2012 Music Contests
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| 2011 Troubadour Matt Harlan (photo Benko Photographics) |
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Once again, songwriters and bands from around the country will take part in the nationally recognized Telluride Troubadour and band competitions, vying for beautiful instruments, cash prizes and well deserved recognition.
Hang out and listen to the wonderful music of fine songwriters and great string bands on Thursday and Friday at Elks Park (free workshop stage in downtown Telluride). Then enjoy the finalists on the Festival main stage on Saturday morning (band contest) and Sunday evening (Troubadour winner).
Telluride Troubadour Contest
The Telluride Troubadour Competition is a nationally recognized 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, vocal delivery, and the overall performance. Finalists are awarded cash and prizes, as well as critical acclaim, well-deserved recognition, and a chance to perform on the festival main stage!
The Telluride Troubadour Competition has been held in conjunction with the Telluride Bluegrass Festival since 1991. Previous winners include Larry Good (1991), Cosy Sheridan (1992), Dan Sheridan (1993), Catie Curtis (1994), LJ Booth (1995), Michael Lille (1996), Jonathan Kingham (1997), Eugene Ruffolo (1998), Libby Kirkpatrick (1999), Mary Coppin (2000), Kris Delmhorst (2001), Deb Talan (2002), Rachel Davis (2003), Brian Joseph (2004), and Keith Greeninger (2005), Nels Andrews (2006), Gregory Alan Isakov (2007), Nathan Moore (2008), Mitch Barrett (2009), Robby Hecht (2010), and Matt Harlan (2011).
2012 Troubadour Finalists
Once again we were blown away by the nearly 450 entries we received from all over the world. The originality, craftsmanship, and creativity of the entries consistently impressed us. Congratulations to the following finalists who will be performing in the final 2 rounds on Telluride's Elks Park stage. As well these artists will be performing throughout the festival in in-the-round sets at Elks Park, on-air on KOTO, and for short 'tweener sets on the festival main stage.
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2012 Troubadour Honorable Mentions
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2012 Rules and Guidelines
- Submissions for the 2012 Telluride Troubadour contest will be accepted from December 7, 2011 thru Friday, April 13, 2012.
- The entrance fee is $10 per song. Contestants may submit up to two original songs.
- Songs can be submitted two ways:
Submit online: contestants may submit their songs electronically through Sonicbids. Online submissions will cost $10/song, payable by credit card.- Submit by snail mail: send us a CD (no cassette tapes, please) with the songs/tracks for consideration clearly specified. Please enclose checks for $10/song payable to Planet Bluegrass. Limit 2 songs per person. Please do not send any lead sheets, lyrics, publicity, bios, etc. Recordings will not be returned. Send your CD and entrance fee to:
Planet Bluegrass
PO Box 769
Lyons, CO 80540
Attn: Telluride Troubadour Contest - Sorry, 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 Showcase contests.
2009 Troubadour grand prize - a custom Shanti guitar - Contestants cannot be signed to a third-party record label or publishing deal. This competition is meant for emerging and independent performing songwriters.
- All CDs must be postmarked or submitted by April 13, 2012 to be eligible.
- Ten finalists will be chosen for the preliminary round in Telluride. Notification will take place on May 4, 2012.
- Each finalist will receive the following:
- a complimentary four day pass to the 39th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival (June 21-24) that includes camping for one
- an “in the round” performance slot in Elks park
- a live radio spot
- a performance coaching session
- and a chance to perform a “tweener” song on the main stage during the festival.
- Finalists will play 2 original songs in the preliminary round and the top five finalists will play 2 original songs in the final round.
- Finalists may not repeat songs from preliminaries in the finals.
- 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.
- No backup musicians allowed. This is a solo competition.
2012 Troubadour Prizes
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1st Place: Custom Shanti guitar and $300
Backstage before the band contest finals - 2nd Place: $500
- 3rd Place: $400
- 4th Place: $300
- 5th Place: $200
- 6th - 10th Place: $100
- Each finalist also receives: an "in the round" workshop spot in Elks Park, a
performance coaching session, a KOTO radio live session, and a tweener main
stage spot over the festival weekend.
2012 Troubadour Schedule
- Preliminary Round.
Approx 12:00pm, Thursday, June 21st. Elks Park Stage (across from the Sheridan Opera House on Main Street). - Final Round.
Approx 3:15pm, Friday, June 22nd. Elks Park Stage. - The Troubadour winner performs a fifteen minute set on Sunday evening, June 24th on the Festival Main Stage in front of 10,000 happy festivarians from all over the world. Award is presented on stage immediately prior to performance.
