{"id":12501,"date":"2023-02-14T00:32:09","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T05:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/?p=12501"},"modified":"2023-02-14T00:32:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T05:32:09","slug":"teghan-devon-wins-mid-atlantic-song-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/2023\/02\/14\/teghan-devon-wins-mid-atlantic-song-contest\/","title":{"rendered":"Teghan Devon Wins Mid-Atlantic Song Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teghan Devon has been named the grand-prize winner of the 39th annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest presented by the Songwriters\u2019 Association of Washington (SAW). The Maryland-based folk-pop singer-songwriter was recognized for her song \u201cOur Garden,\u201d which was also the first place (Gold) winner in the contest\u2019s Folk-Acoustic category. Tony Denikos, also of Maryland, was awarded second place overall for his song \u201cPurple Hearts, \u201d which was also the second place (Silver) winner in the Americana category.<\/p>\n

\"Teghan
Teghan Devon won the grand prize in the 39th annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest for “Our Garden.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\u201cOur Garden,\u201d which Teghan Devon released as a single in June 2022, is a stripped-down acoustic ballad that she wrote to help cheer up a friend whose heart had been broken. \u201cThe message of the song is don\u2019t settle for less than you deserve and don\u2019t lose hope, because one day you will find the right person,\u201d she told AcousticMusicScene.com<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019ve been through a lot since I wrote it and, as I was recording it, I realized that it felt like a song that I needed. I put it out because there has to be someone out there who needs it too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devon expressed thanks to her dear friend Chris Dupont, who produced the single and is \u201cresponsible for those magical harmonies.\u201d Calling him \u201ca joy to work with,\u201d she said: \u201cHe did an amazing job making the song so powerfully heartfelt and sincere.\u201d The Mid-Atlantic Song Contest\u2019s judges apparently agreed, and Devon is \u201ccompletely blown away and honored\u201d that \u2018\u201dOur Garden\u201d won Gold in the Folk\/Acoustic category and the Grand Prize.<\/p>\n

A previous winner of several Silver awards in the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, as well as its Young Artist Award, Devon recalled winning her first honorable mention in MASC about seven years ago. \u201cI remember going to the awards gala at Jammin\u2019 Java [in Vienna, Virginia] and being star-struck. This is a dream come true. I am so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and Berklee College of Music, Devon has also been a two-time finalist in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition (2017 and 2018) and has had a couple of her largely introspective and personal songs placed in TV shows. <\/p>\n

Here is a link<\/a> to listen to Teghan Devon\u2019s grand prize-winning song, “Our Garden.”<\/p>\n

More information about her may be found at teghandevonmusic.com<\/p>\n

\"Tony
Tony Denikos took second place in the 39th annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest for “Purple Hearts.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>Like Devon, Tony Denikos \u2013 who took second place overall in the contest \u2013 was delighted to be so honored. \u201cSAW is one of the finest organizations I know of [that is] dedicated to supporting songwriters both locally and globally. And that they receive so many great songs from hundreds, if not thousands, of songwriters from everywhere \u2013 many of whom I am familiar with and admire \u2013 makes being recognized again this year so very special,\u201d said the contemporary folk-Americana singer-songwriter who was previously a MASC grand-prize winner a decade ago for his song \u201cTip of My Tongue.\u201d <\/p>\n

Denikos describes \u201cPurple Hearts\u201d as \u201ca song about how \u2018hurt people hurt people\u2019 and then realize what\u2019s been lost. It\u2019s a song about coming to terms with all that. It is a self-reflective, harshly so, tune put to a melodic finger-picking blues tune that is intended to be mockingly playful and yet tragically somber lyrically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of his second-place-winning song, Denikos said: \u201cStylistically, it was obviously inspired by the finger-picking Piedmont blues style that Elizabeth Cotton mastered, as well as the unfortunate life experience of having a long-term relationship\/marriage of mine end a few years back in 2018.\u201d Acknowledging \u201cthe song cuts pretty close to the bone,\u201d he continued, \u201cIf a blues song doesn\u2019t rearrange the marrow a bit, you are really not writing a blues tune as much as you are parroting one. And, in my opinion, nothing is worse than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is a link<\/a> to listen to Tony Denikos\u2019 second-place song, “Purple Hearts.”<\/p>\n

More information about him may be found at tonydenikos.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Overall and Select Individual category winners in the 2022 contest include:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grand Prize<\/strong>: Teghan Devon for \u201cOur Garden\u201d
\n2nd Place<\/strong>: Tony Denikos for \u201cPurple Hearts\u201d
\n3rd Place<\/strong>: Jim Johnson for \u201cContinental Divide\u201d
\nDirector\u2019s Award<\/strong>: Christie Chirinos for \u201cEmpathy\u201d spelling
\nYoung Artist<\/strong>: Ava Della Pietra<\/p>\n

