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<\/a>What a beautiful spring day to drive out through the country to Moravia, Texas for the twelfth annual Songwriter Festival held at the Parish Hall, across from the Catholic Church. The contest featured the fifteen semi-finalists from 160 entries, each performing two of his\/her best original songs for three judges that are successful songwriters in their own rights, Susan Gibson, Walt Wilkins and Phoebe Hunt.<\/p>\nThe evening before the contest, the semi-finalists were gathered at the TR Ranch where, event sponsor and co-chair Tom McDaniel offered his Texas hospitality and the contestants got to know each other. I got to Moravia a little after 10AM and the picnic area outside the hall was buzzing with familiar musicians and music aficionados waiting to be allowed into the hall to claim a seat. After the equipment had been set in place and the initial sound checks were done we were allowed in to the old hall. You could tell that there had been years and years of polka music soaked into the walls from Czech weddings and community events.<\/p>\n
Veteran songwriter, Ken Gaines, took the podium to emcee the event and Pasadena\u2019s own Charles Bryant had drawn first in order. He played the empathetic \u201cNursing Home\u201d followed by the tongue in cheek \u201cMRI Song\u201d and I, being a big Charles Bryant fan, was pretty happy about his chances of becoming a finalist. Chad Richard from Orange, Texas came next with a full rich voice singing about the blended culture on both sides of the Sabine River and a song about Hurricane Harvey that featured the refrain, \u201cWaters rise, but people rise above\u201d. I turned and looked at Kenny Pipes (Almost Austin\u2019s proprietor) and said, \u201cThe talent here is first rate. This isn\u2019t going to be a walk in the park for anyone.\u201d That proved to be true as one by one the artists came up to offer their chosen pair of songs.<\/p>\n
Mia Rose Lynne (one of HMR\u2019s picks for SWRFA CD review 12\/4\/2017), originally of Northern California, showed a warm welcoming stage presence with a song about her father, \u201cMagicians Never Tell\u201d and \u201cIf I Was a Nerd\u201d, which featured one witty line after another. A medical doctor from the Chicago area, Rich Krueger, performed \u201cA Short One on Life\u201d on guitar before moving to keyboards for \u201cThe Gospel According to Carl\u201d. Jackson Emmer of Colorado, followed with \u201cJukebox\u201d and \u201cMy Love for You Texas\u201d, both fine compositions presented with a fine voice. Unfortunately, Jackson stumbled a bit on the lyrics of his second tune although he quickly caught traction and pulled off a well written stanza, poetically listing a huge number of Texas musical legends.<\/p>\n![\"Heather](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Heather-Styka-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Heather Styka was next, with a big contagious smile singing, \u201cCities of the North\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019re the Kind I Fall For\u201d. She was followed by Clint Alpin, sporting a confident command of the stage with \u201cOut to California\u201d and the Southern humor, \u201cBless Your Heart\u201d. Jodee Lewis was up fifth with a strong traditional country performance, followed by Houstonian, Jordi Baizan, doing \u201cEast of Eden\u201d and \u201cFootsteps on the Ceiling\u201d, another composition that resulted from the floods of Harvey. Austin based Brian Pounds, brought his frank and humorous personality out as he performed \u201cRattling in my Bones\u201d and \u201cDarling I\u2019ll Be Here\u201d. Renee Wahl, a former Air Force Captain from Nashville, brought a drummer with her to perform her rocking country tunes.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Mary Bragg followed with the title track of \u201cLucky Strike\u201d and a smooth country style on \u201cI Thought You Were Somebody Else\u201d that really struck home. Daniel Boling, a former park ranger and very traditional folky from New Mexico, did \u201cMama\u2019s Radio\u201d and \u201cI Brought the War with Me\u201d, written with a veteran in one of the nation\u2019s numerous songwriting therapy programs for returning veterans. Dan Johnson of Fort Worth brought a strong voice and a wonderful command of the stage for \u201cThe Favor\u201d and \u201cGolden Heart\u201d. Edan Archer, from South Florida, finished the fifteen semifinalist\u2019s presentation with \u201cSix Wing Angel\u201d and \u201cLoving Me is a Younger Man\u2019s Game\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"DSC04107\"](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/DSC04107-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a>There was a presentation ceremony where all fifteen semifinalists received a check and the co-chairs of the festival committee (Brian Kalinec, Mike Stroup, Tom McDaniel, Lane Gosnay and Rob McDonald) were recognized for their contributions. There was a bit of milling around, talking and congratulating one another before heading over to The Bugle Boy in La Grange (for those that were able to snag a ticket) to see first place winner, Mary Bragg, open up for a song swap featuring judges, Susan Gibson, Walt Wilkens and Phoebe Hunt along with workshop consultant, Gurf Morlix.<\/p>\n