Entries accepted beginning May 1

With the popularity of last year’s online Songwriting contest moving to Facebook, we have decided to pick up where we left off, even though right now our plans are to have a festival as close as normal as we can August 27-29, 2021 down at Riverside Park La Crosse, WI.

Songwriters can enter up to one song per week through the Fest’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/greatriverfolkfest) by submitting a video of a performance of the song. Contest winners will be selected from 12 finalists. Finalists will be announced in two groups of six between May 1 and July 1.

The finals round will run from July 15 to July 31, and will require two videos to be reviewed the finalist judges.

Virtual Tip Jar: You can tip the performers using PayPal or Venmo. The contest finalists will share in the tips. Please indicate "Songwriter" in your tip reference.

• Venmo: www.venmo.com/GRFF-Festival
• PayPal: paypal.me/greatriverfolkfest

Contest Prizes

First place:

• One day’s recording at Sound Strations Audio Productions, a Grammy winning recording studio in La Crosse, WI.
• $250 cash prize
• An invitation to perform during a future festival.

Second place:

• $100 cash prize

Third place:

• $50 cash prize.

Fan Favorite:

• $50 cash prize. (Songwriter who gains the most traction in social media during the contest. Need not be a finalist)

Most Inspiring Story:

• $50 cash prize. (Need not be a finalist)

How to Enter 2021 Contest

Here are the steps for entering the contest:

1. Respond to the Facebook contest announcement with an upload of a video or a link to a streaming video location of a performance of your original song. www.facebook.com/greatriverfolkfest Please include a minimum of two sentence story or inspiration for the song.
2. Send an email to contest@greatriverfolkfest.org and include the following information:

• The song’s lyric sheet as an attachment
• Your Facebook name (so we can match the lyrics to the song posted on Facebook)
• Your actual name
• A phone number where we can contact you
• Optional: attach an mp3 of your song with the email for the judges to use in promotion and to facilitating the review.

• Please limit entries to one song per week.
• Please do not submit the same song more than once during the contest.
• Please do not submit a previously submitted in a previous year.

Rules for entries

• All entries submitted must be original songs and shall not infringe any copyrights or any other rights of any third parties.
• Songs may have co-writers, but only one name should be designated as the entrant.
• By submitting a video as a comment to our Facebook announcement, and emailing a lyric sheet to contest@greatriverfolkfest.org you are formally entering the contest.
• There is no entry fee for the contest.
• All entries will remain eligible for the duration of the contest.
• Entries are limited to one song per week.
• Each entry must be a unique song; multiple entries of the same song will not be considered.
• The entrant shall, by entering, indemnify and hold the Great River Folk Fest harmless from and against any and all claims inconsistent with the foregoing.

It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that the entries are complete and the media playable. The GRFF reserves the right to extend the entry deadline and/or slightly modify the contest due to the uncertainty inherent in the Convid-19 pandemic and the evolution of social distancing rules and practices.

Eligibility

• GRFF On-line Songwriting Contest is open to all amateur and touring songwriters unless signed to a major record label such as Warner Music Group, EMI., Sony Music, BMG, Universal Music Group or PolyGram.
• If Entrant is under 18 years old, the signature of a parent or guardian will be required to be included as a finalist.
• GRFF Steering committee members are not eligible.

Judging Criteria

Each song submitted shall receive a comprehensive evaluation by a team of GRFF judges. Songs are judged on melody, composition, originality, and lyrics. Lyrics may be in any language, although an English translation is required to accompany all non-English entries.

Selection of Finalists and Winners

Finalists will be chosen throughout the summer and will be announced on the Folk Festival Facebook page (www.facebook.com/greatriverfolkfest) and on GRFF Radio.

Finalists will share in the tips generated through Facebook during the contest. (To share in the tips, finalists must provide the fest with a completed W2 form.)

After 12 finalists are chosen, we'll start the performance section of the contest where we will ask for a video or a live session from each on the finalists. These will all be posted to our Facebook page.

