New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ We R Indie Official Website) We R Indie & Indiegrrl International
Music Conference just finished up our 4th year with a big bang. Independent music artists merged into Knoxville, TN from all around the world to attend. The event this year had two new additions to the format that included a Songwriter Showdown and a
Battle of the Bands. The crowds supported and loved both competitions held at the Holiday Inn World's Fair Park & Convention Center along with watching the live performances of featured showcase artists and bands. Singer songwriters and bands from around the world entered the We R Indie competitions by electronic press kit submissions through online forums with Sonicbids and Reverbnation, and also through mail in press packets. A review committee selected the top 18 songwriters to compete live in the Songwriter Showdown and the top 6 bands to compete live in the
Battle of the Bands.
Songwriters competing in the Songwriter Showdown competition were, Helen Austin (Vancouver Island, BC, Canada),
Emilia Cataldo (Long Island city, NY), Jayme Dawicki (New Berlin, WI), Gary Demos (Hilliard, OH), Tiffany Alana Dodgen (Waco, TX), Breaux Gargano (Knoxville, TN), Brian Lawrence (Springfield, VA), Linq (Royalston, MA),
Jeanette Lynne (West Chester, PA),
Brandon McGuiness (Nashville, TN), Pearson Perry (Atlanta, GA),
Heidi Pollyea (Clarkston, GA), Hayley Reardon (Marblehead, MA),
Annie Robinette (Bristol, VA), Valarie Sciarra (New York NY), Emily Shane (Knoxville, TN), and Terrell "Dee" Wilson (Matteson, IL). The five songwriters that made it to the final round were
Annie Robinette, Pearson Perry,
Brandon McGuiness, Helen Austin, and 14 year old Haley Reardon.
Annie Robinette won 1st Place honors and Helen Austin won 2nd Place honors. Judges in the Songwriter Showdown were
Karen E Reynolds Singer Songwriter and Producer Writer's Block
Radio Show on WDVX FM Knoxville,
Robyn Taylor
Drake & Johnny
Drake Owners Trio Productions in Nashville, Bill Pere Author of �Songcrafters' Coloring Book� and President of the Connecticut Songwriters Association and Kay Pere Singer Songwriter/Music Educator/Vocal Instructor.
Bands that performed live in the
Battle of the Bands were, Annabella Wood Band (Blue Bell, PA), Dark Hollow Band (Clinton, TN), Fifth Street Saints (Sevierville, TN), Hudson K (Knoxville, TN), Niacin Flush (Nashville, TN), and Robby Hopkins Band (LaFayette, GA). Hudson K won 1st Place honors and Robby Hopkins Band won 2nd Place honors. Judges in the
Battle of the Bands were Vicki Blankenship President of We R Indie and Indie Record Label Spotted Kiva Productions, Brian Ashley Jones Singer Songwriter and a Nashville Songwriters Association International Pros on the Road Clinician, Jill Cagney Board Member We R Indie and Singer Songwriter, and Tom Ashcraft Board Member We R Indie and head of Feed the Fan online music forum..
Prize packages included donations from We R Indie, Luna Guitar, In Tune Guitar Picks, Topspin Media, Trio Productions, �Play For Publishers Workshop� hosted by
Barbara Cloyd at Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Spotted Kiva Productions, Enroute
Music Porchboard Bass, D'Addario, Planet Waves, Evans Drums, Harmonic Capo, Demo-Ology, Songsalive, Sonicbids, and
Music Registry.
Annie Robinette, 1st place winner in the Songwriter Showdown, studied fine arts at UNC Greensboro, and became a portrait artist and illustrator. She also freelanced in marketing and graphic design. At the same time she worked as a professional model and actress, which landed her jobs for clients like Calvin Klein, Liz Claiborne, and Levi's.
