Over 40 singer-songwriters applied for this competition. The preliminary judges listened to all of the artists and chose their top 12. They will perform from 10-12 in a random order. Michael Stock, Bob Lind, and Susan Moss will be our final judges for this event. The 3 “top winners” will be announced at 5:15 pm.
Here are the songwriters who will be performing:
Rebecca Berlin, Jesse DeConto, Kala Farnham, Jacob George, Sue Horowitz, Lynn Hollyfield, Roger Mason, Charlie Pace, Arielle Silver, Paul Smithson, Sara Trunzo, Ezra Vancil
Imagine the voice of Sara Bareilles mixed with the honesty of Joni Mitchell and the poetic lyricism of Ani DiFranco. If there’s one word to describe Rebecca Berlin it is alchemy. Her musical style, “folk with a twist”-blends the narrative quality of traditional folk with elements of jazz and musical theater, and she is known for unique melodies and song structures, vulnerable storytelling and a voice that cuts through the noise. After taking a 13 year break from music to pursue dance and build her career as a Pilates/Yoga/Gyrotonic teacher, Rebecca burst back into the music scene in 2023 and is rapidly gaining attention as a writer, singer and performer. Past releases include “Anatomy of a Breakdown” (2006), and “Grief Triptych” (2023); her upcoming album, “Questions and Answers”, is set to release in the Fall of 2024.
Songwriter Jesse James DeConto is also a veteran journalist. In 2019, he won an Environmental Justice Reporting Award from the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources and published on climate justice with The Nation, Civil Eats and In These Times. In 2020 he started reporting for the start-up news site Cardinal & Pine, part of the Courier Newsroom network. He’s reported on COVID’s impact on the music industry, NC’s first Muslim woman elected to office, and inequities in CARE Act funding.
He worked as a staff writer and editor for newspapers in Ohio, New Hampshire and North Carolina. At The News & Observer in Raleigh, he wrote about immigration, entrepreneurship and environmental justice in green development and waste-facility siting. He narrates quirky characters and nurtures a sense of place, even when covering front-page news.
His freelance reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Reason, E: The Environmental Magazine and dozens of other publications across the U.S. He’s written about agriculture for Fast Company and Paste; economic, racial, environmental and LGBTQ equity and Islamophobia for The Christian Century; consumer debt for The N&O and Prism; and intersectional activism for Religion News Service. As a Park Fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill, he did immersive reporting with the families of death-row inmates.
Kala Farnham crafts folk songs with roots and wings, weaving age-old truths into modern grooves. The 18th Connecticut State Troubadour and Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Contest winner invites listeners into conversation with intimate, fireside-style performances. With soul-stirring vocals and mystical folk harp, piano, and guitar, she draws audiences into a transcendent journey—one that lingers long after the final note fades.
Jacob George is both a devoted teacher and singer-songwriter. Leading as Musical Director for PAN, Performing Arts Network and Voices United, he embarked on global tours, showcasing his original compositions. Graduating in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music in 2015, George’s debut album collaboration with Joe James stood as a highlight, alongside his representation of Berklee at SXSW. His 2016 album, “Fight the Feeling,” garnered acclaim, featuring “Cold Machine” on airwaves. From Balcony TV to the Richmond International Film Festival, his musical prowess shone. His 2021 music video premiere, followed by a 2022 inclusion at the festival, marked milestones.
With a voice as warm as honey whiskey, and a vibe as confident as a tree with deep roots, Sue Horowitz writes songs about everyday struggles and joys and makes them meaningful and resonant. Her stories in song are poignant, heart-felt, hilarious, rousing, timely and timeless. In addition to her solo career, Sue has joined forces with the rising Ithaca-based band Autumn Sun.
With one foot planted firmly in the spiritual Jewish music world, and the other in the singer-songwriter world, Sue has 15 years of national touring experience, from large festivals to congregations to intimate house concerts. This Ithaca, NY and York Beach, ME artist has 5 albums of original music, and her latest album, “Strings, Wings and Curious Things”, topped the Folk Radio Charts. Sue‘s sound is a blend of Americana and Folk, while also drawing influences from blues and classic rock, making each song unique.
