Posts Tagged ‘#WeAreNewSong’

Meet NewSong Finalist Beth // James

Saturday, October 28th, 2023

Beth // James is an indie-Americana duo from Austin, Texas, made up of award-winning singer-songwriters Mikaela and Jordan Burchill. After two dazzling EPs, and their original song “Lion Eyes” in Spike Lee’s Academy Award-winning feature film BlacKkKlansman, the duo is back with their debut album “Get Together,” recorded and produced by James Petralli of White Denim.

The duo will be performing as finalists at the 22nd annual NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, held on Saturday, November 18, at Citizen Vinyl in downtown Asheville, N.C. Learn more and purchase tickets HERE.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?
 
JORDAN: Both my parents were musicians, so growing up so we had a lot of music playing in the house. My dad was a jazz band director at a local college and I was lucky enough to be around a lot of jazz. All the big band stuff — Basie and Ellington — and great guitar players like Bill Frissel and Pat Metheny. I also got really into Al Green as a kid. I loved basketball and the NBA had a commercial with the song “Love and Happiness” I was hooked. The first album I bought was Al Greens greatest hits. 
 
MIKAELA: My dad was a big music lover and was always playing music in the house. Some of his favorites were Emmylou Harris, The Beatles, and anything bluegrass. I definitely got my eclectic music taste from him. Some of my favorite records as a kid were Paula Cole’s This Fire and Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club, but as I got a little older I got very into soul and r&b. I really listened to everything.
 
What was your journey to music?
 
JORDAN: Both my parents are really great musicians. My dad is a great jazz guitar player and my mom is a fantastic singer and piano player. I went to college for music at University of North Texas. I graduated with a Jazz Studies degree on guitar. My dad was my teacher growing up. He’s truly a world-class teacher. His students have gone on to play with Snarky Puppy, Leon Bridges, Snoop Dogg, and the Lumineers and have won multiple Grammys. I feel eterally blessed to have gotten to learn from him when I was a kid. 
 
MIKAELA: I always loved singing and music. My parents noticed when I was young. I started taking piano lessons at 7 and grew up singing in choirs from age 8-18. Through choir, I learned how to harmonize, perform, and got exposed to tons of different music — classical, Broadway, and basically every famous pop song of the last 70 years. 
 
I’ve studied many different vocal styles with many different amazing teachers and got my degree in vocal jazz from the University of North Texas — where Jordan and I met! 
 
What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?
 
JORDAN: I think the first song that I wrote with Mikaela. We wrote a song called “Lion Eyes” (which later got placed in the Spike Lee movie BlacKkKlansman). I remember after writing that together I was like, “Damn, we are a good team, this is a pretty good song.” I definitely haven’t written “the one,” though, yet. It’s the ultimate goal to write a song that you have no critiques about. I don’t think I’ve written that one yet.
 
MIKAELA: Probably a song I wrote when I was like 20 called “Fall With You.” I entered it in a bunch of songwriting competitions and got to play at Kerrville and Telluride. I really didn’t know at all what I was doing back then but I think that was the first time I really got recognition for a song I wrote and thought, “OK, maybe I’m good at this, I should keep writing.” Like Jordan said, though, definitely still trying to write “the one”! 
What is your writing process like?
 
JORDAN: Lately it’s been changing. I have a ton of voice memos with chord progression ideas and I have a ton of notes with lyric ideas. I like to go to those to start ideas. We’ve also been sitting down and just writing a song based of a specific idea/topic lately and I really have been enjoying having the parameters of having that.
 
MIKAELA: My best songs start in the car usually. For some reason inspiration tends to hit when I’m driving alone, so I just take out my phone and leave a little voice memo with melody and usually a few lyric ideas. Then I’ll take it to the piano annd home to Jordan to piece together. I’m trying to be better about writing when I don’t feel inspired, though.
 
Share a musical adventure from this summer with us.
 
JORDAN: This summer we got asked to play an Americana Festival in Germany called Static Roots Festival. It was probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time playing music. The fest was amazing with a really great line up of artists and the attendees just loved music. They wanted to hear the songs we’ve written, wanted to talk to us, and they had specific records they wanted to buy. It felt really good. Hopefully we’ll make it back over to Germany and the UK again next summer. 
 
