Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021-08-21

WWALS Watershed Coalition

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER® WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.

Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021-08-21 [Up]

Winners: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021-08-21,

All winners.
L-R: KJ Wingate, Katherine Ball, David Rodock, Sweet William Billy Ennis, Jimi Davies and his brother, Kathy Lou Gilman, Rachel Hillman.
Photo: Angela Duncan for WWALS.
Video: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest (all of it) 2021-08-21
Videos: Finalists play, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021, by J.J. Rolle

Tickets:

$10 online.
$12 at the door
For VIP tables send email to song@suwanneeriverkeeper.org.

Online event:

facebook event, but remember to get your ticket.

Livestream, but please buy a ticket; it's a fundraiser:

Facebook livestream: watch the facebook event.
Register in advance for the zoom livestream:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsf-Crpz0jHd2sbYrCxIiUk25KtySHlo_e
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Songwriters

All the nine songwriters are Finalists, ranging through folk, blues, soul, rock, and jazz.
2021 Official Rules

The Contest

Finalists will play 7-11 PM, Saturday, August 21, 2021,
at Turner Center Art Park, 605 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia 31601

Headliners will play, food truck and cash bar, judges will play, finalists will play, silent auction and kayak raffle, judges will judge, prizes will be awarded, winners will play

M.C.: Big Country Wes James, of WAAC FM Rivers Radio.

Headliners:
Last year's First Prize Winner Scott Perkins and his band, Little Perks in Paradise, from Atlanta.

~~Dirty Bird and the Flu, from Valdosta.~~

Sound: David Rodock of Dirty Bird and the Flu

Flyer:

Flyer
PDF

Publicity

2021-12-06: Video: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest (all of it) 2021-08-21 2021-08-21">

We livestreamed the Fourth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest over facebook live and zoom. This is the zoom video, for those who want to see how the whole thing went.

Musicians, others, and winners

Yep, this is the whole thing, from soundcheck to teardown. In between, three judges perform as a band, then nine finalists perform for the judges, the judges pick winners, and the First Prize winner, Sweet William Billy Ennis, sings again.
Yes, we have video from two other cameras, each with better sound, which we are also gradually posting.
2021-08-29: J.J. Rolle, singer, actor, Judge at Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest –VDT 2021-08-29,

John Jeffery 'J.J.' Rolle is a performer and judge at the recent Fourth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Rolle has been a musician for decades.

VALDOSTA — “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages ... put your hands together for Valdosta's very own, J.J. Rolle,” emcee Wes James called out at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

J.J. Rolle: judge and performer; Photo: Angela Duncan
2021-08-24: Staff Report, Lake City Reporter, August 24, 2021, "O’Brien man places in songwriting contest: Wingate one of nine finalists from across the southeast."

VALDOSTA — Chosen from a record number of finalists, an O’Brien man was one of three winners named Saturday night at the fourth annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
Out of the nine finalists that competed at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts’ Art Park, O’Brien’s KJ Wingate won for the best song from inside the Suwannee River basin. Wingate won a $50 prize from the WWALS Watershed Coalition for his folk/country song, “The Hymn of Convict Spring.”

Lake City Reporter, KJ Wingate, Rachel Grubb
Finalists that competed in the fourth annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting contest included O’Brien’s KJ Wingate (from left), Katherine Ball, David Rodock, Sweet William Billy Ennis, Jimi Davies and his brother, Kathy Lou Gilman and Rachel Hillman. Not pictured are Brandon Fox and Lake City’s Rachel Grubb, who could not attend. Angela Duncan Courtesy of WWALS.
2021-08-23: Amanda M. Usher, Valdosta Daily Times, August 23, 2021, By the Riverside: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest winners revealed (see also WWALS blog post)

VALDOSTA — Sweet William Billy Ennis of Palatka, Fla., is the first-prize winner of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

The annual competition was sponsored by WWALS and took place Saturday at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts Art Park and was also live-streamed on Zoom.

Scott Perkins and the Little Perks in Paradise headlined the show. Perkins is a past winner of the contest.

Ennis is a singer/songwriter who has penned original songs of multiple genres relating to various subjects, including love and war with blues influence, for 50 years, according to his biography.

As the first-place winner, he received $300 along with $300 value in studio time.
2021-08-23: From press release, Valdosta Today, 23 August 2021, Winners of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest,

Chosen by three judges from a record number of Finalists from Atlanta, Georgia, to Palatka, Florida, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) is pleased to announce the winners of the Fourth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

All winners
Finalists that competed in the fourth annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting contest included O’Brien’s KJ Wingate (from left), Katherine Ball, David Rodock, Sweet William Billy Ennis, Jimi Davies and his brother, Kathy Lou Gilman and Rachel Hillman. Not pictured are Brandon Fox and Lake City’s Rachel Grubb, who could not attend. Angela Duncan Courtesy of WWALS.
2021-08-23: WCJB Staff, WCJB, Gainesville, FL, 23 August 2021, Two North Central Florida musicians win Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest awards,

SUWANNEE, Fla. (WCJB) — A pair of North Central Florida musicians are taking home a couple of awards as part of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
KJ Wingate of O’Brien won best song from Inside the Suwannee River Basin with his folk/country tune “The Hymn of the Convict Spring.”
Billy Ennis of Palatka won first place in the Studio Recording Time category with his song “Flat Bottom Boats.”

