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Daniel Lee chosen winner of Strathmore Regional Round of the NewSong Contest.

daniel leedaniel lee

On Sunday, June 19, Daniel Lee was chosen winner of the Strathmore Regional Round of the NewSong Contest presented by Performing Songwriter Magazine during a competition at Strathmore in N. Bethesda, Maryland. Lee now moves on to the finals of the national NewSong Contest, which take place during the 2005 Mountain Stage NewSong Festival, Aug. 24 to 28 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 90 minutes from Washington, D.C. Lee becomes one of 12 finalists to be chosen for the NewSong Contest finals. The grand-prize winner of the national contest will perform on a festival-closing performance of the Mountain Show program which will later be broadcast internationally on the esteemed live performance music show heard around the world.


the music center at Strathmore

May 19, 2005

While “American Idol” gets all the hype for a contest in which singers sing other people’s songs, the NewSong Contest recently announced the regional winners in a national contest that showcases singers who do killer renditions of their own songs.

Five finalists were chosen May 18 at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland, in a Regional Round of the NewSong Contest, presented by Performing Songwriter, which was open soley to performing songwriters from Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. The contest focuses on emerging and up-and-coming singer-songwriters in all genres of music, from folk, blues, country and traditional, to world beat, hip-hop, jazz and beyond.

The five Regional Round finalists now move on to a finals round at Strathmore on June 19, during a day full of music, panels and workshops, concluding with the 600th show of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce at 7 p.m. The Mountain Stage show at Strathmore—featuring Guy Clark, Loudon Wainwright III, Last Train Home, Michael Penn and Raul Midon -- will later be broadcast internationally as this esteemed live performance music program is heard on more than 125 radio stations, XM Satellite Radio and the Voice of America.

The winner chosen June 19 from among the Regional Round finalists listed below will perform a set in advance of the Mountain Stage show, then move on to the finals of the national New Contest, during the Mountain Stage NewSong Festival, Aug. 24 to 28 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The Regional Round finalists are:

Daniel Lee, "Celebrations & Wonderings"

Kemp Harris, "Ruthie's"

Leah Morgan, "Square Plate Song"

Nelson Emokpae, "Just a Dream"

Robin Wynn, "Broken Sky"

The June 19 daytime events at Strathmore are co-sponsored with the Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW), the Baltimore Songwriters Association (BSA) and the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA).

Events include:

Workshop Room 309:
2 p.m.: BSA/SAW Song Critique. Hosted by Paul Iwancio and Zoe Mulford
3 p.m.: NewSong Academy Sampler: A preview of the Aug. 24 to 26 NewSong Academy songwriting and performance school in Shepherdstown.
4 p.m.: “The Art of Success in the Music Business: Diversify.” With Michael Buckley (WRNR), Michael DeLalla, (Falling Mountain Music), Jon Carroll and Ben Carroll.
5 p.m.: Open Song Circle.
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Performance Room 402:
2 p.m.: Q & A with Mountain Stage Artists: Michael Penn, Eric Brace, Mountain Stage Host Larry Groce and NewSong Director Gar Ragland
3 p.m.: WAMA presents “Look Alive! Giving Your Songs the Live Performance They Deserve,” hosted by Ruthie Logsdon, Lisa Moscatiello and Patty Reese.
4 p.m.: NewSong Showcase with Diana Jones and a solo set by Robbie Schaefer of Eddie from Ohio.
5 p.m.: NewSong Contest Regional Round Finals.

NOTE: Patrons who purchase tickets to the 7 p.m. Mountain Stage at Strathmore performance are admitted free to afternoon workshops and events. There is a $5 registration fee for patrons without tickets to the evening concert. For more information, call (301) 581-5100.