MIKAELA: We toured out of the country for the first time this summer and it was amazing! Definitely agree with everything Jordan said, and another favorite moment from that tour was a show we played at a tiny town in the UK. It seemed like everyone from the whole town came out to the show and were so attentive and excited to listen to music! They really listened to the lyrics and were so kind. A group even invited us to tea after to show and told us all about the town’s history. It was magical and I can’t wait to go back! 

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Meet NewSong Music finalist Senobia

Saturday, October 7th, 2023
Senobia is a versatile singer who pours out her soul fused with R&B, jazz, blues, and commercial pop undertones. She is a vocalist, composer, and veteran of the stage having performed with America’s finest as a U.S. Army band singer. She is a born and bred musician from Columbus, Ohio, where her first introductions to music were gospel, doo-wop, pop, and rhythm & blues before she found jazz.
 
Senobia has performed in jazz clubs on the Caribbean Sea, Opera houses along the Amalfi Coast of Italy, and wineries from Carlsbad, Calif., to Washington, D.C. Her world, life, and musical influences have transformed her music into the exotic culture she has experienced as an internationally traveled singer. Senobia is often referred to as a “sireness” as her voice is so enchanting and dynamic that she will leave listeners swooning for more.
 

Senobia is a finalist in the 2023 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, which will take place on Saturday, November 18, at Citizen Vinyl in downtown Asheville, N.C. Learn more and purchase tickets HERE.

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?
 
Senobia: Growing up, we would sing harmonies with our grandma to songs such as like The Jackson 5’s “Rockin Robin.” My grandma loved to sing 1950s doo-wop and barbershop quartet songs and I loved to sing with her. My grandmother’s voice is similar to the famous jazz singer Nancy Wilson. I would also transcribe music from the radio so a lot of the 1990s music from artists like Donny Hathway, Lauren Hill, Kirk Franklin, Whitney Houston, Micheal Jackson, Usher, OutKast, Destiny’s Child, R. Kelly, En Vogue, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Eminem. I loved to sing, rap, and just vibe to all the different types of music I heard my family listening to and what I found on the radio.
 
What was your journey to music?
 
My musical journey began in 4th grade, so when I was nine I started on the violin. That first year of reading music really set the tone for my musicianship. That next year, I moved to choir and have been singing ever since. In middle school, I received more musicianship training and singing development through the choir. By the time I got to high school, I was performing competitively as a soloist in the choir and in solo and ensemble competitions. Our high school choir traveled and competed internationally with two of us at the forefront leading the solos. When I went to college, I began my studies on the piano as my secondary instrument and became a classically trained singer. I performed a recital every year at my local church and fundraised to pay for a two-week trip to the Amalfi Coast to perform with a summer Opera program. After graduation, I joined the military and started to perform all different types of genres with the U.S. Army band from rock, country, patriotic, soul, jazz, blues, classical, R&B, and pop music. It was a lot of fun to get to perform your favorite top 40 music and some old-school music sprinkled in. When I got out of the Army I went back to school to get my master’s degree in vocal pedagogy. There, I really learned all the nuances of the voice and how to master the instrument. I started my professional voice teaching business and have been performing and songwriting since completing my master’s. I wish I could say I came from a family of musicians but really, I am the only one — but we have a few singers. 
 
What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?
 
The first song I wrote that I was really proud of was “Time To Breathe,” the title track from my new EP I released this past March. I had that song in my head for years. “Time To Breathe” is the tail end of a story about a point in my life where I felt low enough to end my life from losing the love I cherished. I was young and didn’t quite know what love was, but I knew that was the person I wanted at that time in my life. Every time I perform and hear this musical composition I am moved because I made it through a dark time. “Time To Breathe” was one of those songs you just know needs to be heard. So I had a strong compulsion to get this song created. I actually tried working with two other producers before I found the one who helped me bring this song to life. Once “Time To Breathe” was created, it did relieve some of the emotional burden I had been feeling all these years. So it is one of my most beloved songs.
 
What is your writing process like?
 
