Hey Nonny announces Songwriting Contest winners
The biggest songwriting contest in Illinois recently crowned a new winner: Holly Beemer of Gurnee walked away with the top prize in the third annual Hey Nonny Songwriting Contest. The popularity of the contest has grown right along with the reputation of the Arlington Heights music venue and restaurant.
Beemer won for her song “Ain’t Quite Chicago,” which she performed at the final show of the multi-week judging process. As winner, Beemer claimed the $1,000 top prize, and a future performance slot at Hey Nonny. Pat McKillen took the $400 second prize for his song “Nowhere, Illinois” while Paige Hargrove won the $300 third prize for her song “Live On.”
“This year’s contest was the best ever,” said Hey Nonny co-owner Chip Brooks. “There was a big jump in both quantity and quality of the songs entered, and the performances were amazing.”
As in years past, the Hey Nonny Songwriting Contest was sponsored by the Law Offices of R.L. Wittmeyer, an Arlington Heights personal injury attorney.
“Ron and I started this contest to see what people really felt about our area. We wanted to see if someone had a 'Penny Lane' in them like the Beatles wrote about their hometown of Liverpool,” Brooks said while explaining that the rules called for each song to have something to do with the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago.
Twelve finalists were selected from three preliminary rounds of performances at Hey Nonny. The final round was judged by professional songwriters Kim Schaefer and Robin and Jenny Bienemann. Robin Bienemann was a winner of the Kerrville, Texas, songwriting competition earlier this year.
“Among the people who have entered and lost at Kerrville are Lyle Lovett and Lucinda Williams,” Bienemann said.
Brooks noted he was “surprised that the songwriters’ topics were so unsurprising,” this time around. “They write about Busse Woods, Woodfield Mall, the train, Northwest Highway, and, of course, Hey Nonny, so they certainly followed the rules we set. Many of the songs were exceptional, but we’re already noodling on changing the topic for the 2025 edition of the contest.”
For more information on dining and entertainment at Hey Nonny, visit heynonny.com.
Hey Nonny is a bistro and music venue located in the heart of downtown Arlington Heights. The bistro, helmed by Chef Noe, serves an array of fresh seasonal Midwestern comfort-food-with-a-twist and a seasonally changing menu. The music venue hosts live music six days a week, featuring the best Chicago and touring acts playing jazz, blues, country, folk and rock.