About the Artists:

Hailing from the countryside of rural Ontario, Benjamin Dakota Rogers is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist channels his penchant for starry nights and nostalgia into a stylized, hard-driving and powerful Americana sound full of heartbreak and grit featuring guitar, banjo, upright bass, and fiddle. He has released three full-length solo recordings, showcased his talents at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, among others, and has been a four-time international songwriting competition winner and a two-time Canadian Folk Music Awards nominee.

Here’s a link to view a few of Benjamin’s videos: benjamindakotarogers.com/videos.

Angela Saini is a Canadian prairie-raised, Toronto- based folk-pop Americana artist with a positive and uplifting outlook on life. She is all about second chances and empowering others. A 2020 Independent Music Award Nominee and 2017 Toronto Independent Music Award winner, she uplifts and inspires audiences with sing-alongs and storytelling about courage and finding joy in surprising places. Angela has five Canadian tours under her belt, as well as several treks across Germany, The Netherlands and the UK. Best known for her sunshine-soaked song “Living on the Bright Side,” she has showcased her talents at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and at a number of Canadian music festivals. Her ability to combine humanistic and honest themes laden with catchy hooks and memorable melodies make her entertaining as well as relatable.

Here’s a link to view a few of Angela’s videos: angelasaini.com/videos.

The Young Novelists create contemporary folk songs that marry effortless harmonies with darkly poetic lyrics, exquisitely crafted hooks, and the unique sound of bowed glockenspiel. The award-winning Toronto-based husband-and-wife folk-roots duo of Graydon James and Laura Spink share a passion for confessional storytelling and sing songs about small towns, redemption, love and loss. The duo has toured across Canada, the U.S. and Europe and has released three studio albums and a live recording. In 2015, The Young Novelists were named New/Emerging Artist of the Year in the Canadian Folk Music Awards and took first place in the Grassy Hill-CT Folk Songwriting Competition during the 10th annual Connecticut Folk Festival, while James won the Ontario Arts Council’s Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award for “Couldn’t Be Any Worse.” The duo has also played coveted juried official showcases during the Folk Alliance International conference and those of its northeast and southeast regional affiliates (NERFA and SERFA).

To view a few videos, visit youngnovelists.com/videos.

About Your Hosts:

The livestream marks a renewed partnership of sorts for Michael Kornfeld and Kathy Sands-Boehmer, who served as president and vice president, respectively, of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) for several years and also co-coordinated one-day conferences and a series of showcases. Kornfeld, a veteran strategic communications and public relations professional – whose clients have included a number of independent recording artists and labels – launched AcousticMusicScene.com in 2007 to provide news, information and commentary for the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities. The longtime president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington, a nonprofit presenting organization on Long Island, NY, Kornfeld also serves on the board of Folk Alliance International, curates the annual Huntington Folk Festival, and hosts showcases at various music conferences and festivals. Sands-Boehmer, who served as the booking and publicity manager for Me & Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead, MA for many years, was an active leader in the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association (BACHA), and has also served as an artist manager, recently launched Harbortown Music as a resource for musicians and venues — building community, while promoting and presenting high-quality music. She works with Stephen Bach of The Digital Docs, who engineers all of Harbortown Music’s virtual shows and lends his technical expertise to the participating artists as well.

The competition is open to solo or duo singer-songwriters, who must enter a minimum of two songs – each of which (not to exceed four minutes in duration) will be judged on the quality of songwriting and performance. There is a $25 fee for submission of the first two songs, with an option to enter additional ones for $10 each. Songwriters retain all rights to the songs they submit.

From among the five finalists (to be named and notified by May 1), a panel of judges — comprised of music industry professionals and DJs — will select a winner to receive a $100 honorarium and be awarded a paid slot in the 2021 festival lineup, while the other four finalists will each receive smaller honorariums. Recent winners include Monica Rizzio (2019), Susan Cattaneo (2018), Open Book (2017), Amy Soucy (2016), and The Young Novelists (2015).

More information on the competition, as well as link to an online application, can be found at https://ctfolk.com/songwriting/.

