Dallas Songwriters Associates Celebrates Songwriting at Annual Awards Show

DSA celebrated winners from the Annual International Song Contest and the Young Songwriters Contest in January 2022.

Dallas, TX, February 24, 2022 --(Blogger.com)--The Dallas Songwriters Association presented their 31^st Annual Song Contest Awards highlighting 2021 songwriting contestants via Zoom with a live stream to Facebook featuring live performances by semifinalists, contest winners, and multiple presenters. 

“Another great year of talented entries,” said MC Barbara McMillen, Founder and President Emeritus of DSA, “We had an amazing list of really good semifinalists and I am so proud to share some of the semifinalist performances on our virtual “live” event.” 

Barbara’s co-host was Harry Hewlett, DSA’s VP of A&R (Artist & Repertoire), Showcase Director and Song Contest Co-Director.  Harry has been a champion for DSA during the last couple of years as we continue to navigate through the ever-changing COVID protocols by conducting showcases, open mics, workshops, and meetings via Zoom.   

Winners of the DSA 31^st Annual International Song Contest were announced in eight categories, plus the Grand Prize winners. http://dsasongcontest.blogspot.com.

Judges were industry professionals who judged songs based on six elements of a song:  hook, melody, lyric, structure, originality, and truth.  DSA offered over $5,000 in prizes.  Each category winner won a free membership to DSA.  First Place winners received $100 and 2nd place winners received $50. 

Once again, we partnered with Broadjam, who provided fantastic prizes to some of our winners, including a 1-year Broadjam Primo MoB Membership ($199.95 Value). Other prizes awarded were: one song critique from Barbara McMillen, Associate Professor of Songwriting at Collin College, recording time at JoMusik Studio, and two tickets to Between the Waves Music Conference.     

31^st Annual Song Contest Awards - First Place Award Winners

Category	Song and Songwriter
AMERICANA/BLUEGRASS	California by John Mason, Dallas, Tx
CHRISTIAN/INSPIRATIONAL	Best Work On Wood by T. Edwin Doss, Silver Spring, MD
COUNTRY	Whittle by T. Edwin Doss, Silver Spring, MD
INSTRUMENTAL	Farewell My Angel by Andre Kerek, Miami, FL
LOVE SONGS & EASY LISTENING	Baby You're Gone by Steve Jackson, Irving, TX
NOVELTY/CHILDREN	My Wish List by Debra Gussin, Los Angeles, CA
POP/ROCK/ALT/R&B	Except You by Thomas Marshall, Toronto, Ont, CAN
SINGER/SONGWRITER	Zip Code by Charles Carter, Dallas, Tx

Louie Cate of Alexandria, Virginia, the Grand Prize Winner of the 2021 Dallas Songwriters Association International Song Contest is enjoying his new Casio PX-S1000 Privia Piano, for his song "Slay Me With Your Eyes."

DSA honored other categories with winners listed below.  DSA also honors their community partners for their support each year.

DSA celebrates and continues to honor the hard work of their members.

·         The Most Nominated Songs Award went to: Charles Carter, Dallas, Texas

·         The Young Songwriter Award went to: Alexandrea Paris, Dallas, Texas

·         The Best Song of the Year First Place went to: Michael Brandenberger, Dallas, Texas

·         The Vern Dailey Songwriter of the Year Award went to: Stephen Troum, Dallas, Texas.  

DSA celebrates and continues to appreciate their community partners by honoring them with a community award. Community Awards went to: Hermann Sons Columbia 66 Lounge, Dallas, Texas, Love & War in Texas, Plano, Texas, The Neathery, McKinney, TX, Porta Di Roma, Richardson, TX

Please click here for a complete list of winners.

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About DSA

Dallas Songwriters Association is a 501 C-3 non-profit educational organization dedicated to enhancing the overall personal growth and professionalism of our members. With a passion for music and songwriting, DSA offers various events to support their members’ growth through workshops, open mics, networking, showcases, song contests, and community service.  Support DSA by visiting https://dallassongwriters.org/.

Contact

Dallas Songwriters Association

Kimberly Cotton

972.632.6078

https://dallassongwriters.org

 

Randy Overton Wins Grand Prize Casio PX-S1000 Privia Piano

DSA SONG CONTEST 2020  Grand Prize Winners

Randy Overton Wins First Place for

“That’s My Name”

Randy Overton of Waxahachie, Texas, the Grand Prize Winner of the 2020 Dallas Songwriters Association International Song Contest is enjoying his new Casio PX-S1000 Privia Piano, which he won for his award-winning song “That’s My Name.”  

“Pretty cool,” said Overton.  “I have been affiliated with the DSA over the last 30 years and have been fortunate to build some lifelong relationships during that time.  So I’m thankful to those friends and memories and so humbled and appreciative of the recognition given to “That’s My Name” this year.” 

The judge, Roy Elkins, Founder and CEO of Broadjam, who has been the Grand Prize Judge for the DSA for years said, “The winner has one of the best opening lines I’ve ever heard:  My old man told me the day I left home, Son you’re taking the only thing I own and that’s my name.” 

Elkins went on to say that he evaluated the songs based on six criteria:  lyric, melody, hook, structure, truth, and originality.  Elkins said about the Grand Prize Winner, “The melody works very well for this lyric.  The hook, ‘That’s My Name’ is simple and works perfectly.  The truth is off the charts.” 

Randy Overton considers himself a Texas Country/ Red Dirt artist inspired by George Strait, Merle Haggard, and Waylon Jennings, along with the Eagles, Bob Seger and Lynard Skynard. 

As for the grand prize, Overton says, I'm so pleased to get such a wonderfully professional portable keyboard that has such a realistic piano touch and sound. It's a great main addition to my songwriting gear." 

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, second place went to Steve Jackson of Irving, Texas for “Don’t Ever Say Never Again.”  His 14 track CD, “Goodnight Moon” includes the title song which won first place in the Singer/Songwriter category.  Jackson’s soulful vocal lines and musicianship have been compared to Paul Simon and Pat Metheny.  

 Third place went to Len & Jon Seligman of Sarasota, Florida for “On the Caravan.”  Len Seligman is inspired by poets Rumi and Mary Oliver and songwriting greats such as Randy Newman, Neil Young, and Ry Cooder.  After a career as a PhD computer researcher, he returned to his love of music and became a full-time musician in 2018.   

All three of the Grand Prize Winners win a 1-year Broadjam Primo MoB Membership ($199.95 value), song critiques from Barbara McMillen, Associate Professor of Songwriting at Collin College and the Founding President Emeritus of the Dallas Songwriters Association, along with recording time at JoMusik Studio and 2 tickets to the Between the Waves Music Conference.  

This was the DSA’s 30^th Annual Song Contest, which was broadcast live on Zoom over two shows in January 2021.  Performances can be seen on the DSA Facebook page and on the DSA YouTube Channel.  A complete list of winners and comments by Roy Elkins can be seen at www.dsasongcontest.blogspot.com