Ferdinand Folk Festival to showcase singer-songwriter performances Saturday
On Saturday, August 8, the Ferdinand Folk Festival will showcase a rare evening of original live music by artists from Ferdinand to California.
The culmination of months of preparation for the festival’s first singer-songwriter competition, the event will feature eight finalists in the high school graduates and older and two finalists in the high school seniors and younger divisions — all vying for a chance to open the sixth annual Ferdinand Folk Festival’s Main Stage in September.
The juried performances are set to begin at 7:00 p.m. EDT in the family-friendly community room of Ferdinand’s American Legion. Entry will be $10.
More than 50 songs were entered in the contest from more than 25 artists from nine states ranging from California to New York.
In support of the folk festival, Monkey Hollow Bistro Winery has generously offered to provide the finalists with a complimentary meal in the Wollenmann home prior to the competition at the Legion, a longtime supporter of the festival.
Three awards will be given at the end of the night — one for each division’s winner and one for an overall winner.
The competition’s overall winner will be awarded the Main Stage slot at the sixth annual Ferdinand Folk Festival on Saturday, September 19, 2015, and the runner-up for the evening will be offered performance time on the Market Stage.
“This will be a unique evening for the community to host these fine artists and to promote original music,” said committee co-chair Rock Emmert. “The folk fest was founded upon a desire to enhance our culture in fun, new, and accessible ways. We’re hoping for a large crowd of all ages as the countdown for the folk fest begins.”
The volunteer judges for the event are:
Tonya Buckler of New Albany – Tonya was born and raised in Louisville. Her interest in music started with hearing her father play guitar and sing Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and the Everly Brothers. She taught herself guitar and began writing songs when she was thirty. The past few years she has been singing with Los Luddites, mostly covers and some of her originals. She currently fronts the band Whiskey Ginger, in which she plays acoustic guitar and authors all the songs.
Tim Piazza of Evansville – Tim is a multi-instrumentalist, former street performer, and four-year veteran of the Ferdinand Folk Festival performing with his family, with Andrea Wirth, and The Honey Vines from 2011 to 2014. He has introduced many songwriters to the region years through more than 100 performances at his series, Concerts at the Cabin. Tim’s passion for “handmade music” was firmly established when he helped run The Nameless Coffeehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a venue where many popular songwriters, including the likes of Tracy Chapman and Patty Larkin launched their careers.
Leah Robling of Derby – Leah holds a BFA in theater and spent many years writing and performing in Los Angeles before returning to Indiana. She is a singer-songwriter, a founding member of the music duo Wild Mother, and a professional dancer.
Bill Wheeler of Paoli – Bill has been singing and playing guitar in Florida and southern Indiana for over 40 years in various bands and more recently as a soloist at local venues. He’s been a member of Lick Creek band for over 21 years. Several of his original songs can be found on the band’s three CDs.
Andrea Wirth of Newburgh – Andea is a local award-winning singer-songwriter who with Melanie Bozsa make up the regional performing duo called The Honey Vines. They also own and operate Honey Vinyl Music Studio where they work mostly with children in the areas of songwriting and recording, along with basic music instruction.
HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AND YOUNGER CATEGORY:
SABRINA BECHER of Ferdinand
Sabrina Becher is the 17-year-old daughter of Dean and Mary Becher and a senior at Forest Park Jr.-Sr. High School. Her hobbies include running, writing, drawing and camping. Her guitar practice began when her brother-in-law convinced her to take a guitar class two years ago.
HAYLEY PAYNE of Owensboro
Up-and-coming singer/songwriter Hayley Payne describes her style as “future country.” An accomplished performer who has graced the stages of popular Nashville venues including the famed Bluebird Café and Opry Mills Mall, Hayley has been featured on the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International “One to Watch” list.
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES AND OLDER CATEGORY:
NICK BERRY of Evansville
Nick Berry is a multi-genre singer-songwriter who was been writing music and performing for over 20 years. His songs echo his personal experiences, and they range from soulful acoustic folk to alternative rock. In addition to solo acoustic shows, Nick regularly leads worship music at several Evansville area churches, as well as sings lead and plays guitar for his alternative band, Tinderbox Effect.
BETHANY BOEGLIN of Ferdinand
Bethany Boeglin, a 20-year-old artist and University of Evansville student, writes from her soul. Her thoughtful music stems from real events in her life that she then retells through song. Bethany is honored to be included in such a remarkable competition.
STUART ENGLERT of Nashville, Tenn.
Ferdinand native Stuart Englert, 53, grew up in a musical family and wrote his first songs while he was attending Forest Park High School. A graduate of Indiana University and a journalist by trade, Englert has performed in several rock, country, and bluegrass bands over the years and written more than 200 songs since he moved to Nashvillen in 1997. Englert said he is excited to be a finalist in the Ferdinand Folk Festival Singer-Songwriter Contest and looks forward to playing some of his original songs in his hometown.
JEN HAJJ of Idyllwild, Cali.
Jen Hajj is a songwriter with her heart on her sleeve and her nose in a book. After spending nearly 30 years in Salt Lake City, Utah, she moved to a small mountain town in Southern California. Her songwriting and performances have taken her all over the world. She has been a finalist in several notable songwriting competitions and recently took first place in the competition at the Tucson Folk Festival.
COLIN HILDENBRAND of Ferdinand
Colin Hildenbrand is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter whose unique sound comes from a background of many genres. His blend of soul, rock and folk makes for a smooth listening experience.
NICK PEAY of Louisville
Nick Peay was influenced by the songwriters and bands of the 1960s and ’70s, and that music inspires his songwriting and musical approach. “There was meaning behind what they were saying,” he says. “Nowadays, I don’t feel like musicians stand up for anything. They say, ‘I’m going to write this generic love song so people will like me.'” This is what drives him forward – finding those new avenues of connection, new avenues of expression and releasing the need to create more songs, unique songs, which in turn pave those avenues for him and, perhaps most importantly, for the listener.
MICHAEL STOVALL of Nashville, Tennessee
“If David Gray came from Muscle Shoals, I believe he would sound a lot like Michael Stovall.” That’s how Tony Keefer of The Music Room would describe the 30-year-old singer-songwriter. Originally from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Stovall has been able to tap into his Alabama roots to discover a sound all of his own. As a songwriter, he’s been described by critics as an “honest and classic songsmith” and “a weaver of emotion and grace”.
ROB ZARICKI of Evansville
Rob Z started performing 12 years ago at a monthly “Tuesday Nite Reading Series” gathering of poets, artists, musicians, painters, belly-dancers, sculptors, theater-folk, and other “intrepid-traveling eccentric-eclectic artist” types. He joined the poetry performance groups, “Lars and the Garveytones” and “Shakespeare’s Monkey”, before forming his own musical incarnations with Don Andrew and Larry Lewis in “The Rob Z Three” and multi-instrumentalist/guitar and Native-flute player, Doug Luzar, and percussionist Jack Shenk in the roots/blues/folk/soul/rock outfit “Wind, Stone, and Bones”. He composes original prose/poetry/short-stories, philosophical, socio-political, spiritual raps and rants, and a growing body of original music and poetry performance pieces and enjoys expanding the realm of musical and artistic experience especially by collaborating with other aspiring artists, writers, and musicians.