CT Folk is a nonprofit organization that seeks to educate, entertain and inspire a diverse audience through music and conversation to create a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable community. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a monthly Folk Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes folk, roots and Americana music throughout Connecticut and the surrounding region.

Extending from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., the festival kicks off with performances by the five top finalists in CT Folk’s 2019 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition: Nick Depuy, Sharon Goldman, Margo Hennebach, Monica Rizzio, and Stan Sullivan. One of them will receive a performance slot in next year’s festival, as well as a cash prize. Susan Cattaneo, a Boston, Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter and songwriting professor at Berklee College of Music, who won he competition last year, will perform a 30-minute set immediately following the competition finals.

Other artists slated to showcase their talents on the Main Stage include (in order of appearance) Christine Sweeney, Quarter Horse, Jim Allyn Band, Amythyst Kiah Trio, Ghost of Paul Revere, and Birds of Chicago, while Donna the Buffalo will close out the festival.

Since coming together as a band in 1989, Donna the Buffalo has played thousands of concerts and such notable festivals as Bonaroo, MerleFest, Newport Folk Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, and Telluride. The band also launched the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, New York – an annual four-day event near Ithaca that has spawned two other Grassroots Festivals in Florida and North Carolina.

Throughout the day, the Green Expo will feature a wide array of exhibitors, informational talks and demonstrations, workshops, and activities to promote sustainable lifestyles. There also will be plenty of music and activities for children in the Green Kids Village.

Edgerton Park is located at Whitney Avenue and Cliff Street. Attendees are advised to bring lawn chairs or blankets and plan to picnic. Eight food trucks will be on site offering a wide variety of food and beverages for purchase.

CT Folk seeks to educate, entertain, and inspire a diverse audience through music and conversation to create a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable community. A suggested $10 donation during the festival will help the nonprofit organization carry out its mission. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a Folk Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes traditional and contemporary folk and roots music throughout Connecticut. For more information, click here or visit www.ctfolk.org.

Editor’s Note: It is my honor and pleasure to again help judge this year’s Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriter Competition finals that extend from 11 a.m. -12 p.m. on the Main Stage.

Susan Cattaneo (Photo: Dave Rackley)[/caption]Her latest recording, The Hammer and The Heart, a double album with an electric side and an acoustic side, was among the top five albums on folk radio in August 2017, according to charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. The album’s “manifesto” song, “Work Hard Love Harder,” tied for the most-played song on Folk Radio that month. The album also charted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Northeast Chart.

A two-time finalist in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition (2018 and 2015), Cattaneo also was one of 24 artists/acts who participated in the Emerging Artist Showcase at the 2016 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. (Grassy Hill Entertainment also sponsors both of these.) She also was a finalist in the 2016 Wildflower Arts and Music Festival’s songwriting contest and was the Director’s Choice winner in the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, presented by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington (SAW).

Cattaneo has been teaching songwriting at Boston’s Berklee College of Music for more than 15 years. She was formerly a part of the western Massachusetts-based trio The Boxcar Lilies.

As the songwriting competition winner, Cattaneo received a $150 cash prize and will have a performance slot in next year’s festival produced by the nonprofit organization CT Folk (www.ctfolk.org).

Editor’s Note: It was my honor and pleasure to again serve as one of the five judges in the competition. Choosing a winner from among the impressive finalists, culled from an initial pool of nearly 150 entrants, was not an easy task.

Other artists slated to perform on the Main Stage include The Alternate Routes, Goodnight Blue Moon, Plywood Cowboy, Professors of Bluegrass, Jesse Terry Trio, and UPSTATE (formerly known as Upstate Rubdown), while Sexton will close out the festival.

Since bursting on the music scene in the early 1990s, Sexton has released nine albums, toured extensively, and has had his songs featured in a number of feature films and television shows. Not one to be pigeonholed to one particular genre, Sexton has delved in Americana, rock, blue-eyed soul and folk.

Throughout the day, CT Folk’s 13th annual Green Expo will feature a wide array of exhibitors, informational talks and demonstrations, workshops, and activities to promote sustainable lifestyles. There also will be plenty of activities for children in the Green Kids Area – including music in the Acoustic Corner.

