Songwriter Showcase
Songwriter Showcase
Songwriter Showcase
Congratulations to Scott Test on winning the Planet Bluegrass 2025 Songwriter Showcase!
The Songwriter Showcase is our nationally-recognized, singer/songwriter competition open to anyone who writes and performs original music, and who is not currently signed to a major recording or publishing deal.
Contestants are judged on the quality of the song’s composition (50%), vocal quality (25%), and the delivery (25%).
Ten (10) finalists compete in a live performance contest at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado. The winner receives a new Taylor Guitar, cash, and a spot on the lineup for the next year’s Folks Festival.
2025 Songwriter Showcase Finals - Lyons, CO
The top (10) Finalists will attend the Songwriters Showcase Finals held live in Lyons, CO during the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival (August 8th -10th 2025)
- Top (10) Finalists will receive the following:
- 3-day pass (w/camping) to the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
- Performance slot in the Wildflower Pavilion during the festival in addition to contest performances on the Mainstage
- Contest Format
- Friday August 8th, 2025 - Mainstage - Each contestant to perform (2) Original Songs, winner selected
- Rules for Live Performances
- No backup musicians allowed. This is a solo competition.
- Recommended time limit: 5 minutes per song. Points will be deducted for significantly exceeding this limit.
- Acoustic instruments with pickups are permitted as well as EQ devices but no effects.
- Instruments allowed are those that can be carried out to the mics with the performer. A keyboard will be provided if necessary.
2025 Prizes
Top (10) Finalists will compete on the Mainstage at the 2025 Folks Festival and will receive the following:
- 3-day pass (w/camping) to 2025 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
- Performance slot in the Wildflower Pavilion during the festival in addition to contest performances on the Mainstage
1st Place Prize
Taylor Guitar + $400 + 2025 Performance
Taylor Guitar + $400 + 2025 Mainstage Folks Fest Performance + 2025 SWRFA Conference Registration
$300
$250
$150
Panel of Judges
Our panel of judges for our songwriting contests include songwriting and industry professionals listed below as well as others.
Susan Cattaneo
With her powerful voice, captivating
Erin Chase
Erin Chase is a songwriter, performer, and Assistant Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music, where she teaches courses ranging from foundational songwriting to advanced lyric writing and singer-songwriter workshop. With over a decade of professional experience, her work spans Americana, folk-rock, country, and roots music, both as a solo artist (Erin Bonnie) and in collaborative projects including the folk-country duo Two Lilies, and Boston’s country-rock artist Elisa Smith.
Her songs have earned sync placements on national television (The Young and the Restless), recognition in the American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Contest, and a 2021 nomination for Best in State at the New England Music Awards. Erin brings a deep understanding of song structure, lyrical craft, and emotional storytelling to her role as a judge, with a keen eye for both originality and artistry. Find her on social platforms under the handle @erinbonniemusic
Anna Frick
Ally Sound
Anna Frick is a mastering and restoration engineer, and founder of Ally Sound in Boulder, Colorado. She has mastered albums for Billy Strings, Wood & Wire, Justin Moses, Roland Guerin, John Denver, Ben Sollee, Big Richard, LVDY and more. Anna is deeply involved in music industry leadership, advocacy and mentorship, in her native Colorado and beyond, through her work with the Recording Academy (National Trustee), AES, SoundGirls.org, and the IBMA (Vice Chair).
David Glasser
Airshow Mastering
David Glasser is the owner of Airshow Mastering. He has nearly 50 years of experience working with artists and music from across the musical spectrum and around the globe, including many of the musicians who’ve performed at Planet Bluegrass festivals over the years. He has mastered over 100 Grammy-nominated albums, and is a 3-time nominee and 2-time Grammy winner. From Airshow’s studio in the foothills west of Boulder, CO, recent projects include music from the Grateful Dead, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Sturgill Simpson, Bonnie Prince Billy, Sam Bush, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Jim Lauderdale, Bruce Molsky, Yonder Mountain String Band, Mr Sun, and many others.
Tim Gulsrud
Tim Gulsrud is a Longmont-based acoustician, audio engineer, and concert promoter. He founded The Soundpost Sessions in 2019 to engage with the local music scene and promote live music in Downtown Longmont. In addition to being Executive Producer for the Soundpost Sessions, he is a Senior Acoustician with SmithGroup, a leading integrated design firm.
Bonnie Hayes
Berklee College of Music
Bonnie Hayes is a songwriter, recording artist, musician and record producer. She has released 5 records as an artist, including a stint at Chrysalis Columbia and the early Slash/Warner’s record Good Clean Fun. Her songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Bette Midler, Booker T & the MG’s, Adam Ant, David Crosby, Huey Lewis & the News and many others. Hayes also toured as a keyboardist/vocalist with Billy Idol and Belinda Carlisle world tours and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bonnie Raitt, Tower of Power, Don Was and countless others.
An experienced and adept producer and arranger, she has recorded her own demos as well as producing records for many indie artists and songwriters. Her most recent gig as chair of the songwriting department at the Berklee College of Music ended this year; she currently is building a youth songwriting program at the Blue Bear School in San Francisco, serving on several non-profit boards, and enjoying the California sunshine.
Pat Pattison
Berklee College of Music
Pat Pattison is an author, clinician and Berklee Professor of Lyric Writing and Poetry whose students have composed for major artists and written number one songs. At Berklee, he developed the curriculum for the only songwriting major in the country. In addition to his four books, Songwriting Without Boundaries, Writing Better Lyrics, The Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure, and The Essential Guide to Rhyming, Pat has developed three online lyric writing courses, one on poetry, and one on creative writing available through Berkleemusic.com.
