Songwriting contest seeks entries

Last updated 7/12/2005 at Noon

The Sisters Folk Festival is currently accepting applications for its annual Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest. This contest is an integral part of The Sisters Folk Festival set for September 9-11.

The contest is a showcase for outstanding but under-recognized performing songwriters. Past winners such as Darryl Purpose, Bob Hillman, Chuck McCabe and Christopher Smith have gone on to make their marks on the contemporary folk music scene.

This past year the festival board of directors decided to name the festival’s songwriting contest in honor of the first winner, the late Dave Carter.

According to festival organizers, Carter “set the bar high when he won the first contest in 1995” and “was a tireless advocate for the festival.”

He and Tracy Grammer were regular performers at the festival and headlined a critical fund-raising event that was pivotal in keeping the festival going in its early years.

This year, five finalists will vie for a $750 cash prize as the winner of the Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival. The finalists will be selected to perform the songs they entered at the Sisters Folk Festival on Saturday, September 10. The winner will perform a short set to open the festival’s Saturday night show.

This is a “performing-songwriter’s” contest, not a “song” contest. Entrants must submit at least two, no more than three, songs. Songs will be judged on overall consistency of quality, originality and uniqueness, song structure, prosody (fit of words and music), and memorability.

The entry fee is $20 per entrant (not per song). The fee must accompany the entry in the form of a check or money order made payable to The Sisters Folk Festival. Entries may be submitted on either a cassette or CD. A lyric sheet must be provided for each song entered. Entries must be postmarked no later than July 31, 2005.

Mail entries to: The Sisters Folk Festival Songwriting Contest 2005, PO Box 3500, PMB 304, Sisters, Oregon 97759. For further details visit http://www.sistersfolkfestival.com or call 549-4979.