The 2019 Hazel Dickens Song Contest, sponsored by the DC Bluegrass Union, is now accepting entries. Songs are considered in the bluegrass and Gospel categories, from songwriters for whom less than 50% of their income is derived from songwriting royalties.
The contest was initiated to honor the memory of Hazel Dickens, who grew up to the mining life in West Virginia’s coal country, only to move to Baltimore as a young woman to accept a factory job. She remained in the greater DC Metropolitan area the rest of her life, performing and writing songs in her distinctive mountain style. Hazel is remembered to this day for her song compositions, including favorites like Won’t You Come And Sing For Me, Mama’s Hand, and You’ll Get No More Of Me.
Submission fees to enter the 2019 contest are $30 per song, with the chance to win a $500 award for first prize. The second place winner receives $250 with $100 going o third. Proceeds from the competition go to support the work of the DC Bluegrass Union.
All entries will be judged by a panel of three professional bluegrass writers/performers. Only the song quality, lyrics and melody, are judged. Performance and recording quality are incidental.
To enter, simply send an audio recording of your song(s) to hazeldickenscontest@gmail.com, along with the text of the lyrics and identifying information. Payment can be send by PayPal or postal mail. CD recordings of submissions will not be accepted.
Only entries received by January 5, 2019 will be considered, with the winners announced February 15.
Full entry details can be found online.
