Westlake Village, CA (Top40 Charts/ Guitar Center) Guitar Center - the world's largest retailer of music instruments and equipment - is excited to announce Josh Doyle, from Antioch, Tennessee, as the winner of Guitar Center's Singer-Songwritercompetition.Launched October of 2011, Guitar Center's Singer-Songwriter set out to find the nation's best, unsigned singer-songwriter. Out of more than 17,000 submissions, 10 finalists were hand-selected by Grammy award-winning producer John Shanks to perform live this past Saturday, Feb. 18, at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles for the chance to win an array of career-altering prizes. As the nation's top undiscovered singer-songwriter, Doyle takes home a prize package including $10,000 cash, a 3-song EP produced by Shanks, new gear from Fender, Taylor, Ernie Ball and Shure and much more.
Also performing with the 10 undiscovered singer-songwriter finalists this past Saturday night was Los Angeles-based artist, Meiko. The Indie-folk songstress entertained the crowd while Shanks deliberated on his chosen winner. Having been a regular at Hotel Cafe for some time now,
Meiko charmed the audience with songs from her upcoming album The Bright Side, to be released in May. Hosted by renowned-music journalist Nic Harcourt, it was a night complete with original music and impressive performances. In the end, Doyle's lyrics and vocal ability shone through and won over Shanks.
"All 10 finalists are incredibly skilled and stepped up with inspiring performances, it was a very tough decision," said John Shanks. "There was something unmistakable about Josh's raw performance at Hotel Cafe. The combination of his talent - that voice and impeccably crafted lyrics -- struck a chord with me, making him the clear winner. I look forward to guiding him through the process of recording his EP."
Watch Josh Doyle's winning performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YNnxU3MQV8
Grand Prize List:
3-song EP with Grammy Award-winning producer John Shanks
$10,000 cash
Studio time at Converse Rubber Tracks studio in NYC
New gear from Fender, Taylor, Shure and Ernie Ball
Worldwide distribution from TuneCore including Free Album,
Music Video and Global Songwriting Service
With a British accent, Josh Doyle may not sound like your average Tennessean. However, there is no mistaking his talent and his southern charm. After moving to Tennessee from England as a young boy, Doyle spent his formative years learning to play guitar in Antioch, TN, a small town outside of Nashville. His close proximity to the
Music City clearly influenced this talented singer-songwriter. Doyle's raw talent and passion for performing was apparent to the Hotel Cafe crowd, as his commanding stage presence showed at Saturday night's competition.
"I feel incredibly honored to have been chosen from over 17,000 people as the winner of Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter," said Josh Doyle. "It's been a whirlwind experience. Sharing my music with other people is what I love to do, and with this competition Guitar Center and John Shanks are helping me do that on a larger scale than I could have ever imagined."
Partners for Guitar Center'sSinger-Songwriter include: Shure, Fender, Taylor, Ernie Ball, TuneCore, Converse, ASCAP,
Filter Magazine and Whooznxt.
https://www.guitarcenter.com
