32nd Annual Troubadour Contest
32nd Annual Troubadour Contest
32nd Annual Troubadour Contest
Congratulations to the 2025 Telluride Troubadour Contest winner Carin Mari!
The Telluride Troubadour Competition is a nationally recognized songwriter competition open to anyone who writes and performs original music and is not currently signed to a major recording or publishing deal.
Contestants are judged on the quality of the song’s composition (50%), vocal quality (25%), and the overall delivery (25%).
Telluride Troubadour Top Ten (10) finalists are selected to receive a 4-day pass to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado to compete in a live performance contest for cash and prizes, as well as critical acclaim, well-deserved recognition, and a chance to perform on the festival main stage!
2025 Troubadour Finalists & Results
Top 10 Finalists & Alternates
We’d like to congratulate the following top 10 finalists selected to compete in the Telluride Troubadour Contest Finals at the 52nd Telluride Bluegrass Festival (June 19th-22nd, 2025).
Top 10 Finalists in alphabetical order:
- Ingrid Avison (Nederland, CO) - “What A Time To Live”
- Lyndy Butler (Hurricane, UT) - “Suspended”
- J.M Clifford (Brooklyn, NY) - “Hard Luck Man”
- Nikhil Dasgupta (Boston, MA) - “Heaven Knows”
- Melanie Maclaren (Nashville, TN) - “Henry Hudson”
- Carin Mari (Buena Vista, CO) - “Wildlife”
- Gus Miller (Austin, TX) - “A Dark Place
- Andrew Pauls (Lancaster, PA) - “Little Red Five-Speed”
- Maddie Rose (Newark, TX) - “SMOOTH”
- Stephanie Sammons (Dallas, TX) - “Billboard Sign”
Alternates:
Alternate - Joe Teichman (Denver, CO) - “Dumas”
Honorable Mentions
We would also like to congratulate the following songwriters for making it to the third round of listening.
Listed in Alphabetical Order by Last Name:
Louis Apollon (Brooklyn, NY) - “Papa Loves You”
Lyle de Vitry (Asheville, NC) - “The Art Of Life”
John Depew (Arlington, KS) - “Junco on the Vine”
John Louis (Minneapolis, MN) - “Gone Too Far”
Carin Mari (Buena Vista, CO) -“Out Here”
Jack McKeon (Nashville, TN) - “Crooked Teeth”
Jenna McLaughlin (Shawnee, OK ) - “Never Gonna Stay”
Kaelynn Morgan (Estes Park, CO) - “In my Own Bed”
Aaron Nathans (Chester Heights, PA) -“Transition”
Nolen Ramminger (Denver, CO) - “Jackass Song”
Taylor Shae (Fort Collins, CO) - “Ain’t Burning Out”
Alicia Stockman (Heber City, UT) - “September”
Joel Van Horne (Denver, CO) - “Joshua Tree, 83”
2025 Prizes
Top (10) Finalists will compete at the Elks Stage in Telluride, CO during the Telluride Bluegrass Festival :
- 4-day pass (w/camping) to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival
- Live radio interview and performance with KOTO radio in Telluride
- Performance slot at the Elks Park Workshop Stage in addition to contest performances
1st Place Prize
Martin Guitar + Saturday Main Stage Performance + $500
Martin Guitar + Saturday Main Stage Performance + $300 + 2025 SWRFA Conference Registration
Little Martin LX1 Guitar + $300
Little Martin LX1 Guitar + $250
$150
Panel of Judges
Our panel of judges for our songwriting contests include songwriting and industry professionals listed below as well as others.
Susan Cattaneo
With her powerful voice, captivating
Erin Chase
Erin Chase is a songwriter, performer, and Assistant Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music, where she teaches courses ranging from foundational songwriting to advanced lyric writing and singer-songwriter workshop. With over a decade of professional experience, her work spans Americana, folk-rock, country, and roots music, both as a solo artist (Erin Bonnie) and in collaborative projects including the folk-country duo Two Lilies, and Boston’s country-rock artist Elisa Smith.
