2024 Dallas Songwriters 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: Jenni Mansfield Peal is a songwriter and singer, guitarist, accordionist, and mountain dulcimist. Her experience includes two tours of Northern Ireland, main stage at the Kerrville Folk Festival, numerous original productions and ensembles, and four independent albums. The Mr. Peppermint Show featured Jenni’s songs on multiple episodes that were syndicated world-wide for years, and her most recent recording is for children and families: Putting On the Old Folk’s Clothes. Jenni was named The Best Folk Song Writer in North Texas by CBS DFW, among four, in October 2010. From October 2012 until February 2014, Jenni created and hosted the broadcast radio show “Everybody’s Folk” for KNON 89.3 FM in Dallas.
Jenni’s career has been diverse, driven by a deep love for music and original expression. She’s had many audiences. She is a teacher, a student, an instrumentalist and song preservationist, a children’s entertainer and chanteuse to the elderly, a song writer and a poet.
https://www.jennimansfieldpeal.com/bio/

Christian/Inspirational: Art Greenhaw is an American musician, record producer and audio engineer who was awarded the Grammy Award in 2003 for the Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album for We Called Him Mr. Gospel Music: The James Blackwood Tribute Album. Additionally, he founded the independent record label, Greenhaw Records.
Greenhaw is the bassist, multi-instrumentalist and manager for the Light Crust Doughboys, which he officially joined as a band member in 1993 under the direction of Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery, one of Greenhaw's musical mentors. The symphony performances and other enterprises of the Light Crust Doughboys in the 1990s and in the new millennium, are largely the product of Greenhaw's imagination and promotional skill.
In addition, his musicianship, production, arranging and songwriting has included work with Nokie Edwards, Tom Brumley, James Blackwood, Ann-Margret, Engelbert Humperdinck, Trini Lopez and Ronnie Dawson.

Country: Sam Moore began songwriting in 2000, following 27 years in television newsrooms, including stations owned by Hearst and Pulitzer. He has found that songwriting is much like writing a news item. It is all about storytelling. He writes in many genres, including country, rock, Americana, religious and comedy. He is also a featured singer in Parker Station, a party band based in the Dallas area. He is a member of Dallas Songwriters Association. He is also affiliated with Music Row Coach, a mentoring program by hit songwriter Lance Carpenter. Sam has served as coordinator of the Dallas chapter of Nashville Songwriters Association International since 2006.  He is currently Director of Local Groups for the Associated Press.

Instrumental : 

Richard Theisen is a native Dallasite, keyboardist and singer who won a Grammy® Award in 1985 for his contribution to the“Beverly Hills Cop” soundtrack LP with the track, “Rock and Roll Me Again” performed by The System. He was also inducted into the annual Hall of Fame roster in "Buddy Magazine" as a Texas Tornado.. He was a renowned Alley Cats performer for many years and traveled extensively with the dueling piano type show. He also performed with the show band, Custom Made, who took their stage musical to Atlantic City, Japan and many other places. Most recently, he has been nominated for the New Age Radio Music Awards in the Best New Age Album category for his recent release titled, “Oceanova.” We thank Richard for his time and expertise as a judge.

Novelty/Children's : Allen Larson

is a Dallas native who attended college at Southern Methodist University. He’s played in pro groups throughout the years but is mostly solo these days playing a mix of originals & covers, sung with passion and energy. His songs rang from classic rock, folk, a bit of country and everything else. His songs can be found on all the streaming services.

Love Songs/Easy Listening:  Kent and Kay Ellingson, Kent has been a part of the Dallas music scene since the early 1980’s. He has performed in jazz groups for years and has played in concert with many jazz greats, including Randy Brecker, Kevin Mahogany, Clark Terry, Chris Vadala, Phil Woods, and others.Kent is a full-time music instructor at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Dallas Arts Magnet). He also teaches jazz piano at Collin College in Plano and Eastfield College in Mesquite.
Kay has been called “small but mighty” with a dynamic range of voice and style. A familiar name in the DFW area, her fan base circles the globe thanks to her versatility and smooth, silky style.

Pop/Rock - 

Jamey Shannon was born on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and raised in Tupelo and Starkville, and has also lived in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and now Florida. He holds degrees from Mississippi State University, Southwestern Seminary and The University of
 Southern Mississippi. Jamey recently retired as Director of Choral Activities at Mississippi Delta Community College where he taught songwriting, voice, guitar, and bass, and also directed the Ambassador Show Choir and the MDCC Singers. Jamey is now a touring singer songwriter.

Singer Songwriter: Bobby Smith and Dorinda Duncan - Author and Gospel Producer E Robert Smith who traveled the road many years with Christian artist, Dion, has switched his created talents to fiction writing. His new novel, Downline, is a gripping tale of the world of multilevel marketing. DORINDA is a songwriter who a performed across the US, most notably at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Former recording artist with Capitol Records, she is currently cutting a Christian album with Bobby producing.

Bobby's book on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Downline-E-Robert-Smith/dp/0988820900