Billy Ennis band
Photo: Angela Duncan for WWALS.
2021-08-23: Winners: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021-08-21

Hahira, GA, August 23, 2021 — Chosen by three judges from a record number of Finalists from Atlanta to Palatka, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) is pleased to announce the winners of the Fourth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. The winner of the $50 prize for Best Song from Inside the Suwannee River Basin is:
KJ Wingate, from O'Brien, Suwannee County, Florida, with his folk / country song, “The Hymn of Convict Spring”.
The winner of the $50 prize for Best Song from Outside the Suwannee River Basin is:
Jimi Davies, from Atlanta, Georgia, with his blues rock country son, “Dark Water”.
Jimi Davies was assisted on drums by his fifteen-year-old brother.
Winner of the $300 First Prize, plus $300 value in studio recording time, is:
“Sweet William” Billy Ennis, from Palatka, Florida, with his folk song, “Flat Bottom Boats”.
...
For the fourth year running, each Finalist claimed a different musical genre, so every one of them got a plaque:

All winners.
L-R: KJ Wingate, Katherine Ball, David Rodock, Sweet William Billy Ennis, Jimi Davies and his brother, Kathy Lou Gilman, Rachel Hillman.
Photo: Angela Duncan for WWALS.
2021-08-19: A Model Festival During Pandemic: The Fourth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021
2021-08-04: Nine Finalists for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021
2021-08-02: Suwannee Riverkeeper contest scheduled –Valdosta Daily Times 2021-08-02
2021-08-02: Tickets and MC: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021
2021-07-25: Vote for Songs! Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021,
Hahira, Georgia, July 25, 2021 — “Help us pick finalists from nine songs!” said Laura D'Alisera, who won First Prize the first year, and ever since has been on the organizing Committee.
You can vote here, until 5PM, Thursday, July 29, 2021:
https://forms.gle/JKJFdLghQa8P3n4NA

Vote for Songs!

“It's plain old ranked-choice voting,” said Committee Member and Contest Judge Josh Duncan. “Rank the songs in order from 1 (you liked it most) on down.”
2021-07-15: 2021 deadline extended again! and Scott Perkins singing Hoochie Coochie for the Withlacoochee, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting 2020,

Here's Scott Perkins singing his song, Hoochie Coochie for the Withlacoochee, in the 2020 Contest:

Scott Perkins singing Hoochie Coochie for the Withlacoochee, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting 2020
Videos by Phillip Plumlee and John S. Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS),
Turner Center Art Park, Valdosta, Georgia, August 22, 2020.
2021-07-13: Brian Barker plays The River @ Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2020-08-20,

Song submissions for this year are still open through tomorrow, Wednesday, July 14, 2021!
Send in your song now through this entry form:
https://forms.gle/tWrqas7qPWDKgpqF6
If your song makes you a finalist, you will be eligible for the $300 prize and studio time, or the other prizes, at the Suwannee Riverkeeeper Songwriting Contest, 7-11 PM, Saturday, August 21, 2021 at the Turner Center Art Park in Valdosta, Georgia.
All about this year's contest:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-21--songwriting/
Meanwhile, from last year, here's Brian Barker playing his song, The River, via zoom from Kentucky.

Brian Barker singing The River, applause afterwards
2021-07-08: Deadline Extended to July 14, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021
2021-07-07: Deadline Today! Song submissions due July 7, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021
2021-07-04: Deadline: Song submissions due July 7! Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021
2021-04-01: No fooling: Song submissions are open, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021
2021-03-25: Song submissions open April First (no fooling!) Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021 (PDF)
2020-12-09: Videos: Judges Play at Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2020, plus new organizing committee is considering judges, headliners, and sponsors sought for 2021 Contest.

Last year:

Winners: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2020-08-22

Winners*: Brian Barker via zoom*, accepting for him, Scott Perkins*, Laura D’Alisera, Kathy Lou Gilman*, John S. Quarterman, Sweet William Billy Ennis*, Ronni Dillon (not present)

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Pictures

/pictures/2021-08-21--songwriting

Photographs by WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.,
licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License.

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS), est. 2012, is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-for-profit charity.
WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.
Since 2016, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER® is a project and a staff member of WWALS as the Waterkeeper Alliance® member for the 10,000 square mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia.