Hey Nonny Songwriting Contest Moves to Judging Round
Do you have a special connection to life in the Northwest suburbs? Apparently 38 songwriters do as collectively they have submitted over 40 entries into the Hey Nonny songwriting contest. Each of those songwriters will get a chance to perform live and impress first-round judges in pursuit of the $1,000 top prize.
"We were searching for songs specifically about the Northwest Suburbs," said Hey Nonny co-owner Chip Brooks. "We wanted to see if there is a distinct culture here that could be reflected in songs."
The contest attracted a remarkable response, with over 50 performers submitting more than 60 original songs. Forty of those will be presented over 3 nights of performances September 13, 20, and 27 at the Arlington Heights music venue and bistro.
"We're happy and amazed," said Brooks. "A whole bunch of really great songwriters, including a number of people that have played Hey Nonny, sent in wonderful songs."
The first installment on September 13 will feature local heroes including Paul McKinney, Marshall Hjertstedt, Wren Dudney, and former local resident, now Milwaukee rocker, Zach Pietrini. The September 20 show will feature Hey Nonny regulars Kim Schaeffer and Sean Heffernan, and others including Lizzy Petitt, Laura Extrom, and "Old Johnny Boy." On September 27 the final night of the preliminary round will feature Tom Carey of Heartache Tonight, Mallory Leno, Justine Ewald, and local resident Roger Bain performing his Arlington Heights Song.
The top four songs from each night as selected by the audience and Hey Nonny staff will move on to the finals on October 4. The final round will be judged by Jenny Bienemann, a published poet, author, and frequently recorded songwriter from Berwyn, Julia Miller, President of Delmark Records and a frequent recording and performing artist, and Miles Nielsen, front-man of Miles Nielsen and the Rusted Hearts, and the composer of over 100 published and recorded songs. In addition to the $1,000 prize for the winner, there will be second and third place prizes of $400 and $300 respectively.
Brooks noted that several songs were about Hey Nonny so those have been selected to begin and end the preliminary rounds.
"It's pretty cool that a few writers were inspired to write about our venue so we'll bookend the entire first round with those selections," Brooks said.
Tickets for the songwriting contest shows are available at www.heynonny.com.
The contest is sponsored by Ron Wittmeyer, of the Law Offices of R.F. Wittmeyer.