Organic Farmer Wins Grand Prize in Great Lakes Songwriting Contest

Date: Oct 20, 2007

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http://www.GreatLakesSongs.com



ANN ARBOR, MI, USA - Oct. 20. 2007 – An organic farmer from southern Michigan, an art publisher from Wisconsin, a sophomore from the University of Michigan, and a former child actress from New York City are among the winners of the 2007 Great Lakes Songwriting Contest.

The Grand Prize goes to Billy King of Brooklyn, MI, for his song, “I Don’t Write Love Songs.” Two songwriters won in multiple categories: Jon Troast of Lake Geneva, WI, won first place for his song, “Was It Ever Really Mine?” and second place for “The Most.” Roger MacNaughton, of Ada, MI, won second place for “Samba for a Rainy Afternoon” and third place for “Charlevoix Keepsake.”

Jordan Keller of Vicksburg, MI, won first place for “My Brother’s Hymn.” In addition to Troast and MacNaughton, two additional second-place winners are: Alexander Wood of Madison, WI, and Dan Hazlett of Waterford, MI. Six third-place winners have been announced: Whit Hill, Chris Nelson, and Jim Smith, all from Ann Arbor, MI, and Stacia Petrie of Detroit. There were also 18 finalists and 40 honorable mention songs from across the Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada. Biographies and photos of the winners are available at the contest website, www.GreatLakesSongs.com.

The annual Great Lakes Songwriting Contest is open to residents of the eight states bordering the Great Lakes, plus the Province of Ontario, Canada. The 2008 contest begins on Jan. 1, 2008, with a deadline of April 28, 2008.. All rules and entry materials are available at the website, www.GreatLakesSongs.com.

Grand Prize winner Billy King grew up and was home-schooled on an organic farm near the village of Brooklyn, in southeast Michigan. He and his younger brother, Kenny, made a cassette of Elvis cover tunes when Billy was 11, and called it “The King Brothers Sing the King.” This led to numerous gigs for the pre-teen duo. While Kenny eventually left music to pursue other interests, Billy King went on to release several solo recordings. Now, as a young adult, Billy performs both solo and with his band, the Idylls, throughout southern Michigan. He still works on the family farm in Brooklyn. More information on Billy and his music is available at www.billykingdom.com.

The Grand Prize in 2007 is $1,500 in cash, plus discounts from various sponsors. The remaining winners will share thousands of dollars’ worth of prizes and discounts.

Three of the top winners in the 2007 contest – King, Keller, and Troast -- will be featured at the annual Winners’ Concert on Saturday, February 16, 2008, at the Trinity House Theatre in Livonia, MI. Advance tickets will be available through the theater website, www.TrinityHouse.org.

The Great Lakes Songwriting Contest was started four years ago by a group of southeastern Michigan songwriters. They formed The Michigan Songwriters, LLC, which is accredited by the Better Business Bureau. The contest welcomes all types of music, with each song judged on its own merits, not by how well it conforms to the conventions of a certain genre of music. It is open to songwriters of all ages, and past winners have included teenagers as well as songwriters in their sixties.

The 2007 contest was sponsored by the Songbridge music marketing company based in Ontario, Canada; Elderly Instruments of Lansing, MI; Lamb's Retreat for Songwriters of Royal Oak, MI; and The CD Seller of Minneapolis, MN.

Judges for the 2007 contest were:

- Andrea Stolpe, a Minnesota-born songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Faith Hill, Josh Gracin, Daniel Lee Martin, and many others. A native of Minnnesota and a former staff writer for EMI, Almo-Irving, and Universal Music Publishing, she authored the course "Commercial Songwriting Techniques" for Berklee College of Music's online songwriting program.

- Jodi Krangle, a Toronto-based songwriter and musician, and the creator and proprietress of the award-winning “The Muse's Muse” songwriting website, featuring a free monthly e-newsletter and numerous resources for songwriters.

- Nadir, Detroit’s funk rocker extraordinaire, who has won numerous awards from his solo debut Distorted Soul 2.0. It was crowned “Best Funk Album of the Year” by Soul-Patrol.com and earned a Detroit Music Award, after international spins on Urban A/C, Rock, Urban Contemporary and even Smooth Jazz radio. He has been a finalist in both the John Lennon International Songwriting Contest and in Billboard Magazine’s Independent Music World Series, among other honors.

For additional information on the contest and winners, the contest’s e-mail address is michigansongwriters@juno.com.