2012 Telluride Band Contest
The Telluride Band Contest is a nationally-recognized bluegrass contest. Finalists are awarded cash and prizes, as well as critical acclaim, well-deserved recognition, and a spot on the 2013 lineup to perform on the festival main stage. Past winners include the Dixie Chicks, Nickel Creek, Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband, the Pagosa Hot Strings, The Badly Bent, Greensky Bluegrass, Spring Creek, Blue Canyon Boys, The Hillbenders, Nora Jane Struthers & the Bootleggers, and 2011 winners Run Boy Run.
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| 2007 band contest winners Spring Creek Bluegrass from Lyons, CO |
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2012 Band Competition Schedule
- Preliminary Round.
Approx 10:00am, Friday, June 22. Elks Park Stage. - Final Round.
Approx 10:15am, Saturday, June 23. Main Festival stage, inside the Festival grounds. Prizes awarded immediately after the contest.
2012 Telluride Band Competition Prizes
- 1st Place Prize: $750, strings & a main stage slot on the 2013 Telluride Bluegrass lineup.
- 2nd Place: $450 and strings
- 3rd Place: $300 and strings
- 4th Place: $150 and strings
- All band finalists will receive strings courtesy of J. D’Addario and Co.
2012 Contest Registration
- Contest registration opens on December 7, 2011. On this opening day, registration will only be available over the phone - 800-624-2422. We only accept 12 bands. Spaces fill up quickly.
- The registration fee is $75. This registration fee is fully refundable if you notify us before May 4, 2012.
Telluride Band Competition Rules
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Please note: Contestants are required to use just a single stage microphone for the preliminary and final rounds of the band contest.
Playing the Main Stage at Telluride Bluegrass - No more than 12 bands will be registered for the band contest.
- Since the final round is held on the main stage on Saturday, each bandmember must have festival passes for at least Saturday.
- Bands may consist of 3-6 members. The music should be “Bluegrass,” “Old Time,” “Western Swing,” or “New Acoustic/Newgrass.”
- Recommended time limit: 3 minutes per song. The judges mark you down if a selection significantly exceeds 3 minutes.
- No electric instruments or pickups allowed, with exception of electric bass and steel guitar (or lap steel). Only one mic will be provided for each band.
- Each band plays 3 songs in the preliminaries and 3 songs in the finals. The 3 band selections must be the following types:
- A slow vocal song
- An instrumental song
- A fast vocal song. Tempos are relative.
- Repeats of songs played in the preliminary round is not allowed in the finals.
- No drum sets or standing percussion allowed.
- Bands entering the contest may have no common members.
Bands Score in These Categories
- 30% Material Selection (taste, difficulty, authenticity/originality...)
- 30% Instrumental Performance (includes ability of soloists and overall instrumental blend)
- 30% Vocal Performance (lead and harmony)
- 10% Stage Presence
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| 2007 Troubadour Winner Gregory Alan Isakov |
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Tips from the Telluride Band Contest Judges
- Music competitions are a test of nerve as much as skill. Your ability to perform elegantly under pressure goes with the territory.
- Scores are not cumulative from the prelims to the finals. The finals are a new contest; everyone starts on a fresh and equal footing.
- Judges may confer to ensure fairness and consistency in the rating process.
- In the event of ties or virtual ties, the judges as a group will be allowed discretion to confer to reach a consensus regarding the winner. A virtual tie is defined as total scores within 5 points of each other. If a “tie-breaker” is called, you must play one song that is different from your previous songs. It’s a good idea to have a tie-breaker tune ready.
- Band winners in previous years are not eligible to enter the Band competitions.
- The contestant order will be randomly assigned at the contest site prior to the start of the competition.
- Contestants should not talk to the judges or the clerks concerning their scores during or after the contest. The decision of the judges is final. Completed judging forms are not available to the contestants or the public. If you have a formal protest, bring it to the head clerk first. They will forward it to the right person.
- Prizes are awarded directly after the final round! Stay nearby if you want to reap the rewards you richly deserve.
- Straying too far from the boundaries of music that is out of the genre of ”Old Timey,” “Bluegrass,” “Western Swing,” or “New Acoustic” will affect you score negatively. The judges are not listening for Jazz, Classical, Rock and Fusion, For example, eight bars of a Charlie Parker solo in the middle of “Old Dan Tucker” is inappropriate, but a swingy, improvised Texas-style chorus in “Gray Eagle” is fine. Idiom is important. The judges in the end, decide if your interpretation crosses over the sometimes fuzzy boundary into another world of music.
- Failure to adhere to the required 3 song-types will result in a severe point reduction to your total score. Song medleys are NOT allowed to be used as one of the songs.
- Band finalists will receive vouchers from the contest clerk immediately after contests to access the backstage area on Saturday morning. Contestants must have a must have purchased a ticket for Saturday’s show and have a wristband to access the backstage area.