Hello everyone!

This has been an exciting week for NewSong Music. Lets start with the 2009 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest:

The Early Bird finalists have official been announced, and we would like to congratulate BettySoo and David Via for being this years 2 Early Bird Finalists! Remember, if you entered the General Round and did not win one of the Early Bird slots, you are STILL IN THE RUNNING for the remaining 4 General Round spots.

Another big reminder, the Regional Rounds close TONIGHT, July 24th, at 11:59PM so if you live in Canada or the United States, get your entries in at www.sonicbids.com/newsong2009 or for a mail-in form, go to www.newsong-music.com/contest and be sure to postmark today as your entry date.

Moving right along, tonight is the last night of the NewSong summer concert series at Bryant Park featuring Milton. This is a make up date from June 24th and we really hope to see everyone out there at 6pm tonight at the Fountain Terrace in the park!

Before we let you head out to meet us at the park, we have a few NewSong Recordings things going on to report to you. Everyone in the Vancouver area, you can see Chris Velan play at the Virgin Festival (http://www.virginfestival.ca/bc/). He's on at 2pm and the line up is pretty incredible. Lastly, NewSong Recordings artist Diana Jones keeps getting continuous coverage in the media. Get to know Diana:
Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/arts/ci_12859612
UK Telegraph: http://www.thetelegraph.com/articles/louis-28933--.html

That's about it from us, enjoy your weekend!

-NewSong Music

Hello everyone!

The 2009 Mountain Stage NewSong contest is well under way, with our Early Bird finalists being announced today, July 20th and the Regional Round deadline approaching this Friday, July 24. Since these deadline sneak up rather quickly, here's a look at the next few months:

July 24: Regional Round submission deadline
August 5: Regional Round finalists announced
September 1: General Round submission deadline
September 10: General Round finalists announced

Here's what some of our past finalists have been up to. 2008 finalists Rose Polenzani, Anne Heaton, and 2007 finalist Rose Cousin have all come together to record a cover of the amazing Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson duet "Say Say Say." Watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/wat..ch?v=YmjEJ5xLCbs

NewSong Recordings artist Diana Jones has been in the spotlight a lot lately. Not familiar with her yet? This great article from the San Francisco Gate gives you a nice overview of Diana's history as well as what she's currently up to:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-..bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/200..9/07/17/entertainment/e062..604D15.DTL

Another former Mountain Stage NewSong winner and current NewSong Recordings artist Chris Velan has been spending his time rockin' around North America. After wrapping up his 3 month tour of North America in support of the release of his latest album Solidago, Chris immediately jumped right into his summer Canadian tour. You may think with all this touring and after releasing an album less than 5 months ago Chris is taking a little break from writing, but you would be wrong. Here are two new Chris Velan songs recorded on the road:

Same Clothes: http://www.youtube.com/wat..ch?v=hZgktuLvQio
Any Number Of Ways: http://www.youtube.com/wat..ch?v=m5y3Ax4DMDo&feature=c..hannel_page

Keeping with the Chris Velan news, the video for "Oldest Trick", his first single off of Solidago, is almost complete! Let me tell you now, we were lucky enough to see an unedited clip of the video and it is absolutely amazing. Speaking of videos, Chris also played the Montreal Jazz Festival 2 weeks ago and video footage from the 7/7 set will be available within a few weeks. Check out www.chrisvelan.com/full-calendar for a complete list of his current Canadian tour dates including the Virgin Festival on July 25, where the other performers include The Roots, Our Lady Peace, Broken Social Scene, and Mute Math (http://www.virginfestival...ca/bc/).

Hi friends!

Just your lovely weekly recap and reminders from your buddies at NewSong Music. It was a big week for NewSong Recordings artist Chris Velan. This week he played 3 Montreal International Jazz Festival shows, including two sets at Scene du Festival on July 7th and one set at Metropolis on July 9th. We hope to be able to provide you with some great footage from the July 7th show within a few weeks! In the meantime, check out the great reviews he got from the shows!

*http://www.montrealgazette.com/Entertainment/July+disc+Chris+Velan/1757062/story.html

*http://backstagevancouver.com/?p=411

*http://communities.canada.com/montrealgazette/blogs/wordsandmusic/archive/2009/07/08/montreal-jazz-fest-2009-chris-velan-smiles-on.aspx

Chris was also interviewed on July 6th by 90.3 CKUT, the McGill University radio station. You can listen to it by doing the following:

1) Go to: http://www.ckut.ca/cgi-bin/ckut-grid.pl
2) Find the "Select a show" drop down menu and click "Underground Sound"
3) Click "Hour 2" for Monday July 6, 2009..Chris comes on approximately 15 minutes in!

Speaking of great press (we were just talking about that right?), NewSong Recordings artist Diana Jones continues her musical successes and was recently interviewed by The Gaurdian UK. Click the link below to read all about the events in her life that lead her down the path of music and her unique take on gun control.

*http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jul/10/diana-jones-better-times-interview

Now, onto the Mountain Stage NewSong contest! The Early Bird round officially closed as of Monday, July 6. Next important deadline: REGIONAL ROUND deadline: July 24th. Go to www.newsong-music.com/contest for more details.