For tickets to the May 18 semi-finals or the June 19 Mountain Stage NewSong Showcase at Strathmore, call (301) 581-5100 or see:
http://www.strathmore.org

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Raul Midón added to June 19 Mountain Stage NewSong Showcase at Strathmore

Raul Midón is latest addition to the Mountain Stage NewSong Showcase lineup. The New York Times calls him a "virtuoso." "The singer's raw, immaculate vocal expressions are unforgettable,” says the Washington Post. "Stopped the show!" says Newsday. Raul Midon is an up-and-coming star performer who has been added to an already  powerful June 19 Mountain Stage NewSong Showcase lineup at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland, joining Guy Clark, Loudon Wainwright III, Last Train Home and Michael Penn.

Midón straddles pop, soul and jazz with a remarkable voice and dazzling guitar technique. You might say he's a product of his environment -- the son of an Argentinean and African American - he benefits from the best of both worlds. He's been called a "spiritually and socially conscious and optimistic new voice for our times" (Miami Herald). ""I like to celebrate the possible," says Midón, "the highest, the best of possibilities for human beings. Collectively, we create an enormously powerful force that can change the world and overcome any obstacle."

Beating the odds and overcoming obstacles is something Midón knows about first hand. Born premature in rural New Mexico, he was blinded after being placed in an incubator with high oxygen levels. After several years as the first call background vocalist in Miami's Latin industry he made the move to New York City, releasing the album "Elements of Life" (Giant Step).  In the spring of 2004, he was invited to join The Tour of the Curbside Prophets led by Jason Mraz on a tour of the U.S. and Canada. He later  signed a deal with Manhattan Records (EMI), a boutique pop label overseen by Blue Note President Bruce Lundvall and the album -- produced by the legendary Arif Mardin (Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones) -- will be released June 7.

The rave reviews keep on coming: “The find of the evening was New Mexico-born, New York-based guitarist Raul Midon. Blind since birth, Midon is the 21st-century analog of a one-man band, taking full advantage of the rhythmic and melodic opportunities within both guitar and vocals. With a singing voice reminiscent of Al Jarreau, a staccato picking/slapping guitar style and a spot-on vocal mimicry of muted trumpet, Midon was clearly the most versatile part of the evening.” (The Tennessean).

He joins a June 19 show at Strathmore that includes acclaimed Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark, whose folk and blues-influenced country has earned him plaudits as a “national treasure,” and whose character-rich songs are backed by a mean slide guitar. Also featured is Loudon Wainwright III, who first sprang to fame on the back of a skunk with his 1972 novelty song “Dead Skunk” and who has gone on to win fans worldwide with a body of material intended (as he readily concedes) to amuse, move, entertain, educate and irritate, not necessarily in that order. Filling up the stage with a wall of horn-drenched roots rock, Last Train Home is one of the hottest rising bands on the music scene with a rich, bold alt-country sound captured on the band’s recent release “Bound Away.” Michael Penn (older brother of Hollywood actor Sean Penn) has been described as “a thinking person’s pop musician who has seemingly digested all that's good about the music of the past 25 years and processed it through his own very interesting perceptive filters. His technical mastery is supported by real soul and enlivened by real daring.”

mountain stageThe Mountain Stage show at Strathmore with host Larry Groce marks the 600th performance of the live performance music program, an American institution which for more than 20 years has showcased some of the finest musicians from around the world in all genres of music. Now in its 21st year, Mountain Stage with Larry Groce is taped live in concert halls and at events like the NewSong Festival, then broadcast worldwide on more than 200 radio and TV stations, XM Satellite  Radio and “The Voice of America.”  The show has a long and storied tradition of launching new acts to stardom and featuring national and international acts in all styles of music from traditional roots, blues and  country, to avant-garde rock, world beat, country, jazz and more.

MORE ON THE FESTIVAL: We encourage all Strathmore regional round entrants to visit the NewSong Festival website and come to this year’s NewSong and the new high-powered NewSong Academy on songwriting and performance.

For tickets to the May 18 semi-finals or the June 19 Mountain Stage NewSong Showcase at Strathmore, call (301) 581-5100 or see:
http://www.strathmore.org

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