My writing process is a bit unorthodox. I use the universe to help me write my music, which seems weird, but I say that because my songs come to me at random. Sometimes I’m more intentional and just listen to the world around me. But the songs I write almost always start with some sort of melody. I’ll just be living life and realize I’m humming the same melody over and over, so I record a voice memo then come back and start composing the structure on the piano. Sometimes lyrics will come right away, other times I craft a story from my life experiences or from what I feel from the melody and chords. My favorite songs are the ones that I write in my dreams. I’ll just be making music in my dream, wake myself up to record the voice memo, and work on it later. I have much more fantastical ideas and sometimes I can create the full song as I recall it from my dream.
 
Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — an experience that really stood out for you.
 
This summer I really did as much as I could to promote my first album, so just about anywhere I went I was shamelessly promoting and singing. We took my Dad to New Orleans for his birthday. One morning, while walking around, there was a jazz band playing outside at a local cafe. On their break, I went up and asked them if I could perform a few tunes. It doesn’t always happen but they let me join the set. I performed and afterward, I promoted my album. Wherever I go, I always try to find local musicians to share musical stories, but this was a nice surprise. It was my first performance in New Orleans, but not even three months later, I was back there performing at an artist showcase.
 

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Meet NewSong finalist Reece Sullivan

Saturday, October 7th, 2023
Originally from Arkansas, singer-songwriter Reece Sullivan now lives in Lafayette, La., and plays the surrounding states regularly. He’s reinvented himself many times: piano to guitar, classical to art rock, art rock to folk, flat picking to fingerpicking, solely songwriting to performing. In 2022, Reece released a full length album, Arkansas, and a single, The Riverband (Dockside). In 2023, he released a full-length acoustic album, Gethsemane, and a live EP, Live in the City of Gold. He’s putting the finishing touches on a new album, False Summits, which will be released early in 2024 and he has a single, “Song for Edward de Vere,” planned for November 2023, the 400th anniversary of the first Shakespearean Folio.  
 
Reece is a finalist in the 2023 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, which will take place on Saturday, November 18, at Citizen Vinyl in downtown Asheville, N.C. Learn more and purchase tickets HERE.
 

NewSong Music: What sort of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?
 
Reece: Not much! I had a very limited amount of vinyl that I remember playing such as an album by The Beach Boys, Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock N’ Roll,” and a kid’s song album. Other than that, one of my bigger and more fond memories of music was listening to what cassettes my dad played in his truck. I remember listening to the album An Innocent Man by Billy Joel and Tumbleweed Connection by Elton John. I loved those albums and the memories associated with them of riding with my dad singing along.  
  
What was your journey to music?

I was classically trained. I started taking piano lessons when I was six; I still remember getting out of the car that day and the lessons, also. Though I did learn a lot like so, it wasn’t until I got an acoustic guitar at age 15 that I truly started learning music theory and playing by ear, which I had beforehand thought of as extremely mysterious. At age 20, I majored in piano performance, but I quit that after a mere year. My professor and I got along really well and would talk a lot about The Beatles and Beethoven, both of whom I greatly love, and he advised me to simply quit college if I knew I really only wanted to write music. Majoring in piano is a very time-consuming degree. I was practicing at least a couple hours a day for five or six days a week, and I felt even that wasn’t enough. It pained me because I was dedicating all that time to learning someone else’s music, however great it may’ve been, instead of working on my own. Thus, my professor’s suggestion that I quit, which I think of to this day as good advice.  
 
What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?

I wrote my first song, “All I Wanted,” at my friend Jeff Fox’s house when I was 16. I still think of it a somewhat catchy tune and not all too bad. The lyrics were certainly extremely juvenile, but what can one expect at that age? As far as being satisfied with what I write, it’s a difficult thing. I feel no song is ever really perfect and can almost always be made better. Often it’s hard to figure out how to do that, though! I wrote a lot of stuff in my 20s that certainly showed talent and such, but there was a major shift in my music starting at the end of my 20s. I dedicated myself more fully to lyrics and aspects of the craft that I’d somewhat ignored up until then. When that phase started, I wrote an incredible amount of material; some of the material to arise from the early part of that phase I still enjoy and some of them I still play, but the first song to arrive where I realized I’d improved and that the improvement seemed lasting was a song titled “Suffering & Pain.” That song was released on the album “All For You, Dulcinea.” Though the vocals and production and recording quality on those songs was drastically lacking, I still really like “Suffering & Pain.”
 