As always, we encourage you singer songwriters to enter the contest and we encourage all you Chris Velan fans to get on over to iTunes and review Solidago!

Have a great weekend,

-NewSong Music Team

Lots of Chris Velan news today! NewSong Recording artist Chris Velan is included in a great NY Times article about the environment which can be read at
http://www.nytimes.com/200..9/06/29/arts/music/29bowl...html?_r=1&ref=technology

There is also a great article on ObscureSound.com on Solidago at
http://obscuresound.com/?p..=3034

Chris has also announced Canadian tour dates!

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*Message from Chris Velan's facebook page:

Big announcements! I've just wrapped up my 3 month incredible US tour (Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the shows) and we've just booked a Canadian tour all in support of my latest album Solidago.

One gig that I'm particularly excited about is the Virgin Festival in Vancouver! Just a few of the artist that will be playing this festival include The Roots, Broken Social Scene, Our Lady Peace, K-OS, MUTEMATH and a ton more! The show will be at Deer Lake Park on July 25th and the gates open at 1pm.

Here's the ticket information:

Weekend pass: $142
Single day pass: $76
VIP Weekend pass: $307

This is an all ages show and tickets are available now at all ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.ca, select Future Shop locations (futureshop.ca).

You can find the full list of artist performing (more to be added) at: www.virginfestival.ca/bc

All of my Solidago tour dates across Canada can be found at:
www.chrisvelan.com
www.myspace.com/chrisvelan
www.reverbnation.com/chris

Since there was so much news last week from the great singer/songwriters that are a part of the NewSong-Music community, I thought it would be appropriate to squish all the news into one convenient blog entry! Where to begin....

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On June 19, 2009 at 9:30pm at Joe's Pub in New York City, Amy Speace and her band, The Tearjerks will celebrate the release of her sophomore album "The Killer in Me" on Judy Collin's own Wildflower Records. “Amy Speace has one of those fetching voices, the kind that taps you on the shoulder and motions seductively for you to follow it around corner after dark corner. You don’t know where you’re going to end up or how you’ll ever find your way back, but that doesn’t matter: you’re enjoying the trip,” writes No Depression. The Jersey City based songwriter is already receiving widespread critical acclaim for “The Killer In Me” which mines the mystery and heartbreak of relationships gone wrong -- and right and wrong again. Recorded with James Mastro (Robert Plant, Ian Hunter) and Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Let's Active), the album forges deeper and darker lyrical and musical terrain than her 2006 genre-hopping Americana breakthrough “Songs For Bright Street”, which earned Speace high praise in the US and Europe where she toured and shared the stage with Judy Collins, Nancy Griffith, Ian Hunter and Little Feat. Writing these songs during a self -imposed retreat to an isolated cabin in upstate New York, Speace hiked, chopped wood for the stove and delivered an album of startling intimacy and resonance. NYC’s top AAA/folk radio station WFUV named her to its “Top 16 Artists To Watch” list this year and Judy Collins has said “Amy’s a remarkable artist, writer and singer—I am a total fan.”

To join the CD Release Party, tickets can be purchased here: http://tickets.publictheater.org/calendar/view.asp?id=9485
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The lovely Meg Hutchinson, co-winner of the 2008 Mountain Stage NewSong contest will be performing on Mountain Stage, which will air on NPR stations all around the country this week!
Show your support:

June 26, 2009
Mountain Stage, NPR
http://www.mountainstage.org


*2007 Mountain Stage NewSong Northeast regional round winner Ana Egge was also recently featured on the Mountain Stage NPR broadcast:

http://www.mountainstage.org

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BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG NEWS for Chris Velan~

NewSong Recording artist Chris Velan is confirmed for the second stage of the Virgin Festival in Burnaby, B.C.! This is huge! Ben Harper and Sonic Youth are playing the same day!

It's $69 for a single day ticket, or $129 for the 2 day pass and the festival will be at Deer Lake Park.

Check out the full line-up here: http://www.virginfestival.ca/bc/

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NewSong Recording artist Diana Jones is on a roll! Within a week she has been featured in the NY Times, Fresno Bee, and Times Free Press. Check the links!:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/arts/music/31warr.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/11/talking-shop-singersonwriter-diana-jones/?breakingnews

http://www.fresnobee.com/entertainment/music/story/1450903.html

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DO NOT FORGET that these great artists became a part of the NewSong community by entering the Mountain Stage NewSong contest and becoming finalists and winners! The Mountain Stage NewSong 2009 contest has launched! Submit your music at www.sonicbids.com/newsong2009


-NewSong-Music team

Here is a brief overview of the Mountain Stage NewSong contest:

Now in its eighth year, the 2009 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest is one of the premier showcases in North America of talented singer-songwriters across multiple genres of music. Interested artists can enter online through contest partner Sonicbids.com (www.sonicbids.com/newsong2009) or mail-In by sending in CD entries via US Postal mail. (details at www.newsong-music.com/contest)

A total of 12 finalists will be chosen to perform in the international contest finals, held this year on Saturday, October 10 at the home theater of Mountain Stage in Charleston, West Virginia. The contest features cash and other prizes, and at least one of five co-winners will earn an appearance on a worldwide broadcast of the prestigious “Mountain Stage” radio show. The short list of those who have made their national debut on the show include the BARENAKED LADIES, RYAN ADAMS, SHERYL CROW, NORAH JONES and ALISON KRAUSS. Co-winners and other contest standouts will also be invited to participate in future NewSong productions in locations throughout the country, and will be candidates for future releases on the NewSong Recordings label. Non-winning contestants will also be considered for future “Mountain Stage” appearances.

