The Philly Songwriters Project contest finals are this Sunday
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
I hardly recognize anybody on the bill. That's a good thing.
Battles of the bands have their place, but we usually don’t dedicate much space at City Paper for them. That said, I’ll make an exception for The Philadelphia Songwriters Project’s annual Songwriting Contest, because it’s well-run and always clues me into some stuff I might not’ve known about already.
This Sunday is the Finals and, sure enough, I hardly recognize anybody on the bill. And that’s a good thing. This is about digging up the unpolished gems. Judges include a Welcome America person, Grammy-winning producer, a talent buyer — people who know their stuff. I was a judge one year and had a good time.
The prizes are pretty high-stakes, including slots at Firefly, The Folk Festival, Bethlehem Musik Fest, Wawa Welcomes America, Sellersville Theater, Rose Tree Summer Festival, Penn Museum Summer Nights Music Series and such.
(By the way, City Paper’s a sponsor this year, but nobody told me to write this post.)
Sun., May 18, 4 p.m., $15, Underground Arts, 12th and Callowhill streets, phillysongwriters.com.
