The Western Folklife Center has chosen 16 songs as finalists in the Yellowstone and Teton Song Contest. The contest sought songs inspired by the life and landscape in this great American place. The finalists were chosen from a field of 139 songs written by 94 songwriters. The public may now listen to the 16 finalists on the Western Folklife Center’s website at www.westernfolklife.org and vote on their favorite song. The winner of the online voting willreceive the Audience Award and a new Gibson Songwriter Deluxe acoustic guitar valued at close to $3,000. Judges will choose among the 16 finalists for the grand prize of $1,000 and second prize of $500. Online voting will run through midnight, October 7, 2007. All awards will be announced October 15. Hal Cannon, founding director of the Western Folklife Center and Song Contest organizer said of the contest entries: "I am amazed by the breadth of music submitted, all expressing a love for this great place in the world. It is certainly a testament to the creativity of the rural West."
Two of the finalists live in Wyoming. Michael Hurwitz, currently a Wyoming Arts Council Roster Artist who lives in Alta, wrote Ed Trafton. He also performs the song, along with Jerry Linn and Tom Broderick. Dan Thomasma, who lives in Kelly, wrote Teton Waltz, and performs it along with Terry Yazzolino, Ben Winship, and Shelley Clarke Rubrecht.
Producer of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering for 23 years, the Western Folklife Center is a regional organization dedicated to grassroots culture in the West. Headquartered in Elko, Nevada the Folklife Center conducts its work all over the region and is a regular contributor to National Public Radio with its series, What’s in a Song, which is broadcast over 500 public radio stations nationwide. This project is supported by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Gibson Guitar, Museum of the Rockies and public radio and television stations throughout the region.
The mission of the Western Folklife Center is to enhance the vitality of American life through the experience, understanding, and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the American West.
FMI, contact Western Folklife Center Media, Eccles Broadcast Center, 101 Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
The mission of the Western Folklife Center is to enhance the vitality of American life through the experience, understanding, and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the American West.
FMI, contact Western Folklife Center Media, Eccles Broadcast Center, 101 Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
