Tennessee's Arthur Alligood Named Grand Prize Winner Of The 2011 Mountain Stage Newsong Contest.

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ NewSong Music) Tennessee's Arthur Alligood Named Grand Prize Winner Of The 2011 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest.Last Thursday, a panel of judges at New York's Winter Garden in the World Financial Center chose Arthur Alligood as the overall grand prize winner of the tenth annual Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. Alligood, from the small town of White House, TN about 30 minutes outside Nashville, was chosen from over 2,000 entries and selected from 12 finalists who had been invited to compete in the live performance and songwriting competition here.

Arthur Alligood, the 2011 grand prize winner of the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. For more pictures of the live performance competition, click here.

"Being a part of the contest this year was humbling," said Alligood. "There were so many talented people involved and I feel fortunate to have won the grand prize. I'm really excited about working with Mikal on a new EP."

As the grand prize winner, Alligood will go into the studio with producer, songwriter and hitmaker Mikal Blue (James Blunt, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat) to record an EP that will be released on Brooklyn's NewSong Recordings label.

"Arthur is exactly the kind of artist I was hoping to meet thru the NewSong Contest," stated Blue. "While remaining very true to his art, his lyrical and melodic sensibilities make his songs very accessible and his rich vocal tone captivates the listener. I can't wait to see what we come up with in the studio!"

Additionally, Arthur will perform live on an internationally broadcast Mountain Stageshow on NPR, hosted by Larry Groce who served as one of the contest's judges.

"Arthur Alligood came out on top of an extremely strong group of five finalists that were chosen from a field of over 2,000 contest entries," said Groce. "His performances are subtle and powerful, his songs are original and he's an artist who knows who he is and is not afraid to do things his own way. I look forward to having him as a guest on Mountain Stage."

Now in its tenth year, the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest has quickly evolved to become one of the premier showcases of emerging performing songwriters in North America. It has helped launch the careers of such acclaimed artists as Ingrid Michaelson, Jeff Ellis, Diana Jones and last year's winner Amber Rubarth, whose grand prize album 'A Common Case of Disappearing' was produced by Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, Tom Waits) and recently peaked in the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart at #13.

"Arthur's songs are characterized by poetic lyrics and strong, memorable melodies, and he delivers them with an authenticity and connection that deeply engages the listener," said Gar Ragland, director and co-founder of NewSong Music, which produces the competition. "This combination of strong performance and songwriting ultimately separated him from the rest of the finalists. We're excited to head into the studio early next year with Mikal and Arthur and create something truly unique and memorable together."

NewSong Music is an independent music organization based in Brooklyn, New York. Its twofold mission is (1) To build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across all genres of music and levels of skill, and (2) To identify the truly exceptional artists within this community and to work closely with them to develop their careers and introduce their music to a broader, international audience.