First, second, and third place prizes will be awarded from the performance section of the contest. While judges will still evaluate the songs, this stage of the contest replaces the on-site performances of the finalists. As at the fest contest, audience applause could influence judges, and Facebook comments and likes are welcome.

(Cash prize winners, including finalists sharing the tip jar, will need to submit a W-2 form.)

2020 Winners

1st Place—Shanna in a Dress, Boulder, CO (2020)

2nd Place—Amanda Pascali, Houston, TX (2020)

3rd Place—The Sapsuckers, Nikki Grossmand & Joe Hart,
Soldiers Grove, WI (2020)

Fan Favorite—Songa, Chippewa Falls, WI (2020)

• 1st Place—Shanna in a Dress, Boulder, CO
• 2nd Place—Amanda Pascali, Houston, TX
• 3rd Place—The Sapsuckers, Nikki Grossmand & Joe Hart, Soldiers Grove, WI
• Fan Favorite—Songa, Chippewa Falls, WI

2020 Online Finalists:

• Amanda Pascali
• Jake Shane
• High & Rising
• Sofia Talvik
• Theocles
• Winnie Brave
• Michelle Lewis
• Jane Ross Fallon
• John Louis
• Songa
• Erik Kjellkand
• Patrick Cooper
• Sapsuckers
• Shanna in a Dress
• Jane Falon

Well 12 finalists turned into 14; we couldn’t decide!

2020

• 1st Place—Shanna in a Dress, Boulder, CO
• 2nd Place—Amanda Pascali, Houston, TX
• 3rd Place—The Sapsuckers, Nikki Grossmand & Joe Hart, Soldiers Grove, WI
• Fan Favorite—Songa, Chippewa Falls, WI

2019

• 1st Place - Russ Parrish, Burnsville, MN
• 2nd Place - Peter Lindsey, Dekalb, IL
• 3rd Place (tie) - Despina Pafralides, Round Lake Park, IL
• 3rd Place (tie) - David Nash, Onalaska, WI

2018

• 1st Place – Greg Gilbertson, Chippewa Falls, WI
• 2nd Place – David Nash, Onalaska, WI
• 3rd Place – Fran Felton, Viroqua, WI

2017

• 1st Place – Laura Joy, Oak Park, IL
• 2nd Place – Randy Adams, Chippewa Falls, WI
• 3rd Place – Rick Thompson, La Crescent, MN
• 4th Place – Jim Armstrong & Pippa Armstrong, Winona, MN

2016

• 1st Place – Blaine Howard, Fairchild, WI
• 2nd Place – Traci Stinebrink, Rhinelander, WI
• 3rd Place – Mike Caucutt, La Crosse, WI

2015

• 1st Place – Michael Monroe, Grand Marais, MN
• 2nd Place – Jane Fallon, Brookline NH
• 3rd Place – Joe Schwem, Bozeman, MT

2014

• 1st Place – Derek Olsen, New Lisbon, WI
• 2nd Place – Jeff Cozy, La Crosse, WI
  
• 3rd Place – Jim Gary, Elmhurst, IL

2013

• 1st Place - Aric Sampson, Galesville, WI
• 2nd Place - Katie Dahl, Baileys Harbor, WI
• 3rd Place - Joe DeLucia, Port Washington, WI

2012

• 1st Place - Barb and Tom Webber - Milwaukee, WI
• 2nd Place - Roger Wendover (Brojo Rog) - LaCrosse, WI
• 3rd Place - Scott Wilcox - Tomah, WI

2011

• 1st place - Joe Danielson & Casey Yeager - Cadott, WI
• 2nd place - Roger Wendover - LaCrosse, WI
• 3rd place - Kris Risch & Lisa Risch - Holmen, WI

2010

• 1st place - Tim Fast - Elk River, MN

2009

• 1st place - Mike Caucutt - LaCrosse, WI