Rusty Wier songwriting contest, semi-finals
Brett Dillon and Andrew Delaney
Story and pix by Mary Jane Farmer
Last Sunday (March 6) saw eight songwriters vying for the finals of the first Rusty Wier Songwriting contest, being held at Love & War in Plano and hosted by radio station KHYI.
Michael Prysock
This contest started with numerous people entering, then , after last Sunday, those number have been whittled down to the five remaining contestants:
Chris Schlotzhauer
Dustin Perkins
Dustin Perkins, Chris Schlotzhauer, Guthrie Kennard, Andrew Delaney, and Michael Psysock. But Dave Smith, Saille Brach, and Jake Bays gave these five and judges a run for their money and for the title.
None of the entrants yet knows what, if anything, the prize will be, other than the obvious honor being the final winner.
Brett Dillon, who is heading this contest, made a requirement of the contestants Sunday, in that each of them had to perform one Rusty Wier song. Of eight contestants, only one song was duplicated, that one being Perkins and Delaney both singing “I Heard You Been Laying My Old Lady.” The way both men personalized the song made each version unique from the other, and unique to the particular singer.
Guthrie Kennard
What that particular requirement did, was to remind everyone in the capacity crowd of what a great songwriter Rusty was. Some of the contestants, such as Schlotzhauer, had performed with Rusty in the past, and so he kept his rendition closer to Rusty’s own arrangement, but pointed out that Rusty actually didn’t write the song he did.
When it was over, Zane Williams, a judge last week, stepped on stage for a couple of songs, and through it all, Eric Beatty ran the sound system.
The contest finals are about 5 p.m. Sunday (May 13), again at Love & War in Plano. There is no admission for this contest.
Category: Love & War in Texas
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In the music production business, including event production, booking, photography, reporting, and other such essentials, since 1980.Subscribe
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