2015 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.

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:  SCOTT DICKEN is enjoying a diverse musical life as a singer, songwriter, arranger, ensemble director, educator and clinician. He is currently director of music at Christ United Methodist Church, Farmers Branch, TX, where he leads both traditional and
contemporary worship, and directs children’s and youth vocal ensembles.
Scott studied music at the University of Miami, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in
Music Business with a minor in Vocal Performance, and a master’s degree in Jazz Vocal
Performance. During a fruitful career as a Los Angeles-based session musician, he sang
on numerous feature films including Land of the Lost, Watchmen, Wanted, Horton Hears
a Who, Austin Powers, X-Men, and Superman Returns. On-screen credits include the
film First Daughter, and TV’s 3rd Rock From The Sun, and Days of our Lives. Scott also
had the honor of working on record projects for Barbra Streisand and Neil Young. Also
an avid stage performer, Scott’s favorite theatre roles include Tommy in Brigadoon, Sky
in Guys & Dolls, the Wolf/Prince in Into the Woods, and Billy in Carousel. As a concert
performer, Scott has enjoyed the opportunity to travel across the U.S.A., and throughout
Europe, Asia, and Australia.


Country: Larry Beaird, owner of Beaird Music Group, Inc. (a premier Nashville recording service featuring three recording studios) has produced songs featuring such artists as Dolly Parton, Billy Dean and Mark O’Connor. A past nominee of the Academy of Country Music award for Guitarist of the Year, he has played acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin on thousands of recording sessions including records for Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, Brooks and Dunn, and Montgomery Gentry. You can also hear him on Pop/Rock records such as America and Art Garfunkel as well as several movie soundtracks including Fox and the Hound II, Varsity Blues, and Hannah Montana, the Movie (on the Rascal Flatts song, “Bless the Broken Road”).
His 12-string guitar work is featured on the recent recording of Turn, Turn, Turn featuring Roger McGuinn, Emmy Lou Harris, and Ricky Skaggs. This song is featured in the movie soundtrack for "The Song".
Larry played acoustic guitar on the records for back to back ACM Songs of the Year, “I’m Movin’ On” (recorded by Rascal Flatts) and “Three Wooden Crosses” (recorded by Randy Travis).
His company produces records for artists along with song demos for both veteran and up-and-coming songwriters. With their system of recording, writers can have their songs recorded in person or without ever coming to Nashville. http://www.beairdmusicgroup.com

Instrumental and 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