Blend a powerful, passionate singer, a crisp, acoustic guitar player and a warm heart and you will have, singer-songwriter, Lynn Hollyfield. Hollyfield’s roots hail from Staten Island, NY when she picked up the guitar at age 10 and ran with musical influences she experienced from home. From great jazz artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to the Beatles, Cream and CSNY, Hollyfield launched into her own songwriting infusing these influences to create a diverse repertoire of contemporary folk, pop, blues and jazz.
Roger Mason is an American who lived as an expat in France for 32 years. There he had a successful career as a singer and performer, recording seven LP’s and writing three books. Mason returned to the United States in 1996 to finish his Ph.D. in music education at the University of Miami. He worked as choir director and music teacher at Saint Theresa School, Coral Gables for 24 years before his retirement in 2020. An amateur folklorist, Mason’s field recordings of Louisiana Cajun and Creole music are the basis for the bilingual book, Jolie Blonde and Aimable Brune, with a preface by the well-known ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax. In 2023, Mason released a CD called Cajun Grass, accompanied by the French bluegrass group “The String Fellows.”
From the blues to the avant garde, if there’s music, I’m there! Since the age of seven I’ve known music is my calling. My best moments are when I’m on stage or in the studio- there’s no greater joy to me than a soulful performance.
Charlie has been singing and on stage since she was a shy seven year old. She started playing guitar around 10, and soon after started writing songs, with her first release at 14. Thanks to Charlie’s lengthy back story and musician lifestyle, she never seems to run out of material. She even released her debut album “Hear Me Out” before she graduated high school. Writing has always been the one way Charlie knew she could communicate. The thought of providing an escape or connection with another person, like so many artists and bands have done for her, is something she considers sacred and her purpose in this life.
California-based singer and songwriter, Arielle Silver, is a consummate storyteller whose songs are rich with imagery, empathy, and insight, and equally inspired by Laurel Canyon and Greenwich Village. Conceived in the quiet of the pandemic quarantine, her new 10-song collection, Watershed, takes its title as much from that watershed moment in time as it does from the North American spaces where the story-songs take place. Renewing and reflective, water runs through many of the roots and folk-inspired songs as crosscurrents that connect ideas to experiences, and people to places.
Born on Florida’s Gulf Coast and raised along the Atlantic seaboard, Arielle now lives just a traffic jam away from the Pacific Ocean in her adopted home of Los Angeles. Memories of places and times serve as touchstones through her songs, as does the troubadour music traditions of folk, country, and rock that she heard from her guitar-strumming architect father. Throughout her music and storytelling runs an ethic of care, along with an essential wellspring of interpersonal relationships and ecological notice.
Paul was born in New York City, grew up in Buffalo until he was 14, and then relocated to Eustis, Florida. He has spent most of his life in Eustis, aside from 10 years in California. In addition to writing songs from personal experiences and observations, Paul devotes a lot of energy to writing about Florida history. After favorable responses to both The Devil In the Grove and Last Train, Paul is currently writing and recording for two other projects: one a collection of songs from his personal experiences titled Back Before Me And You and another collection of tunes grounded in Florida history titled Matecumbe Key.
SARA TRUNZO is an independant singer-songwriter, community organizer (co-founder of Veggies For All and Waldo County Bounty), and creator and host of “Country & Northeastern” on WERU Community Radio. Lonesome Highway said her last record, Cabin Fever Dream, was “loaded with truly touching lyrics and provide[s] a glimpse of an unquestionably talented artist.” Trunzo has collaborated with Darrell Scott and Mary Gauthier, shared stages with the likes of Suzy Bogguss and Carlene Carter, played venues such as The Bluebird, Rockwood Music Hall, and Club Passim. She has been a Joseph A. Fiore fellow, a Music to Life juried artist, and has received honors from Maine Songwriters Association, International Acoustic Music Awards, New England Songwriting Competition, and Tennessee Songwriters Week Competition.
Ezra Vancil, a native of Dallas, Texas, is a gifted singer-songwriter who has earned finalist positions in numerous international songwriting competitions, including the ISC, Kerrville New Folk, Newsong Competition, and Unsigned Only. While he has explored various genres throughout his career, Vancil has found a true sense of belonging within the Americana community. His introspective and deeply personal songwriting delves into themes of addiction, depression, and divorce, but ultimately shines with messages of hope and a love for life that are both inspiring and healing. Vancil’s music seeks to distill the essence of life into a few chords, connecting with listeners on a profound level.