Adult Contemporary<\/strong>: Gold \u2013 Jillian Matundan for \u201cFrozen\u201d, Silver \u2013 Louis Caf\u00e9 for \u201cShot in the Dark (Roll of the Dice\u201d)
\nAmericana<\/strong>: Gold \u2013 Jim Johnson for \u201cContinental Divide\u201d, Silver \u2013 Tony Denikos for \u201cPurple Hearts\u201d
\nChildren\u2019s<\/strong>: Chris Hardy and Katherine Hardy for \u201cAll the right Vehicles\u201d, Silver \u2013 Bett Padgett for \u201cWhere Did Papa Go?\u201d
\nCountry\/Bluegrass<\/strong>: Tedd Swormstedt and Victoria Banks for \u201cShade of Blue\u201d, Silver: Andrew Wolf and Elizabeth Wolf for \u201cAll I\u2019m Hearing is Goodbye\u201d
\nFolk\/Acoustic<\/strong>: Gold \u2013 Teghan Devon for \u201cOur Garden, ” Silver \u2013 Ron Fetner for \u201cDown a Gravel Road\u201d
\nFreedom Songs<\/strong>: Gold – Will Diehl for \u201cSunflowers,\u201d Silver \u2013 Domingos Muekali, Jr., Kavi Lybarger, and Natalie Fitzen for \u201cAmerica\u201d
\nInstrumental<\/strong>: Matthew Holsen for \u201cGoodbye to All That,\u201d Silver \u2013 Seth Kibel for \u201cHow Will I Know?\u201d
\nLyrics Only<\/strong>: Charles McCullough for \u201cReservation Blues,\u201d Silver \u2013 Roderick Deacey for \u201cMaybe Later\u201d
\nOpen<\/strong>: Gold \u2013 Jacob Rubin for \u201cThe Cars in My Mind,\u201d Silver \u2013 Chris Hardy for \u201cI Wish I Knew You\u201d
\nVideo<\/strong>: Gold \u2013 Juliet Lloyd for \u201cGhost Light,\u201d Silver \u2013 Kevin Lucas for \u201cCahokia Winds\u201d
\nVocal\/Jazz\/Blues<\/strong>: Gold \u2013 Seth Kibel for \u201cRobert Johnson in 1972,\u201d Silver – Mike Franke and Larry Sakayanna for \u201cKey Lime Pie\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MASCA full listing of the winners, finalists and honorable mention recipients in the preceding and other categories may be found at saw.org\/masc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Established in 1979, the Songwriters\u2019 Association of Washington (SAW) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to develop, promote, and encourage songwriters through education, networking, and performance opportunities throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area. SAW hosts open mics and showcases, workshops on the art and business of songwriting, peer critique sessions, and social events, and its SAW Serves community service program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Teghan Devon has been named the grand-prize winner of the 39th annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest presented by the Songwriters\u2019 Association of Washington (SAW). The Maryland-based folk-pop singer-songwriter was recognized for her song \u201cOur Garden,\u201d which was also the first place (Gold) winner in the contest\u2019s Folk-Acoustic category. Tony Denikos, also of Maryland, was awarded second place overall for his song \u201cPurple Hearts, \u201d which was also the second place (Silver) winner in the Americana category.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8281,8795,8788,330,8791,8288,8797,5986,8796,8787,8799,8784,8798,8780,8793,8792,1523,8775,8790,1598,8781,8777,8794,8778,1882,8776,8789,8779,8785,2466,2496,2540,2547,8782,6082,3487,8783,8786],"class_list":["post-12501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards-contests","tag-andrew-wolf","tag-ava-della-pietra","tag-avi-lybarger","tag-berklee-college-of-music","tag-bett-padgett","tag-charles-mccullough","tag-chris-dupont","tag-chris-hardy","tag-christie-chirinos","tag-domingos-muekali","tag-elizabeth-cotton","tag-elizabeth-wolf","tag-interlochen-arts-academy","tag-jacob-rubin","tag-jillian-matundan","tag-jim-johnson","tag-jr","tag-juliet-lloyd","tag-katherine-hardy","tag-kerrville-new-folk-competition","tag-kevin-lucas","tag-larry-sakayanna","tag-louis-cafe","tag-matthew-holsen","tag-mid-atlantic-song-contest","tag-mike-frank","tag-natalie-fitzen","tag-roderick-deacey","tag-ron-fetner","tag-seth-kibel","tag-singer-songwriter-competitions","tag-songwriters-association-of-washington","tag-songwriting-contest","tag-tedd-swormstedt","tag-teghan-devon","tag-tony-denikos","tag-victoria-banks","tag-will-diehl","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v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