Edgerton Park is located at Whitney Avenue and Cliff Street. Attendees are advised to bring lawn chairs or blankets and plan to picnic. A wide variety of food and beverages will be available for purchase on site. There will be several food trucks and a craft beer tent.

CT Folk seeks to educate, entertain, and inspire a diverse audience through music and conversation to create a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable community. A suggested $10 donation during the festival will help the nonprofit organization carry out its mission. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a Folk Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes traditional and contemporary folk and roots music throughout Connecticut. For more information, click here or visit www.ctfolk.org.

Editor’s Note: It is my honor and pleasure to again help judge this year’s Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriter Competition finals that extend from 11 a.m. -12 p.m. on the Main Stage.

The competition is open to solo or duo singer-songwriters, who must enter a minimum of two songs – each of which (not to exceed four minutes in duration) will be judged on the quality of songwriting. There is a $25 fee for submission of the first two songs, with an option to enter additional ones for $20 each. Songwriters retain all rights to the songs they submit to the competition.

From among the five finalists, a panel of judges — comprised of music industry professionals and DJs — will select a winner to receive $150 and be awarded a paid slot in the 2019 festival lineup. Last year’s winners were Open Book, a husband-and-wife contemporary folk duo from New York’s Hudson Valley.

More information on the competition, as well as link to an online application, can be found at www.ctfolk.com/competitions.

CT Folk is a nonprofit organization dedicated to traditional and contemporary roots music, introducing listeners to emerging singer-songwriters, and to caring for the earth. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a First Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes folk music throughout Connecticut.

Open Book’s sound features inventive melodies and pleasing vocal harmonies, backed by interweaving acoustic guitars. The Gedneys were grateful for the opportunity to share their original songs during the Connecticut Folk Festival. “We’re really thrilled to have been part of the day,” they told AcousticMusicScene.com. “It was beautiful in every way, and we enjoyed listening as much as playing! It was a pleasure to play for such an attentive audience with wonderful sound, and we got some really nice feedback from audience members.”

As the songwriting competition winner, Open Book performed a short set on the festival’s main stage during the afternoon. The duo also received a cash prize and is guaranteed a performance slot in next year’s festival produced by the nonprofit organization CT Folk.

More information on Open Book may be found on its website, www.openbookmusic.com.
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Editor’s Note: It was my pleasure to again serve as one of the five judges in the Connecticut Folk Festival’s Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition and also to hear last year’s competition winner Amy Soucy and other artists showcase their talents during the day.

The festival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., kicks off with a short set by Connecticut State Troubadour Kate Callahan, followed by performances by the five top finalists in the 2017 Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriting Competition: Randy Emmons, Open Book, David Sasso, Carol Van Alstine, and Maggie Wing. One of them will be selected to perform on the main stage later in the day and also is guaranteed a performance slot in next year’s festival, as well as a $150 cash prize. Amy Soucy, an upstate New York-based singer-songwriter who won the competition last year, will also perform a set during the afternoon.

Other artists slated to perform on the Main Stage include Boston-based trio The Ballroom Thieves, Nashville-based Americana-folk string quintet Forlorn Strangers, up-and-coming Philadelphia area-based trios The End of America and Ladybird, “The Godfather of Newgrass Banjo” Roger Sprung, New York-based acoustic roots band Greg Cornell & The Cornell Brothers, New England-based singer-songwriter duo The Promise Is Hope, and Massachusetts-bred and Asheville, NC-based singer-songwriter Steven Pelland.

Throughout the day, CT Folk’s 12th annual Green Expo will feature a wide array of exhibitors, informational talks and demonstrations, workshops, and activities to promote sustainable lifestyles. There also will be plenty of activities for children in the Green Kids Village. A Green Kids Acoustic Corner will feature performances by Dan Carlucci, Benny Mikula (The Lone Gnome), Liz McNicholl, and Thabisa. A native of South Africa, New Haven-based musician Thabisa also performs at the New Alliance Performance Tent – along with Michael Mills and Val Ramos & Tere Luna.

