The finalists for the second annual Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year Award, presented by Classic City Rotary in memory of the late Athens musician, have been announced.
The five local finalists are Andrew Rieger of long-running local indie-rock band Elf Power; acclaimed hip-hop artist Mariah Parker, aka Linqua Franqa; the Broken String Band’s Sean Stephansen; Kyky Renee Knight of Harlot Party; and B-52s icon Cindy Wilson. Each of the songwriters was nominated based on a recorded work he or she released in 2017.
This year’s judges’ panel includes Armistead Wellford of legendary Athens band Love Tractor, Grammy-winning producer Ben Allen, activist and author Mokah Jasmine Johnson, Athens Popfest founder Michael Turner and WUGA FM General Manager Jimmy Sanders.
All of the finalists except Wilson will perform at the award ceremony Thursday, May 17 at The Foundry. Additional performers include Wellford’s group Armistead And, as well as Claire Campbell, Drew Beskin and Andrew Huang, the winner of last year’s award. This year’s winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize, plus other goodies.
Tickets to the award show are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. An official after-party that night at Flicker Theatre & Bar will feature music from Cortez Garza, Juan de Fuca and Squalle. The after-party is free to those with wristbands from the Foundry show, or $5 otherwise.
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