really great opportunity to perform solo fiddle and vocal on Phillip Rhodes’ “Concerto for Bluegrass Band and Orchestra” with the Blue Ridge Orchestra. The concerto is a fantastic piece written for bluegrass band and full symphony orchestra that mixes traditional bluegrass tunes with themes from Beethoven and a little bit of everything else in between! I’ve played violin concertos with orchestras before, but never imagined that I would have the opportunity to play fiddle in that setting. The piece was played as the finale of a concert programmed around remembering, rebuilding and reimagining after hurricane Helene. The entire experience was really special and I feel really fortunate that I was able to have that opportunity. 

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Q&A with 2025 NewSong Finalist Emily Johnson-Erday

Friday, October 31st, 2025

Emily Johnson-Erday is an award-winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and theater maker whose work explores the nuance of life – silver linings and beautiful tragedies alike. Raised in the mountains of North Carolina playing old-time music with her family, she now lives in Brooklyn, NY, using her musical roots to tell stories that examine tradition as it evolves.

Emily and seven other finalists will gather in Asheville on Thursday, December 11, to connect and perform at the 24th annual NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, held at The Grey Eagle. Tickets are on sale here.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

Emily Johnson-Erday: Mostly old-time and folk music! I grew up going to folk festivals, listening to family friends’ CDs, and singing at jams with my family. My dad is a fiddler, and we moved to western NC to be closer to the old-time community in the Asheville area before I can remember. It’s both a formative part of my musical life and the heart of my social ties.

What was your journey to music?

I learned music mostly from jamming and singing with the old-time community, piecemeal-ing lessons from my dad and his friends. I learned guitar to back myself up as I sang, then I tried the banjo as a fluke right after college and something clicked for the first time. I didn’t start writing songs until all those ingredients were there.

What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?

It might have been “The Roses” — after the heartbeat bill passed in Texas in 2021, I spent three weeks researching abortive herbs and working them into a song. To me it represents the first time I saw something that happened in the world and responded artistically in real time.

What is your writing process like?

It really depends on the song! Most of my folk songs come from a feeling of “I have to write a song about THIS,” or I’ll learn a science or history fact that feels like it’s useful for a song and I’ll write it down to compost into a song. Those songs tend to come lyric first, but I generally know how it wants to feel musically as I go, and which instrument it wants to be written on.

Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — an experience that really stood out for you.

I released my first EP this summer, and I was dead set on releasing on the summer solstice. So when the release party came around, it happened to line up with a heat wave in NYC — and the untimely demise of the air conditioner at the venue. It was a joyful night full of sweaty hugs and the flapflapflapflapflap of handheld fans.

 

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Q&A with 2025 NewSong Finalist Katie Boeck

Thursday, October 30th, 2025

A 2023 Kerrville New Folk winner and two-time Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Songwriter Showcase finalist, Katie Boeck is gaining recognition as one of the standout voices in today’s independent folk scene. Her 2023 album Calico was named Best Singer-Songwriter Album of the Year by the Indie Acoustic Project and has garnered praise from outlets like Atwood Magazine, Folk N Rock, and Music Mecca, who called her work  both “timeless” and “transcendent.”

Katie and seven other finalists will gather in Asheville on Thursday, December 11, to connect and perform at the 24th annual NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, held at The Grey Eagle. Tickets are on sale here.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

Katie Boeck: It was a pretty eclectic mix. Fleetwood Mac, Petty, Bruce Hornsby, Natalie Merchant, Peter, Paul and Mary, Jim Croce, Janis Ian, Joni Mitchell, Mariah, Celine. And then ’90s country radio during summers with my Dad.
What was your journey to music?

I always enjoyed singing and started taking voice lessons when I was 4. My dad enjoyed songwriting and always encouraged writing my own songs. Many nights were spent in family sing-alongs with my mom and step-dad in the “music room” playing guitar and piano and then listening to great records on loud speakers. 
What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?
 