Please head over to www.newsong-music.com/contest/index.html for a full press release and all of the additional information including deadlines that you will need in order to enter!

-NewSong-Music team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWSONG MUSIC RETURNS TO BRYANT PARK FOR WEDNESDAY EVENING SINGER-SONGWRITER SERIES.

Monday, May 4, 2009; New York, NY. Let there be Song. Outdoors. Free. On Wednesday, May 13, the ‘NewSong Performing Songwriter Series’ returns to Bryant Park for a weekly evening concert series featuring some of today’s most promising emerging artists.

“We’re delighted to be returning to Bryant Park this year,” says NewSong director and co-founder Gar Ragland, “and to introduce to its visitors a roster of very talented singer-songwriters. As a venue, the Park is unparalleled in Manhattan for its beauty as an outdoor performance space, and for its ability to connect artists with many new fans.”

Concerts will be held each Wednesday through June 24, and begin at 6:00 PM at the Fountain Terrace in the park.

The 2009 performance schedule:
•    May 13    Kagero; Brooklyn, NY     www.kagero.com
•    May 20    Maureen Andary & Sarah Curtain; Washington, DC
www.myspace.com/maureenmusic
Chuck Costa    Madison, CT    www.chuckecosta.com
•    May 27    Benyaro; Brooklyn, NY    www.benyaro.com
Anne Heaton; Somerville, MA www.anneheaton.com
•    Jun 3    Jeff Ellis; Huntington, WV    www.myspace.com/jeffellismusic
Kelleigh McKenzie; Rosendale, NY    www.kelleighmckenzie.com
•    Jun 10    Rose Cousins; Halifax, Nova Scotia    www.rosecousins.com
    Robby Hecht; Nashville, TN    www.robbyhecht.com
•    Jun 17    Kevin McGee; Athens, GA    www.kevingmcgeemusic.com
    Joe Crookston; Ithaca, NY    www.joecrookston.com
•    Jun 24    Milton; New York, NY        www.miltonmusic.com

“Bryant Park looks forward to a second summer of partnership with NewSong,” says Ethan Lercher, Director of Events at the Bryant Park Corporation. “The singer-songwriter series provides the music of budding artists to the visitors of Bryant Park as a way to unwind after work, adding to the variety of park programming offered throughout the day.”

Founded in 2002, NewSong Music is an independent music organization with the following two-fold mission:

• To build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across an array of genres and levels of skill.
• To identify the truly exceptional artists within this community, and to work closely with them to develop their careers and introduce their music to a broader, international audience.

NewSong also partners with National Public Radio’s Mountain Stage (www.mountainstage.org) to produce the annual Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, a performance and songwriting competition designed to identify and promote talented artists. Each year, a select handful of artists are invited to perform on an internationally broadcast Mountain Stage show. Artists on this year’s Bryant Park series are all alumni of the program.

Bryant Park Corporation (BPC), a private not-for-profit company, was founded in 1980 to renovate, finance, and operate Bryant Park in New York City. BPC is funded by income from events, concessions, and corporate sponsors, as well as an assessment on neighboring properties, and does not accept government or philanthropic monies. In addition to providing security and sanitation services, and tending the park's lush lawn and seasonal garden displays, BPC provides public amenities and activities, including movable chairs and tables, café umbrellas, restaurants, food kiosks, world-class restrooms, and a wide range of free events throughout the year. The Midtown park, conveniently located at 6th Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets, is visited by over 5 million people each year and is one of the busiest public spaces in the world.  BPC’s website, www.bryantpark.org, is available for more detailed information and a schedule of upcoming events.

For more information, contact:

Gar Ragland
NewSong Music
(347) 410-7311
info@newsong-music.com    Nell Wright
Bryant Park Corporation
(917) 438-5152
nwright@urbanmgt.com

Hello everyone. Just wanted to give you a heads up that Jeff Ellis will be performing on Mountain Stage this Sunday, Feb 15. Also performing are:

The Derek Trucks Band
Dr. Dog
Lenka
Scrapomatic

MOUNTAIN STAGE® is public television and radio’s venerable live performance music program, produced both on the road and at home and heard worldwide on more than 125 radio stations, XM Satellite Radio and the “Voice of America.”

Remember, Jeff Ellis in one of our 5 co-winners of last year's Mountain Stage NewSong Contest presented by Folk Alliance, along with Jacob & Lily, Kagero, Kelleigh McKenzie & Rose Polenzani.

For more information on Jeff Ellis, visit www.jeffellismusic.com.

From your friends at NewSong, Happy Valentine's Day.

More info:
http://www.newsong-music.com/
http://www.mountainstage.org/