What is your writing process like?
 
I believe in writing whether one is “in the mood” or not. So I try to generally treat it like an author would while writing a book. I tend to write predominantly on acoustic guitar, but I’ll sometimes write things on piano. Though there are definitely exceptions, I almost always get the music totally to my liking. This includes verses, choruses, bridges, breaks, and phrasing. After that, I write lyrics.  
 
Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — an experience that really stood out for you.
 
I had a song place in this year’s ACORN Songwriting Competition, so I flew to Chicago to play the event, which is about an hour east, in the bottom part of Michigan, almost, but not quite, on Lake Michigan. Certainly traveling is one of my favorite things to be doing, no matter where I’m headed or why, though traveling for music is the best. I had also never been to Michigan or Wisconsin, so I took the chance to drive up into Wisconsin on a free day, which, combined with seeing Michigan, makes for 45 states I’ve been to. Louisiana was scorching hot, as it always is in the summer, so it bordered on magical being somewhere as cool and breezy as they are. The ACORN Theater did not disappoint. It’s an amazing, magical place that couldn’t look better, aesthetically. I had a great time playing and met a lot of good folks, one of which I may play some shows with in a few months. Meeting people through music is honestly one of the best parts to touring, and for me, I feel closer to people I meet through music than any of circumstance.  

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Catching up with LEAF/NewSong Competition Finalist Philip Bowen

Thursday, April 6th, 2023

Just about a year ago West Virginia native Philip Bowen performed as a finalist at the annual LEAF Performance and Songwriting Competition, produced by NewSong Music. While Bowen is perhaps best known for his TikToks (where he adds a fiddle part to pop songs from “Free Fallin’” to “Enter Sandman” to “Gangsta’s Paradise”) he stuck to acoustic guitar and original folk/Americana songs for the competition.

By the way, Bowen won TikTok’s Gamers Greatest Talent competition.

The LEAF event, in May of 2022, “Was actually one of the one of the first things [where I traveled] to go do all original stuff,” Bowen recalls. “I’m so glad like I did it when I did it, because it was a great experience. I got to meet lots of interesting people. To hear other people doing their songs, you get inspired by what they’re writing.” In fact, Bowen has kept in touch with fellow finalist Stephan Sylvester and the two have written songs together.

In a way, the LEAF competition kicked off a big year for Bowen, which included an interview by Rolling Stone on Twitch, performing at NPR’s Mountain Stage as part of the opening show for the program’s 40th season, co-writing in Nashville, and readying his own album for release. (And, since this interview, Bowen also teased social media viewers with a photo of himself at “America’s Got Talent.”)

New Music

Probably the biggest thing coming up for Bowen is the release of his new album — his debut solo project — due out this summer. “For me it was very important to record the entire album in Appalachia, generally, but specifically, but West Virginia,” he says. “I did all the studio work in West Virginia, and every session player (except for one pedal steel player from Nashville) was talent from Appalachia.”

The record, Bowen says, is a mix of eclectic styles. “Most of it’s very Americana and dealing with country vibes. And then a couple more jazzy, bluesy tunes on there.” He adds, “It was a very cool experience. I’m really excited to have it done. It almost feels like I ran a marathon.”

But backing up to last year — a month or so after LEAF, Bowen had some songwriters reaching out to him. One of those experience of co-writing over Zoom led to an opportunity to play at Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Café. Usually, a songwriter must, “jump through a million hoops,” to land a gig at the Bluebird, Bowen says. “It was a well-known thing that I got invited to come and do, versus having to go the open mic route and do all these auditions for it. I got invited to come and I got to play like, seven songs on center stage. It was just a really fun night.”

Mountain Stage

The Mountain Stage booking came out of Bowen’s connection to West Virginia — though he and his family are currently based in Michigan. A job offer in 2014 brought him north.

But, “Growing up in West Virginia, and being from the region, I had known about Mountain Stage my whole life,” Bowen says. He had heard that friends in West Virginia were sending his music to the producers of Mountain Stage, which was flattering, but, “I just was not expecting too much from it and I didn’t want to cold call them and force my stuff on them.”