I started writing songs when I was about 15. I remember writing a song called “Average Jane” — it felt honest, raw, and so cathartic. 
 
What is your writing process like?
 
I typically start with a melody over a chord progression on piano or guitar and find a word or a phrase that feels really good to sing over the melody. This will lead me to a broader idea and I’ll flesh out the song from there. For me it feels sort of like a puzzle where once I get a general idea of what the song is about or the overall arc of it, I just start filling it in piece by piece, making refinements and edits along the way.
 
Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — an experience that really stood out for you.
 
I released a song called “Dust” that I got to record live to tape with Shane Leonard at his studio in Eau Claire, WI. 

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Q&A with 2025 NewSong Finalist Alex Sheh

Wednesday, October 29th, 2025
Alex Sheh is a singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His music blends elements of jazz, blues, folk, and pop. His soulful vocals and expressive guitar playing create a warm and inviting atmosphere for listeners. Whether playing original music or timeless classics, Alex brings passion and depth to every performance. He believes in the power of music to share our stories and uplift each other.
 
Alex and and 7 other finalists will gather in Asheville on December 11 to perform at the 24th annual NewSong Competition.
 
 
NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?
 
Alex Sheh: My parents love music and singing. Mandarin pop music would be playing in the house and they often hosted karaoke parties with their friends. My older sister, an actress and a big fan of musical theater, introduced me to Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and others. I remember listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Jobim, the Oldies station, and Top 40.
 
What was your journey to music? 
 
My music journey started with classical piano and violin lessons as a child. Then I started learning guitar in seventh grade and everything changed – I became very focused on music and started writing songs shortly after. I sang in choirs through high school and participated in the Madrigal choir, which deepened my love for songs. I received my Bachelor’s in music composition from U.C. San Diego, where I studied classical guitar and piano. After graduating, I took private lessons in voice and jazz guitar. Later, I would study jazz piano, bass, and drums.
 
What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?
 
My first song that I was proud of is called “So Easy.” It was the first song that I wrote, at 13 years old, when my technique was limited. Everything about music felt new and exciting, and it was written instinctively, in a flash of inspiration. It was a song that my friends and family loved, and I loved seeing them connect with the music. This was when I caught the songwriting bug.
 
 
What is your writing process like?
 
My writing process is to improvise the vocal melody while accompanying myself on guitar or piano. Sometimes a specific guitar or piano part will appear first and influence the melody, but they are developed together. I compose by singing and playing into a DAW, so that I can let the ideas flow freely and then listen back and review the material. I sing improvised lyrics when writing, sometimes gibberish, but often these improvised lyrics reveal where the song should go. The music is completed first, and then the lyrics are finalized after. Song ideas can come from many places — my own experiences and learnings, stories that my friends and family share about their lives, music that I love, movies, etc. When I feel emotionally connected to a subject, then I search for the song and try to stay true to its emotional center.
 
Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — tell us about an experience that really stood out for you.
 
My biggest musical adventure this summer was initiated by my piano teacher, Julie Bonk, who is also a great songwriter. She suggested that I participate in the RealPeopleRealSongs Challenge, a 12-week songwriting challenge led by Cary Cooper, an accomplished songwriter who gives back to the songwriting community through her mentorship. Every Sunday we received a one-word prompt that we would use to write and record a song that week. I learned so much through this challenge. The weekly deadline helped me push through limiting beliefs and awaken the songwriter within me.  I met many talented songwriters through this group, and learned from them by observing how they approached each prompt both musically and lyrically.
 

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Q&A with 2025 NewSong Finalist Annie Stokes

Tuesday, October 28th, 2025

A childhood spent alternately in dance studios, buried in books, or outside on the easternmost seam of the Blue Ridge Mountains shaped Annie Stokes’s childhood and teen years, before college allowed her to pursue the study of history and gender (two themes that come up frequently in Annie’s work). After giving a ‘real’ job the (literal) old college try, it became evident to her that her life’s calling was in music and performance. Annie teamed up with producer Austin Bello for her 2023 EP Wild Rose and a forthcoming full length LP. 