Her songs have earned sync placements on national television (The Young and the Restless), recognition in the American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Contest, and a 2021 nomination for Best in State at the New England Music Awards. Erin brings a deep understanding of song structure, lyrical craft, and emotional storytelling to her role as a judge, with a keen eye for both originality and artistry. Find her on social platforms under the handle @erinbonniemusic
Anna Frick
Anna Frick is a mastering and restoration engineer, and founder of Ally Sound in Boulder, Colorado. She has mastered albums for Billy Strings, Wood & Wire, Justin Moses, Roland Guerin, John Denver, Ben Sollee, Big Richard, LVDY and more. Anna is deeply involved in music industry leadership, advocacy and mentorship, in her native Colorado and beyond, through her work with the Recording Academy (National Trustee), AES, SoundGirls.org, and the IBMA (Vice Chair).
David Glasser
Airshow Mastering
David Glasser is the owner of Airshow Mastering. He has nearly 50 years of experience working with artists and music from across the musical spectrum and around the globe, including many of the musicians who’ve performed at Planet Bluegrass festivals over the years. He has mastered over 100 Grammy-nominated albums, and is a 3-time nominee and 2-time Grammy winner. From Airshow’s studio in the foothills west of Boulder, CO, recent projects include music from the Grateful Dead, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Sturgill Simpson, Bonnie Prince Billy, Sam Bush, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Jim Lauderdale, Bruce Molsky, Yonder Mountain String Band, Mr Sun, and many others.
Tim Gulsrud
Tim Gulsrud is a Longmont-based acoustician, audio engineer, and concert promoter. He founded The Soundpost Sessions in 2019 to engage with the local music scene and promote live music in Downtown Longmont. In addition to being Executive Producer for the Soundpost Sessions, he is a Senior Acoustician with SmithGroup, a leading integrated design firm.
Bonnie Hayes
Bonnie Hayes is a songwriter, recording artist, musician and record producer. She has released 5 records as an artist, including a stint at Chrysalis Columbia and the early Slash/Warner’s record Good Clean Fun. Her songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Bette Midler, Booker T & the MG’s, Adam Ant, David Crosby, Huey Lewis & the News and many others. Hayes also toured as a keyboardist/vocalist with Billy Idol and Belinda Carlisle world tours and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bonnie Raitt, Tower of Power, Don Was and countless others.
An experienced and adept producer and arranger, she has recorded her own demos as well as producing records for many indie artists and songwriters. Her most recent gig as chair of the songwriting department at the Berklee College of Music ended this year; she currently is building a youth songwriting program at the Blue Bear School in San Francisco, serving on several non-profit boards, and enjoying the California sunshine.
Pat Pattison
Pat Pattison is an author, clinician and Berklee Professor of Lyric Writing and Poetry whose students have composed for major artists and written number one songs. At Berklee, he developed the curriculum for the only songwriting major in the country. In addition to his four books, Songwriting Without Boundaries, Writing Better Lyrics, The Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure, and The Essential Guide to Rhyming, Pat has developed three online lyric writing courses, one on poetry, and one on creative writing available through Berkleemusic.com.
He has filmed a series of lectures and masterclasses, available through Songwork.com and has written over 50 articles for various magazines and blogs. Pat continues to present songwriting clinics across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Several of his students have won Grammys, including John Mayer and Gillian Welch.
Paul Reisler
Paul Reisler is a composer, songwriter, recording artists, performer and teacher. He is the founder and artistic director of Kid Pan Alley, co-founder of Trapezoid, as well as his current bands, Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions featuring Howard Levy, and Three Good Reasons. Over his almost 50-year career, he has performed in over 3,000 concerts, recorded close to three-dozen albums, co-written Aesop’s Fables for Orchestra and Narrator, music for theatre, dance and film, as well as the script and songs for two musicals—Bouncin’ and The Talented Clementine.