Instead, while speaking to a local media outlet, “I mentioned on this TV interview that it would just be a dream come true to do Mountain Stage. It would be such an honor to do it,” Bowen recalls. A few weeks later, Bowen was visiting his parents in West Virginia for the holidays when he received an email from Mountain Stage host Larry Groce saying he wanted someone local for the opening show of the 40th season. The date was just a few weeks away, but Bowen didn’t bother to check his calendar for conflicts. “I was like, ‘Oh, 100%’,” he says.

The whole experience was unbelievable, Bowen says. “I got to sing with Kathy Mattea. I think each person has about a 25-minute set. So, it was a true joy, and it was sold out. The whole evening was a really wonderful experience and to be able to do that in my hometown — it was just the coolest, most surreal experience.”

Rolling Stone

But Bowen’s big year didn’t stop there. Before Covid, Bowen says, he had plans to play coffee shops and other small gigs in the Detroit area to work his way into that music scene. When everything shut down, he turned to online platforms to share his music. “And that really changed my whole life because of the audience it ended up giving me,” he says. “I had said yes to a couple things from Twitch — they reached out to me maybe a year before that and offered to include me in this Artists Collective thing they were doing because they wanted more music streamers to use their platform.”

He continues, “It was a collaborative thing. I got to meet some people who were doing what I was doing. And I got a couple of front-page opportunities through that on Twitch. And then this person from Twitch corporate reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, I just wanna let you know, Rolling Stone is doing this series on singer-songwriters. They said most of them are published, major-label supported songwriters. But I think that if it’s okay with you, I want to put you forward for it.”

Bowen says he didn’t get his hopes up, but he also thought, “What can it hurt?” Three weeks later, Bowen received a message from Rolling Stone’s editorial staff asking if he was available on a particular date.

The week of the Rolling Stone interview, Bowen was in Nashville for a songwriters workshop. He left a day early and drove home so he could do the online interview from his home studio. “I got home and this massive snowstorm come through Michigan, like no power, no internet,” Bowen says. Because he couldn’t change the date and time of the interview, Bowen’s family stepped into help, scrambling to find a place with electricity.

“I drove to this random warehouse in Detroit where my brother knew somebody,” Bowen remembers. “We hung a black tablecloth on the wall. And then I just started setting everything up to make it look like I was in a studio. Literally, I plugged in the last thing 45 seconds before my soundcheck.” The risk paid off: “It was total chaos. But it was just a miracle that it happened.”

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Announcing the 2022 NewSong Competition Finalists

Thursday, October 20th, 2022

We are thrilled to announce the finalists for this year’s NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition!

• AC Sapphire — (Portland, Ore.) Her cosmic sound blends disparate elements into an ethereal folk rock while her strong voice shakes listeners awake as she spins her passionate, dust-blasted tales.

• Ash & Eric — (Worcester, Mass.) Ash & Eric are two dreamers forever committed to making music for their listeners that is honest, intentional, and beautiful. The pair continues to say “YES” to the power of vulnerability, simplicity, and new starts.

• Brittany Ann Tranbaugh — (Philadelphia, Penn.) In ‘Quarter Life Crisis Haircut.’ she tackles a wide range of topics including her sixth grade queer awakening, an awkward run-in with an old acquaintance, and the impossibility of true folk music authenticity in this day and age.

• Indus Adams — (San Antonio, Tex.) An entrepreneur by day, Indus turned two years of Covid quarantine into an intensive woodshedding period where he worked on music and songwriting. Music is his great love and the chance to pursue it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, he says.

• Cozi anda Flounder — (Dallas, Tex.) This Cosmic Country duo centers on a father (Ezra) and daughter (Cosi) songwriting team. “It’s like a conversation between generations, put to music,” says Ezra.

• Mikalyn — (Guelph, Ontario) Mikalyn’s signature alt-pop stylings boldly blur lines between genres and eras. As an established singer-songwriter her journey had a significant boost when a Brazilian record label discovered her original, piano-driven songs on Soundcloud and offered to transform them into EDM hits

• Justin Cross — (Birmingham, Ala.) Writing songs has always been a means of expression for Cross, but becoming a father brought a new dimension to his lyrical, musical and creative direction. “A lot of the songs have become expressions of what I want to say to my sons and leave behind for them,” he says.

