Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, Hosted By Merlefest, Offers Incredible Opportunity For Aspiring Writers And Supports College Scholarships

WILKESBORO, NC. (Top40 Charts/ MerleFest) - MerleFest 2009, presented by Lowe's, is proud once again to host the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. Now in its 17th year, the contest is an extraordinary opportunity for aspiring writers to have their original songs heard and judged by a panel of Nashville music industry professionals, under the direction of this year's volunteer contest chairperson, Grammy�-winning singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale.

The contest recognizes winners in four categories-country, bluegrass, gospel and general. First place winners in each category receive: a performance on the Cabin Stage at MerleFest 2009 (April 23-26), an acoustic guitar, a check for $300, two boxes of D'Addario strings and a one-year subscription to Acoustic Guitar magazine. Second and third place winners in each category receive performance slots on the Friday night Songwriters Coffeehouse, as well as cash prizes, D'Addario strings and Acoustic Guitar subscriptions.

This year's deadline for submissions is February 18, 2009. To be eligible to enter, a songwriter must not derive more than 50% of his or her total income from songwriting or music publishing. Additional information about eligibility and requirements is available at www.merlefest.org.

Songs may be submitted via U.S. mail or online via Sonicbids at www.sonicbids.com. Details about entry fees and what must accompany each entry are available at www.merlefest.org.
Once submitted, songs are judged by a volunteer panel of Nashville songwriters, publishers and other music industry professionals. Judging is based on a song's originality, lyrics, melody and overall commercial potential. Twelve finalists, three from each category, will be announced during the first week of April 2009. Each of the twelve finalists will compete on the Austin Stage at MerleFest 2009.

Previous winners of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest include Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, Michael Reno Harrell, Adrienne Young, Martha Scanlan, David Via, and Johnny Williams.