He’s written more songs than the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Stephen Foster combined—somewhere north of 3,500 compositions thanks in no small part to his army of 80,000 kid co-writers as well as his many adult collaborators. Artists including Sissy Spacek, Raul Malo, Darrell Scott, Cracker, Corey Harris, Jesse Winchester and many others have recorded his songs.
At this stage of his life, he’s committed to inspiring the creativity of others through his songwriting workshops as well as through Kid Pan Alley. A few of the places he’s taught include Rocky Mountain Song School (26 years), Utah Song School, New Song Academy, Swannanoa Gathering, Augusta Workshop, Hollyhock, Kerrville, NSAI, Berklee College of Music, and he will be co-founding a new annual Songschool in Italy in October.
Justin Roth
Justin has toured with John Gorka and David Wilcox, as well as opened for some of the finest singer/songwriters on the acoustic music scene, including Shawn Colvin, Martin Sexton, Willy Porter and Darrell Scott.
Equally, his guitar playing has earned him shared stages with some of the greatest fingerstyle players, such as Tommy Emmanuel, Andy McKee, Billy McLaughlin and Pat Donohue. Justin’s self-produced and fan-funded album, Now You Know, was voted as one of the Top 100 Folk Albums of 2011, and has had songs featured on TV. “Fans of Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges will find themselves right at home with [Roth’s] intricate guitar work…beautifully written lyrics.” - San Francisco Art Magazine.
He also is a lead songwriter with Kid Pan Alley writing songs with kids in schools, a creator of YouTube guitar tutorials and transcriptions for viral music phenom, Jacob Collier, as well as an online teacher for TrueFire.com, JamPlay.com
Natalia Zukerman
Natalia Zukerman is a queer Jewish musician, painter, journalist, educator, cartoonist, trauma-informed yoga and meditation teacher, cultural diplomat, and community organizer. She has recorded 8 albums on her own and Willy Porter’s Weasel Records labels, toured with and/or opened for Janis Ian, Ani DiFranco, Susan Werner, Melissa Ferrick, Glen Phillips, Richard Thompson, Shawn Colvin and Dar Williams to name a few. Natalia teaches songwriting privately, in workshops, at festivals and will be teaching introduction to songwriting through Northeastern University as well as at NESR( North East Songwriters Retreat) run by Ellis Paul this summer.
She is an editor and cartoonist at The Millerton News and Lakeville Journal, a contributing writer for Acoustic Guitar Magazine, a part-time caregiver for her mom, and a full-time mom to her dog, Georgie.
How To Enter - Song Submission
Step 1:
- Purchase your submission via EVENTIM(See Tickets) HERE
- $20 per song (2 song limit)
Step 2:
- Submit Songs digitally HERE via our online form.
- **NEW** Song submission recording must be a SOLO performance with only your VOICE and your accompanying INSTRUMENT.
- Songs must be uploaded as .mp3 files.
- **NEW** - Lyric sheet (Word or pdf file) must be uploaded with each song.
- Make sure to submit the EVENTIM(See Tickets) order number that is on your EVENTIM(See Tickets) receipt.
Rules and Guidelines:
- **NEW** - MP3 Song submission recording must be a SOLO performance with only VOICE and ONE accompanying INSTRUMENT.
- A simple voice recording/memo from a phone is acceptable.
- Please ensure that lyrics can be heard on recording.
- Song Submission Judging Criteria (1-100pts)
- COMPOSITION (1 - 50 pts) - Lyrics, theme, emotional impact, hook, originality, melody, appeal, phrasing, cadence, form, and structure.
- VOCAL QUALITY (1 - 25 pts) - Pitch, resonance, range, natural and inflection.
- DELIVERY QUALITY (1 - 25 pts) - Expression, instrumental skill, impact, pace, dynamics, balance, rhythm, and color.
- Contestants may submit up to (2) original songs.
- No co-writes. Songwriting entries must be entirely written by the entering songwriter.