They will be joined by our Earl-Bird Finalist, The Singer and The Songwriter, a California-based duo who met and began writing and performing music together in 2006. Together, Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran — a queer mixed-race-Mexican-American and first-generation-Vietnamese-American, respectively — won the West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest, were nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Song at the 16th Annual Independent Music Awards and, this year, were named as a finalist in the prestigious Grassy Hill New Folk Song Competition for Emerging Folk Artists at the Kerrville Folk Festival.

Thanks so much to everyone who submitted songs to this year’s NewSong Music Competition!

Entries to the 21st annual NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition closed at 11:59 PM on Sunday, Sept 18. We are overwhelmed by the talent of the singer-songwriters who entered their original work to this year’s competition.

This year’s eight finalists will convene in Asheville, N.C. on Saturday, Dec. 3 to network, celebrate, showcase and compete in this very special 21st annual live event, hosted by our presenting sponsor, Citizen Vinyl.

Tickets will be available soon.

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Q+A with Early Bird Finalist The Singer and The Songwriter

Wednesday, August 24th, 2022

California-based duo The Singer and The Songwriter, aka Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran, were recently chosen as the first finalist in this year’s NewSong Performance and Songwriting Competition!



The identities of Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran — a queer mixed-race-Mexican-American and first-generation-Vietnamese-American, respectively — inform their music. Together they create eclectic and heartfelt songs that tell emotionally honest and compelling stories. Their unique and vibrant style is sophisticated but playful.

The California-based duo met and began writing and performing music together in 2006. Together Rachel and Thu won the West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest, were nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Song at the 16th Annual Independent Music Awards and, this year, were named as a finalist in the prestigious Grassy Hill New Folk Song Competition for Emerging Folk Artists at the Kerrville Folk Festival.

We caught up with Rachel and Thu to learn a little bit more about their original music project.

NewSong: You’ve been having an amazing year, with being named a finalist in the prestigious Grassy Hill New Folk Song Competition for Emerging Folk Artists at the Kerrville Folk Festival and then being chosen as the NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition Early Bird Finalist. Why do you think the stars are aligning right now?

RACHEL: Thank you! We feel that alignment too and I think it’s because we’re feeling in musical integrity. With this latest set of music we have finally caught up to the musicians we have always hoped we would be. We have been in constant pursuit of the best version of our musical selves. This looks like constantly honing our skills as songwriters and working our respective crafts; me with singing, Thu with guitar. We’re clear on our perspective as folk musicians and deliberate in the stories we want to tell. When we tell an honest story and give that story a simple, clear musical home, folks connect with it. Early on we often unintentionally hid our lyrics behind more flashy production, but as we’ve become more precise lyricists we’re able to put forward work that is unencumbered. The music that’s gaining some notoriety from Kerrville and now NewSong are all story songs that don’t have any obligations but to directly and honestly tell a story. 

You have been creative partners for 16 years. What has been key to establishing and nurturing trust and communication in that relationship? 

RACHEL: Has it really been 16 years?! This has been sweet to reflect on. Our trust and communication is something we’ve intentionally worked on over our long collaboration together and it hasn’t always come easily to us. We know that it’s in the music’s best interest if the stewards of that music are in sync with themselves and each other. We know that if we are in rupture, the music will suffer (say bickering for two hours and then trying to play a show together…) Over the years, we’ve become better attuned to one another’s needs even (and especially) when they’re different than our own. For instance, I know that Thu prefers to rehearse a ton before shows, whereas I prefer to rest my voice. I get really nervous before a show so I need a lot of ritual and warm-up, and Thu doesn’t really need that. So over time, we have found ways to communicate our needs and make enough space for each of us to be operating at our best. So now, for instance, we rehearse early and often (not right before a show), and we have some warm-up rituals that we do together that ground us. For us, this kind of compromise is a reflection of our individual commitment to the band and to the music. The more I acknowledge and embrace the needs of my bandmate, the more it feels like I’m leaning in towards the music. And I trust that Thu is leaning in equal and opposite measure which creates an equilibrium that, I think, has kept our band sustainable for all these years. 