He has filmed a series of lectures and masterclasses, available through Songwork.com and has written over 50 articles for various magazines and blogs. Pat continues to present songwriting clinics across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Several of his students have won Grammys, including John Mayer and Gillian Welch.
Paul Reisler
Paul Reisler is a composer, songwriter, recording artists, performer and teacher. He is the founder and artistic director of Kid Pan Alley, co-founder of Trapezoid, as well as his current bands, Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions featuring Howard Levy, and Three Good Reasons. Over his almost 50-year career, he has performed in over 3,000 concerts, recorded close to three-dozen albums, co-written Aesop’s Fables for Orchestra and Narrator, music for theatre, dance and film, as well as the script and songs for two musicals—Bouncin’ and The Talented Clementine.
He’s written more songs than the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Stephen Foster combined—somewhere north of 3,500 compositions thanks in no small part to his army of 80,000 kid co-writers as well as his many adult collaborators. Artists including Sissy Spacek, Raul Malo, Darrell Scott, Cracker, Corey Harris, Jesse Winchester and many others have recorded his songs.
At this stage of his life, he’s committed to inspiring the creativity of others through his songwriting workshops as well as through Kid Pan Alley. A few of the places he’s taught include Rocky Mountain Song School (26 years), Utah Song School, New Song Academy, Swannanoa Gathering, Augusta Workshop, Hollyhock, Kerrville, NSAI, Berklee College of Music, and he will be co-founding a new annual Songschool in Italy in October.
Justin Roth
Justin Roth is a singer/songwriter, fingerstyle guitarist and teaching artist based in Fort Collins, CO. Acoustic guitar has been the root of his musical world since he was 17, after witnessing the expansive sonic palette of guitarist, Michael Hedges. As an artist, Justin weaves alternate tunings, partial capos, innovative techniques, effects pedals and more into his songwriting and performances. His guitar playing has been described as, ‘more than just an instrument, but an extension of himself.’ As a teacher, he loves to share his passion of getting the most out of your instrument, creating compelling guitar arrangements, and how to enhance your playing without complicating it.
Justin has toured with John Gorka and David Wilcox, as well as opened for some of the finest singer/songwriters on the acoustic music scene, including Shawn Colvin, Martin Sexton, Willy Porter and Darrell Scott.
Equally, his guitar playing has earned him shared stages with some of the greatest fingerstyle players, such as Tommy Emmanuel, Andy McKee, Billy McLaughlin and Pat Donohue. Justin’s self-produced and fan-funded album, Now You Know, was voted as one of the Top 100 Folk Albums of 2011, and has had songs featured on TV. “Fans of Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges will find themselves right at home with [Roth’s] intricate guitar work…beautifully written lyrics.” - San Francisco Art Magazine.
He also is a lead songwriter with Kid Pan Alley writing songs with kids in schools, a creator of YouTube guitar tutorials and transcriptions for viral music phenom, Jacob Collier, as well as an online teacher for TrueFire.com, JamPlay.com
Natalia Zukerman
Natalia Zukerman is a queer Jewish musician, painter, journalist, educator, cartoonist, trauma-informed yoga and meditation teacher, cultural diplomat, and community organizer. She has recorded 8 albums on her own and Willy Porter’s Weasel Records labels, toured with and/or opened for Janis Ian, Ani DiFranco, Susan Werner, Melissa Ferrick, Glen Phillips, Richard Thompson, Shawn Colvin and Dar Williams to name a few. Natalia teaches songwriting privately, in workshops, at festivals and will be teaching introduction to songwriting through Northeastern University as well as at NESR( North East Songwriters Retreat) run by Ellis Paul this summer.
She is an editor and cartoonist at The Millerton News and Lakeville Journal, a contributing writer for Acoustic Guitar Magazine, a part-time caregiver for her mom, and a full-time mom to her dog, Georgie.
Read LessHOW TO ENTER - SONG SUBMISSION
The submission window for the Songwriter Showcase is now closed for 2025. Please check back in January 2026 for 2026 submission dates.
Once the submission window opens, complete the following steps.
Step 1:
- Purchase your contest entry submission under Folks Fest (Tickets & Camping) HERE
- $20 per song (2 song limit)
Step 2:
- Submit Songs digitally HERE via our online form
- **NEW** Song submission recording must be a SOLO performance with only VOICE and ONE accompanying INSTRUMENT.
- Songs must be uploaded as .mp3 files.
- **NEW** - Lyric sheet (Word or pdf file) must be uploaded with each song.
- Make sure to submit the See Tickets order number that is on your See Tickets receipt.
Rules and Guidelines
- **NEW** - MP3 Song submission recording must be a SOLO performance with only VOICE and ONE accompanying INSTRUMENT.
- A simple voice recording from a phone is acceptable.
- Please ensure that lyrics can be heard on recording.
- Song Submission Judging Criteria (1-100pts)
- COMPOSITION (1 - 50 pts) - Lyrics, theme, emotional impact, hook, originality, melody, appeal, phrasing, cadence, form, and structure.
- VOCAL QUALITY (1 - 25 pts) - Pitch, resonance, range, natural and inflection.
- DELIVERY QUALITY (1 - 25 pts) - Expression, instrumental skill, impact, pace, dynamics, balance, rhythm, and color.
- Contestants may submit up to (2) original songs.
- No co-writes. Songwriting entries must be entirely written by the entering songwriter.
- We encourage songwriters to submit new / different songs for the Telluride Troubadour and Folks Songwriting Showcase contests.
- Contestants cannot be signed to a third-party record label or publishing deal. This competition is meant for emerging and independent performing songwriters.
Questions?
Please reach out to us at contests@bluegrass.com.