- We encourage songwriters to submit new / different songs for the Telluride Troubadour and Folks Songwriting Showcase contests.
- Contestants cannot be signed to a third-party record label or publishing deal. This competition is meant for emerging and independent performing songwriters.
- Contestants will not receive feedback from Judges.
TROUBADOUR LIVE PERFORMANCE CONTEST FINALS - TELLURIDE, CO
The top (10) songwriters will be selected to attend the Troubadour Contest Finals held live in Telluride, CO during the Telluride Bluegrass Festival
- Top (10) Finalists will receive the following:
- 4-day pass (w/camping) to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival
- Live radio interview and performance with KOTO radio in Telluride
- Performance slot at the Elks Park Workshop Stage in addition to contest performances
- Contest Format
- Preliminary Round - Elks Park - All 10 Finalists perform (2) original songs, top 5 selected to move to Final Round
- Final Round - Elks Park - Each contestant to perform (2) Original Songs, winner selected
- Winner - Saturday Mainstage Performance
- Rules for Live Performances
- No backup musicians allowed. This is a solo competition.
- Finalists may not repeat songs from preliminaries in the finals.
- Recommended time limit: 5 minutes per song. Points will be deducted for significantly exceeding this limit.
- Acoustic instruments with pickups are permitted as well as EQ devices but no effects.
- Instruments allowed are those that can be carried out to the mics with the performer. A keyboard will be provided if necessary.
2024 Troubadour Finalists & Results
Top 10 Finalist
We’d like to congratulate the following top 10 finalists for competing in Telluride Troubadour Contest Finals at the 51st Telluride Bluegrass Festival (June 20th-23rd, 2024).
1st - Martin Gilmore (Englewood, CO)
2nd - Eliza Edens (Brooklyn, NY)
3rd - Eugenia Riot (Portland, OR)
4th - Jeff Cramer (Denver, CO)
5th - Madison Hughes (Jacksonville, FL)
Other top 10 Finalists in alphabetical order
- Eva Rose King (Fort Collins, CO) - “After Tale”
- Racyne Parker (Westminster, CO) - “Most Likely to be”
- Mike Stocksdale (Culver City, CA) - “Bad Bad World”
- Andy Sydow (Nashville, TN) - “If I Grew a Violet”
- Eliza Thorp (Petoskey, MI) - “Superhero”
Honorable Mentions
We would also like to congratulate the following songwriters for making it to the third round of listening.
- Angela Autumn (Nashville, TN)
- Andrew Camp (Nashville, TN)
- Brock Davis (Santa Cruz, CA)
- Chance Emerson (Providence, RI / Hong Kong)
- Dale Keys (Boise, ID)
- Brennan Mackey (Denver, CO)
- Taylor Shae (Fort Collins, CO)
- Christopher Worth (Portland, OR)
Past Winners
The Telluride Troubadour Competition has been held in conjunction with the Telluride Bluegrass Festival since 1991.
1991 - Larry Good
1992 - Cosy Sheridan
1993 - Dan Sheridan
1994 - Catie Curtis
1995 - LJ Booth
1996 - Michael Lille
1997 - Jonathan Kingham
1998 - Eugene Ruffolo
1999 - Libby Kirkpatrick
2000 - Mary Coppin
2001 - Kris Delmhorst
2002 - Deb Talan
2003 - Rachel Davis
2004 - Brian Joseph
2005 - Keith Greeninger
2006 - Nels Andrews
2007 - Gregory Alan Isakov
2008 - Nathan Moore
2009 - Mitch Barrett
2010 - Robby Hecht
2011 - Matt Harlan
2012 - Reed Waddle
2013 - Reed Turner
2014 - Michael Kirkpatrick
2015 - Caitlin Canty
2016 - Anna Tivel
2017 - Clint Alphin
2018 - Garrett Owen
2019 - Emily Scott Robinson
2023 - Jackson Emmer
Questions?
Please reach out to us at contests@bluegrass.com.