Finalists Named In Chris Austin Songwriting Contest

Finalists Chosen

The finalists have been selected for the 17th Annual CHRIS AUSTIN SONGWRITING CONTEST, as part of MERLEFEST 2009 held APRIL 23rd-26th in WILKESBORO, NC. The writers of the following 12 songs, selected from 840 entries, will compete on the AUSTIN STAGE at MERLEFEST on FRIDAY, APRIL 24th at 2p (ET):

Bluegrass category

"Water Falls" by WYATT ESPALIN and COBI FERGUSON; NASHVILLE, TN
"Love Gone By" by CAROL HAUSNER and COIN McCAFFREY; MONTPELIER, VT
"The Old Coal Mine" by BRINK BRINKMAN; COLUMBUS, OH

Gospel category

"I Had A Little Talk with Jesus" by RICHARD HENRY; HOUSTON, TX
"Little Bitty Piece of God" by JO ELLEN DOERING; LOS ANGELES, CA
"Beyond the Rain" by BRINK BRINKMAN; COLUMBUS, OH

Country category

"Maybe You'll Start Loving Me Again" by LLOYD WOOD; SPENCER, IN
"Man of Few Words" by DENNIS DUFF; KUTTAWA, KY
"Once Upon a Time" by TONYA LOWMAN; LENOIR, NC

General category

"Carolina Rain" by RON FETNER; SEAFORD, VA
"I Will Fly" by JOHN SMITH; TREMPEALEAU, WI
"Unmarked Pavement" by LETHA and MILES COSTIN; RALEIGH, NC

The first-place winners in each category will receive a performance on the CABIN STAGE at MERLEFEST, an acoustic guitar, a check for $300, two boxes of D'ADDARIO strings and a one-year subscription to ACOUSTIC GUITAR magazine. 

For more on the contest, visit www.merlefest.org.

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