Annie and seven other finalists will gather in Asheville on Thursday, December 11, to connect and perform at the 24th annual NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, held at The Grey Eagle. Tickets are on sale here.


NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

Annie Stokes: My mom was really into ’90s country and bluegrass — we were always listening to Trisha Yearwood and Alison Krauss. My grandmother introduced me to musicals, so I listened to a lot of Stephen Sondheim as a young kid. These two very different genres gave me my love of ballads and theatrical musical and lyrical choices while also keeping me rooted in folk instrumentation.

What was your journey to music? 

I grew up doing musical theatre, so I had a lot of vocal training and was adjacent to instruments my whole life. I taught myself guitar when I was in college, and proceeded to teach myself a handful of other instruments. But I’ve certainly learned from other musicians, and wouldn’t be half as decent as I am now without mentorship.

What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?

The first song I wrote that didn’t suck was called “Wrecker,” and to this day, I’m proud of it because it was when I realized that I possessed the ability to write songs. It wasn’t some mystery that I was locked out of.

What is your writing process like? 

I generally start with a lyrical idea or theme and then write the melody. Every now and then, a riff will come to me first, but I consider myself to be a writer and lyricist at heart, so generally I’ll start with lyrics. I write almost exclusively on guitar. In terms of when and where, I’m trying to be a little bit more structured with how I write. An artist I opened for a while ago told me that “the muse honors people who honor her,” which means that you have to be intentional with the time and space you make in your schedule to be creative. You can’t just wait for a good song to pour out. With two young kids and a handful of jobs, that can be tough, though.

Share a musical adventure from this summer with us. 

We played the main stage at Steppin’ Out Fest in Downtown Blacksburg this summer, and that was incredibly special. I played the acoustic stage at the same festival a few years ago, and it was a “pinch me” moment to be able to look at the massive mainstage that we were able to play on. 

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Q&A with 2025 NewSong Finalist Dustin Dale Gaspard

Monday, October 27th, 2025

In 2024, singer-songwriter Dustin Dale Gaspard received a professional scholarship from CODOFIL to study at Université Sainte-Anne. Now, he’s making history on “The Voice” as the first contestant ever to sing in Cajun French on the show—a truly unique talent shining a national spotlight on Louisiana’s Francophone culture.

Dustin and seven other finalists will gather in Asheville on Thursday, December 11, to connect and perform at the 24th annual NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, held at The Grey Eagle. Tickets are on sale here.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

Dustin Dale Gaspard: Swamp pop, vintage soul, trad Cajun, and ’90s country — a whirlwind of sounds.

What was your journey to music — were you classically trained? From a family of musicians? Self-taught?

No training, no family musicians. I was a drunkard kid and street rat trying to make art through pure discovery and conviction.

What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?

I’m proud of every song in the moment, it’s a testament to my life and the story. Early on it was emotional, then came an overcompensation of density, now it’s in reverence and hopefully a little more digestible. 

What is your writing process like?

I compartmentalize my steps, but it’s a structured chaos. There’s all this paint to choose from and sometimes it’s splattered in a plate, or it’s kept in its proper container but it’s definitely all color-coded correctly. Lyrics, then music, then organized thoughts — but it starts when a melody smears through those colors. It’ll dictate which palette it wants to be born from. That spark will tie itself to some words, or a guitar line, or even a story that needs to be told.

Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — an experience that really stood out for you.

Well, I was on a TV show called “The Voice” and it absolutely has sky-rocketed what I thought was a pretty normal artistic life into a possible opportunity to legitimately change the world. The most beautiful take-away was seeing other artists making those same sacrifices and risking it all, and even in our despair there remained vulnerability and triumph. That’s the artist’s way.

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