Annie had numerous roles in national and regional TV ads as well as principal roles in corporate and independent film. And when she took a sudden notion to,
Annie dove into the stage scene in Raleigh, wowing audiences in both musical and dramatic theatre. After becoming the mother of two daughters,
Annie began writing songs, playing bass and sharing the lead vocals in an all-girl alternative rock band. But this endeavor was short-lived, as
Annie moved back to her hometown, Bristol, TN to marry the "one that got away". This union added two more children to the mix. The stresses of dealing with divorce, remarriage, custody, raising four kids, and the unexpected deaths of her father and brother, would have been enough to squelch many artists' creative impulses. But
Annie found poetic inspiration in these events and returned to song writing and performing. Her lyrics are direct and visual, intelligent and relevant. Her sound is uniquely her own, delivered with power, emotion, and intensity. The music is sophisticated without being complicated and has a firm acoustic texture with just enough electricity. Her voice is extraordinarily powerful and still easy on the ear. From sensitive ballads to driving rhythms, singer-songwriter
Annie Robinette offers variety to the listener. Her songs, frequently born from her empathic observations of other people's lives, are delivered with passion and intensity. You're bound to find a little piece of yourself in her stories.
Helen Austin, 2nd place winner in the Songwriter Showdown, also just won Female Songwriter and Artist of the Year in the 2011 Vancouver Island
Music Awards. Originally from the UK and now living on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, she is no stranger to the stage and has worked as a professional performer for over 20 years. After her previous life as an award winning stand-up comedian, she brings her quirky humour to her musical performances, as well as the ability to tug at your heart strings with her more serious songs. With her self-produced music videos getting over a million viewers online, she has been earning accolades and acquiring fans from around the world. Her music is now getting regularly licensed in Network TV shows such as '90210', 'One Tree Hill' and 'Ghost Whisperer', along with many MTV shows and ads. Helen has written music and lyrics for specific occasions such as her song "Relay", written to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society�s Relay For Life event, which is now played at Relay events all over the world. From April 2009 Helen wrote, produced and uploaded a new song each week onto her website as a free download. Thirteen of those songs are on her album, 'Song of the Week' which has been nominated for 5 Vancouver Island
Music Awards. Helen has released two new albums this year - Treehouse and Song of the Week 2.
1st place winner in the
Battle of the Bands, Hudson K is the brainchild of singer/songwriter
Christina Horn. Combining influences that span decades, Christina�s work dwells in the abstract, emerging in timeless forms. Drawing her inspiration from other such artists as
Tori Amos and the much buzzed loved St. Vincent, Hudson K has crafted their own unique sound of avant-garde and pop fusion. Incredibly photogenic and fashion-minded, Horn is a glamorous figure for the alternative music realm; a seeming star-in-waiting, successor to that mystical/sexual rock-heroine crown. The New York-born Horn pulls from her music school education and her experience producing scores when it comes to writing songs. She also cites Bat for Lashes and
Andrew Bird as influences, while echoes of
Bjork and PJ
Harvey are heard throughout Hudson K�s transforming indie rock sound. Classically trained on piano, Horn has been able to escape the trappings of concert piano, to cut out her own niche in psychedelic experimentalism. Hudson K is singer songwriter and musician
Christina Horn along with drummer and vocalist Nate Barrett.
2nd place winner in the
Battle of the Bands, Robby Hopkins Band is Singer Songwriter Robby Hopkins who knows country all to well. He�s lived it! Robby was born near Spencer, Tennessee, into a family with a rich musical heritage. He grew up listening to country greats Keith Whitley, Vern Gosdin, Randy Travis,
George Jones, and John Anderson just to name a few. An older friend who wrote songs inspired him to write his first song, �This Road�, at age sixteen. He�s been writing ever since. Robby is the winner of several Singer-Songwriter competitions, including a competition judged by nationally known singer-songwriters Don Henry and Nathan Bell where he showcased his songs, �He�s My Hero� and �This is Gonna Hurt Me�. Over the past few months, Robby�s written & introduced several crowd-pleasing country songs including �You Can Get There From Here�, �Country�er Than Me�, �Dangerous Side�, �Rough & Rowdy Crowd�, �She�s A
Little Redneck, Too!�, �What Are We Gonna Do?�, and more. The �X-factor� combination of Robby�s distinctive voice, original songs, personality and stage presence, along with a kickin�, energetic band keeps them booked. Robby fronts the band on vocals and acoustic guitar and is joined by Tyler Southern, sensational young lead guitarist that awe�s the audience with his incredible licks, Jonathan Wakefield on a thumping bass guitar and joins in on back up vocals, and Cody Bunch who creates the heartbeat of the band on drums and joins in on back up vocals. Combined they create a thumping, boot shuffling, arms in the air swaying, good time smiling feeling that keeps the audience engaged in their live performance.
