Saturday, December 10, 2016

2016 Song Contest Judges

Grand Prize Judge : Roy Elkins, CEO of Broadjam, Inc.
ROY ELKINS is a well-known music technology entrepreneur who has been leading industry innovations for over twenty years. Elkins is the Founder and CEO of Broadjam Inc., serving independent musicians and industry giants such as Warner/Chappell, The Academy of Country Music, AMD, Yamaha, Peavey, Roland, ProSoundWeb and others. Broadjam.com, the company's popular web site, now hosts one of the largest collections of searchable independent music on the planet. The site is known for its user-friendly services for musicians, including artist web pages, song reviews, song contests, Top 10 Charts and the revolutionary METAJAM software.

Before founding Broadjam,  Elkins was the Vice President-Sales & Marketing for Sonic Foundry, and held several director-level positions with Ensoniq Corporation. He maintains a database of over 5,000 music industry contacts include executives at virtually every company in the music industry and past and/or present artists such as Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, D.J. Jazzy Jeff, the Beach Boys, the Allman Brothers Band, BoyzIIMen, Roy Firestone, Joe Walsh (The Eagles), Paul Broucek (Lord of the Rings), ELP, Yes, Journey, Skid Row, Bill Walton, Jackie Martling (Howard Stern), David Arkenstone, Randy Jackson and many others. He is an accomplished musician and songwriter who thoroughly understands the musician's world. www.broadjam.com

Category Judges

Americana: Kendra Terry  has been a volunteer at Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse since 1992 and is currently the Booking Manager. Kendra has been actively involved with the award winning Songwriter Stage at Richardson, TX, Wildflower! Art & Music Festival for about 20 years. She has been the Volunteer Manager for the Songwriter Stage for the past 5 years. Kendra was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation. A native Texan, Kendra grew up in South Louisiana singing with her three sisters. She has lived in the Dallas area since 1979.

Singer Songwriter: DAVID CARD, Owner, Poor David’s Pub
Most of Texas’ greatest songwriters have one thing in common: they’ve headlined at Dallas’ legendary music venue, Poor David’s Pub. For the past 31 years, Poor David’s Pub owner David Card has been host to outstanding artists such as Sara Hickman, the Dixie Chicks, Patrice Pike, Max Stalling, Guy Clark, Jimmy Webb and more. Card is also the founder of the annual BW Stevenson Memorial Singer-Songwriter Competition, held at Poor David’s every April and now in its 20th year. Card, Poor David’s Pub and the annual contest have helped the careers of past singer-songwriter winners including Adam Carroll, Max Stalling, Kristi Kruger, Gordy Quist, Elizabeth Wills, Colin Boyd, Owen Temple and many others. http://www.poordavidspub.com

Children's/Novelty :MONTY HARPER
has been on the Oklahoma Arts Council Touring Roster since 1995. His songs and recordings have won many honors from groups including Parents’ Choice, iParenting, NAPPA, Children’s Music Web, Kids Radio Mania, and Unisong International. He has released eight titles on CD, available through CDBaby.com and iTunes Music Store More information is at www.montyharper.com

Christian/Inspirational:  KIMBERLY INGRAM , Open Heart MusicalsComposer, writer, and co-creator of the popular children’s musicals Land of the Lost (and Found!), and “What’s Up, Zak?” A Musical Encounter with Jesus, a 2011 GMA Dove Finalist for Musical of the Year. She is also co-author of the new teacher’s resource from Choristers Guild called Praise Takes Flight: Songs and Activities for High Flying Children’s Choirs.  She has also written for Growing in Grace publications.  http://www.openheartmusicals.com/


Country: Rod Phelps, music biz legend, VP of Global Music Development, the American Music Channel. Rod started out booking the likes of Bob Hope and Brother Dave gardner when he was at Baylor U. He discovered Garth Brooks in a dive in OK. He's been an angel for DSA having been a part of us since the early 90's. He's provided a place for many songwriters to crash in Nashville and has .helped them along their way into a staff writers gig. The list is long and includes Chris Cagle and Rory Lee Feek. He has also had the good fortune to work with Larry Weiss ("Rhinestone Cowboy", "Bend Me, Shape Me"); Richard Leigh ("Don't you Make My Brown Eyes Blue", "Greatest Man I Never Knew"); Don Schlitz ("The Gambler"); Tommy Barnes ("Cherokee Outlaw"); Randy Boudreaux ("Goodnight Sweetheart", ""Brokenheartsville", "Alibis", "Who Needs You Baby").
CM Songs of the Year, “I’m Movin’ On” (recorded by Rascal Flatts) and “Three Wooden Crosses” (recorded by Randy Travis). The American Music Channel is the only discovery platform for emerging artists that is built and operated by music industry professionals. https://americanmusicchannel.com/

Instrumental: Terry Hankins is a premier jazz guitarist that regularly does solo and jazz trio performances at various Dallas/Ft. Worth restaurant and club venues.  He has played professionally for over 30 years and has appeared with some of the top jazz artists in the country including guitarist Larry Carleton.

Love Songs/Easy Listening: Owner of the jazz venue, Kitchen Cafe, TONY HAKIM has been a positive music force in the Dallas - Fort Worth jazz scene for over 25 years, playing both solo performance and collaboratively. His mellow guitar styles and winsome vocals have won him much acclaim and a devoted following worldwide. His first CD, "Postcards From You", is packed with a delightful assortment of original tunes, while his latest CD's, "Summer Place" and "Two For The Road", show off his definitive style as he interprets the works of the legends of the music world. http://www.tonyhakim.net/

Pop/Rock - Music Director KATHY FORSTE graduated from Central Missouri State University with a degree in Broadcasting and Film and a minor in music. KC Café Radio is a realization of her two passions, broadcasting and music.  Kathy has worked in television and radio for the past 30 years in various capacities.  This includes production, master control, programming and development for  ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS.  Kathy’s passion for music began as a child. At the age of 13 she wrote her first “real song” and has been writing songs and playing guitar ever since. She started performing live about 24 years ago as a solo artist in Oklahoma. She has played everywhere from Seattle, Washington to the Bluebird Café in Nashville. Kathy has written, recorded and produced three CD’s, “Mojo Hum”, “Too Late For Regrets” and “Home Fires”.  In her role with KC Café Radio Kathy has had the pleasure of interviewing over 60 singer/songwriters for the KC Café Radio website. She is also the sole ear for choosing the music of almost 500 songwriters and 5,000 songs for the playlist on KC Café Radio.  In her role as music director she coordinates and books the music for KC Café Radio Concert series which has included such well known acts as the Stray Birds, Jonathan Byrd, Beth Wood, Jeff Campbell and Stephanie Urbina Jones.  Kathy is a member of Folk Alliance International and Kansas City Songwriters Group.  www.kccaferadio.com

DSA Song Contest Judges

Annual Song Contest held by the Dallas Songwriters Association to provide a benchmark for popular songwriting competency. Winners in each category, plus grand prize winners.