February 4, 2023
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One of several state-wide Qualifying Rounds of the Fifth Annual Tennessee Songwriters Competition was held Thursday night in Smithville hosted by the Harvester Performance & Event Center.
The event was co-sponsored by the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree. The Jamboree Committee also arranged for the prestigious group of judges for the event including Darrin Vincent (of duo Dailey & Vincent, Grammy Award Winner, and Grand Ole Opry member); Vanissa Braswell Murphy (past Chair of the Music & Arts Department at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire); Michelle Canning (Member of the International Bluegrass Music Association and a member of IBMA Songwriters Committee); and James Kee (Member of East Nash Grass, Songwriter, Band Leader of “House Band” at Smithville, Jamboree).
The 20 Songwriters who competed in Thursday’s competition were: Soraiya Campbell, Frankie Thrower, Parker Hastings, Sarah & Kelly Finck, Jimmy Garrett, Collins Horton, Lorianne Carter, Todd Perry, Alannah McCready, Tony Banks, Ellis Griffin, Garrett Hale, Matt Dillon, Ashley Lynn, Megan Carolan, Lauren Gottshall, Josh Driver, Mick Fury, Shannon Eastman, and Jacob Melton.
Horton was the winning songwriter at this event and will advance to the regional competition.