During the pandemic you developed a system to bring music to people as they quarantined. Is there anything you gained from that experience that you plan to continue in your post-pandemic performance?

THU: There’s this thing that we heard Susan Gibson say that really stuck with us which is, “Your music is a service, not a product.” That ended up being such a perfect articulation of what we learned from doing The Songmobile. When the pandemic first hit, and we were feeling so powerless, it was Rachel’s idea to just put a battery-powered speaker in the car and drive around the Bay Area, playing private concerts to individual families from their houses’ driveways. It was such a straight-forward solution and I think the reason it worked is because it really got to the heart of music: it’s the connection between the music and the listener. It was an important reminder that when we perform, we get to be of service to the audience. I love being able to focus on that idea when we perform because it helps me take my ego out of the equation, and allows me to just connect to the music and the listener.

You recently shared a bill with another duo from the NewSong Music family — Ordinary Elephant. What does it mean to you to be part of a community of songwriters and performers such as NewSong?

THU: It means the world to us to be part of this community! When we look at the list of past NewSong finalists, they are songwriters that we genuinely admire and we have discovered some personal favorite artists by keeping up with NewSong each year! It’s an amazing feeling to be considered peers with artists you’ve loved for years.

Any updates on the planned release of your new album, Dreams! The Dead! Ghost! Future?

THU: We are in the process of approving the masters right now! It’s been a long journey for this album since it got stalled by the pandemic, but we are so excited for how it’s turned out. All the songs that we submitted to NewSong will be on this new album so we’re hoping that our participation in NewSong will get more folks excited about the record! As of now, we’re planning on releasing it sometime in 2023. More soon, we promise!

Submissions are still open, through Sept. 18, for the 2022 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition. Enter your original songs here.

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Announcing the new #WeAreNewSong video series

Thursday, August 4th, 2022

New video series features 2021 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition finalists

This week we launched the first installment in a weekly series of performances and interviews with NewSong finalists, filmed at Citizen Vinyl in downtown Asheville, N.C. The first video features Charlie Belle.

Charlie Belle is an indie-pop band from Austin Texas formed by siblings Jendayi Bonds and Gyasi Bonds. The duo performed as a finalist act in the 2021 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition, held at Citizen Vinyl. Charlie Belle was one of eight finalists to compete for the annual NewSong Music grand prize.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to follow the series. New videos will release each Friday.Love these videos? Consider submitting YOUR original songs to this year’s NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition. Submissions are being accepted through Sunday, September 18, with a finale performance scheduled for Saturday, December 3, at Citizen Vinyl.

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#WeAreNewSong :: David Robert King

Monday, October 8th, 2018

Every year, NewSong receives countless song submissions from talented artists across North America and beyond. Only a handful are chosen each year as finalists. And while not all of these finalists take home the grand prize, all of them leave a lasting impression on the NewSong team. Supporting and fostering new and as-yet-undiscovered musicians is what NewSong is all about, which is why we aim to celebrate past finalists and winners in our new video series, #WeAreNewSong. This week, we’re featuring David Robert King. 

 

 

David Robert King, talented songwriter and 2017 NewSong Music Competition finalist, is certainly an artist to get to know. His 2017 album, Idaho, was produced by Darryl Neudorf (Neko Case, The New Pornographers, Sarah McLachlan) and has been met with great critical acclaim for its unique sound.

No Depression has praised the musician, calling Idaho “good for the soul,” full of “folk-drenched songs of the world class order.” King recently performed at the 30A Songwriters Festival, alongside Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Mary Gauthier, and others. We caught up with David this week to find out what is new in his career, how his experience with NewSong has impacted him and to get his thoughts on songwriting. Stay tuned this fall for a single David recorded with fellow NewSong finalist and 2017 Grand Prize Winner Crys Matthews. 

NewSong: How would you describe your songwriting style?

David Robert King: For me, songwriting is both a therapy and an itch. Sometimes I need to sit down and write in order to maintain sanity, other times an idea, tune, or phrase just keeps bugging me until I give it time and space, then the itch is scratched.

It has been almost a year since the 2017 NewSong Music Competition. How did your experience with NewSong impact you?

