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Home - Music
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BACKBEAT
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* Omaha and Lincoln’s host of stellar songwriters have until Dec. 2 to enter the 2009 International Songwriting Competition. The contest offers the largest cash grand prize of any major songwriting competition in the world — $25,000 cash and $20,000 in musical equipment and services.
The competition accepts submissions from songwriters and groups, amateur to professional, in several genre categories. Fifty-five judges, industry professionals and celebrities, choose the winners. Celeb judges include: Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Steve Winwood, Timbaland, Loretta Lynn, Rob Thomas, Jeff Beck, Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC), Chris Hillman (The Byrds), John Scofield, Black Francis, DJ Tiesto, Toots Hibbert (Toots & The Maytals), Sasha, John Digweed, Youssou N’Dour, Robert Earl Keen, “Weird Al” Yankovic and Sandra Bernhard. Visit songwritingcompetition.com for categories or to enter.
* And speaking of songwriters, Saturday, Dec. 5, check out Brad Hoshaw & The Cabin Songwriters at 9 p.m., at Slowdown. Each year Hoshaw, one of Omaha’s finest singer-songwriters, joins a handful of songwriters from across the country at a secluded Wisconsin cabin on Lake Michigan. The group coalesces for a week, playing their favorite songs for each other, collaborating on new ones and “often ending each night with a race to the bottom of a Jameson bottle.” Sounds like good, clean fun. Dec. 5 some of Hoshaw’s colleagues from the yearly excursion (Brianna Lane, Minneapolis, Minn.; Jeremiah Nelson, Madison, Wisc. and Brooks West, Nashville, Tenn.) join him for an intimate “in the round” performance, showcasing some of the “spoils of their creative week,” including songs and stories.
* The Blues Foundation out of Memphis, Tenn., bestows annual international awards for excellence in blues music by non-performers by presenting its Keeping the Blues Alive Awards. The panel of blues industry professionals zeroed in on Omaha this year to honor Rick Galusha in the Blues Public Radio category, for his PS Blues show on 89.7 The River. Galusha has dedicated 20-plus years to blues radio in Omaha. His show currently runs Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon. Visit 897theriver.com/blues.asp for more details on the show. Congrats, Rick!
* And speaking of radio, if you need a little extra push in the mornings, be sure to tune the dial to 1100 KFAB AM. “The Good Morning Show” added a segment in late October called “Getting Up with Andy Greenberg.” Airing at 5:25 a.m., the segment features Greenberg, a motivational speaker and trainer, with daily insights and encouragement to help listeners take on the day, personally and professionally. If you can’t manage to rise by 5:25 a.m., the segment is also featured at KFAB.com.
— Sarah Wengert
Backbeat takes you behind the scenes of the local music scene. Send tips, comments and questions to backbeat@thereader.com. |
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