Edgerton Park is located at Whitney Avenue and Cliff Street, near the Hamden Town line. The park entrance is at 75 Cliff St., and parking should be available along streets surrounding the park. Attendees are advised to bring lawn chairs or blankets and plan to picnic. A wide variety of food and beverages will be available for purchase on site, and/or you can bring your own. No outside alcohol or large coolers allowed. Although festival admission is free, there is a suggested donation of $5 to help continue CT Folk’s efforts.

CT Folk is a nonprofit organization dedicated to traditional and contemporary roots music, introducing listeners to emerging singer-songwriters, and to caring for the earth. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a Folk Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes folk music throughout Connecticut. For more information, visit www.ctfolk.com.

Editor’s Note: It is my honor and pleasure to help judge this year’s Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriter Competition finals that extend from 11:40 a.m. -12:40 p.m. on the Main Stage.

“For a relative late-bloomer to the folk scene, it feels really sweet to be recognized, and wonderful to share space with such amazing musicians,” says Soucy. “It inspires me to keep growing as a writer and a performer, and to keep engaging with the generous musicians and music-lovers in this community.”

As the songwriting competition winner, Soucy (joined by Stephen Murphy, who produced her CD) performed a short set on the festival’s main stage during the afternoon. She received a $150 cash prize and is guaranteed a performance slot in next year’s festival produced by the nonprofit organization CT Folk.

Soucy was also among the 24 artists/acts who performed in the Grassy Hill/ Falcon Ridge Emerging Artists Showcase during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in August and was part of a NERFA Showcase co-presented by the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, the Folk Music Society of Huntington (NY) and Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA earlier this year.

More information on Amy Soucy may be found on her website, www.amysoucymusic.com.

Editor’s Note: It was an honor and pleasure to serve as one of the five judges for this songwriting competition along with Rich Patchkofsky, Bill Revill, Kathy Sands-Boehmer and Steve Winters.

Here’s a link to a short YouTube video promoting the festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc0z7gKXBpc

Preceding that will be an hour-long Grassy Hill Song Circle featuring singer-songwriters Brad Cole, Matt Nakoa and Robinson Treacher and a short set by current Connecticut State Troubadour Kate Callahan.

Other artists slated to perform on the Main Stage include Stacy Phillips and His Bluegrass Characters, The Grebes, Cricket Blue and Jim Trick. Yonkers, NY-based high-energy alt-roots ensemble Spuyten Duyvil and Boston area singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleau will perform early evening sets, while Susan Werner, accompanied by Trina Hamlin, will close out the festival.

Werner is a consummate entertainer who has never been one to adhere to just one musical style. A gifted singer-songwriter, who accompanies herself on both guitar and piano, she is known for her musical versatility and for her witty repartee during live performances. The classically trained and jazz-inspired Iowa native, who now calls Chicago home when not on tour, has been delighting concert and festival audiences for more than two decades. She composes skillful songs that effortlessly slide between folk, jazz, and pop – all delivered with sassy wit and classic mid-western charm

Throughout the day, CT Folk’s 11th annual Green Expo will feature a wide array of exhibitors, informational talks and demonstrations, workshops, and activities to promote sustainable lifestyles. There also will be contra dancing and plenty of activities for children in the Green Kids Village. A Green Kids Acoustic Corner will feature performances by Jay Mankita, Robert Messore, Benny Mikula (The Lone Gnome), Liz McNicholl, and Shawn Taylor.

Edgerton Park is located at Whitney Avenue and Cliff Street. Attendees are advised to bring lawn chairs or blankets and plan to picnic. A wide variety of food and beverages will be available for purchase on site.

CT Folk is a nonprofit organization dedicated to traditional and contemporary roots music, introducing listeners to emerging singer-songwriters, and to caring for the earth. Although the festival is free, donations will be graciously accepted. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a Folk Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes folk music throughout Connecticut. For more information, click here or visit www.ctfolk.com.

Editor’s Note: It is my honor and pleasure to help judge this year’s Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriting Competition finals that extend from 11 a.m. -12 p.m. on the Main Stage.