NewSong has been a place to build community. The group is both incredibly talented and incredibly kind… a rare combination. I’m only human, and NewSong’s recognition is validating and encouraging. Playing at Lincoln Center in New York, recording at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville — pretty awesome stuff.

What is coming up for you that readers should know about?
 
I have some exciting shows coming up in the Southeast, and I’m really excited about the songwriting workshop I am doing with City Song School and Jennifer Knapp (one of my favorite writers) in Decatur, GA
 

We hope you follow David Robert King’s music career, as we will, and check out his work on Spotify and iTunes! 

To stay up-to-date with David’s news and schedule, visit his website. 

To learn more and enter the 2018 NewSong Music Competition (deadline is Sunday, November 4), visit this page.

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#WeAreNewSong :: Crys Matthews

Wednesday, August 15th, 2018

Every year, NewSong receives countless song submissions from talented artists across North America and beyond. Only a handful are chosen each year as finalists. And while not all of these finalists take home the grand prize, all of them leave a lasting impression on the NewSong team. Supporting and fostering new and as-yet-undiscovered musicians is what NewSong is all about, which is why we aim to celebrate past finalists and winners in our new video series, #WeAreNewSong. 

Crys Matthews is one of those artists who did, in fact, take home the grand prize in 2017. Watch our interview with Crys to learn more about her NewSong experience and what drives her songwriting. 

Crys Matthews is the second NewSong artist featured in the series, and we have been thrilled to continue working with this talented songwriter since her grand prize win in 2017. As recently as July 2018, Crys co-wrote and recorded a new single with fellow 2017 NewSong finalist David Robert King at Echo Mountain Recording Studios. Producer and NewSong founder, Gar Ragland, was at the helm.

To call Crys “busy” might be an understatement. In August 2017, she simultaneously released both a new full-length album, The Imagineers, and an EP, Battle Hymn For An Army Of Lovers. These collections showcase two sides of Matthews’ dynamic songwriting; The Imagineers is a selection of thoughtful songs about love and life, while Battle Hymn For An Army Of Lovers tackles social justice themes.

We hope you follow Crys’s career, as we will, and check out her work on Spotify and iTunes! 

To stay up-to-date with Crys’s news and schedule, visit her website. 

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Crys Matthews records grand prize EP at Echo Mountain Recording Studios

Monday, July 30th, 2018
 

Crys Matthews was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2017 NewSong Music Competition. She spent time in Asheville this July recording her grand prize EP with producer Gar Ragland at Echo Mountain Recording Studios.

 

NewSong Music is delighted to have 2017 Grand Prize Winner Crys Matthews in the studio this week, recording her EP, These Old Hands. 

Matthews credits her NewSong win with launching her music career in the right direction. “Since that night, I’ve been on an incredible trajectory,” she says. “I have been able to play some of the most amazing venues in the country, meet some of the most amazing people, and rub elbows with some of the greats like Michael Franti and Keb Mo.”
 
Of her new EP with NewSong Recordings, These Old Hands, Matthews says, “It’s a complete departure from my last two projects and has more of an angsty Joan Armatrading feel to it. I’m so looking forward to sharing these songs — especially with my fans who always want to hear some sad songs.” 
 
“It’s such a pleasure to be working with Crys on this new collection of beautiful songs,” says Ragland, who is producing and mixing the project. “It’s a bit of a departure from her previous recorded work, and pushes the envelope in both exciting and musical ways. The whole team is excited for its upcoming release.”
 

More about Crys Matthews

Crys Matthews is nothing if not ambitious. In August 2017, she simultaneously released both a new full-length album, The Imagineers and an EP, Battle Hymn For An Army Of Lovers. These collections showcase two sides of Matthews’ dynamic songwriting; The Imagineers is a selection of thoughtful songs about love and life while Battle Hymn For An Army Of Lovers tackles social justice themes. Songs from both projects have already won her recognition and awards. She was one of ten finalists (from a pool of 5,000) in this year’s NewSong Music Competition and, after performing at Lincoln Center on November 30th, she was named grand-prize winner. Matthews also won the People Music Network’s Social Justice Songs contest at the 2017 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance.

We hope you will follow along with Crys Matthew’s growing music career and check out her releases on Spotify and iTunes! For updates and show schedule, visit her website. 

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