2011 CASC finalist with judges, Wyatt Durrett, Corb Lund, and Molly Nagel and volunteer chairperson Jim Lauderdale
The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest began accepting online entries yesterday (8/1) for an early entry discount price of $25 per song.
Now in its 21st year, the contest offers aspiring writers exposure to a judging panel of Nashville music industry professionals including this year’s volunteer contest chairperson Jim Lauderdale. Twelve finalists representing four categories, bluegrass, country, general and gospel/inspirational, will be narrowed with the finalists competing at MerleFest on April 25-28, 2013.
Pete Fisher and Kari Estrin created the songwriting contest to honor Chris Austin, a member of Reba McEntire’s band, recording artist and songwriter himself, who passed in the private plane crash carrying him and six other members as well as her tour manager.
Net proceeds from the contest support the Wilkes Community College Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. Since its inception the scholarship has awarded over $36,000 to 75 students.
Mail-in entries will be accepted Nov. 1 through Feb. 19, 2013. To learn more details about the contest, click here.
Category: Artist, Featured, Organizations
About the Author
Eric T. Parker oversees operations and contributes editorial for MusicRow's print magazine, MusicRow.com, the RowFax tip sheet and the MusicRow CountryBreakout chart. He also facilitates annual events for the enterprise, including MusicRow Awards, CountryBreakout Awards and the Rising Women on the Row. eparker@musicrow.com | @EricTParkerView Author Profile
