We first caught up with Lera Lynn earlier this year at Merlefest , where the Athens songwriter took top honors in the country category of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. Recently, Lynn and her guitarist Ben Lewis stopped by our offices before her gig at Music City Roots in Nashville to promote her debut album, [...]

Finalists have been selected for the 19th annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, hosted by MerleFest 2011. The festival is scheduled for April 28-May 1, on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Writers of the following twelve songs, selected from over 1,053 entries, will compete on the Austin Stage at MerleFest on [...]

American Songwriter and AmericanSongspace.com have opened the submission process for the 2011 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. The contest, which runs from now until February 18, 2011, accepts entries from a number of third parties. To enter through AmericanSongspace.com, visit the contest sign-up here. In 2010, American Songspace’s first year partnering with the 19-year-old contest, three [...]

The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest is in its nineteenth year and hosted by MerleFest. The contest was created to honor the memory of the late Chris Austin. Net proceeds of the contest help fund the Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. If you have specific questions relating to the contest, please contact Laurie Brintle Hayes at MerleFest [...]

David Tew performing on the Cabin Stage at MerleFest 2010. After the annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest, American Songwriter sat down with the four winners in Room 317 at Wilkesboro Community College. We talked with each songwriter and recorded an intimate performance of their winning song. Stream the songs, listen to the interviews [...]

Chris Austin is perhaps better known today for the contest that bears his name than for being the graceful singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who died in the plane crash that took the lives of several members of Reba McEntire’s touring band in 1991. Austin was a Boone, North Carolina, favorite son, and MerleFest, held in [...]

Attention songwriters! The deadline for the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, presented by Merlefest, is midnight tonight, February 18, 2010, and the cost per entry is $30.00. So put the final touches on that masterpiece of yours and get it sent off. To enter your song(s), click here. The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest is in its [...]

The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest