25th Annual NewSong Music Competition
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE NEWSONG MUSIC COMPETITION Join us for the 25th anniversary NewSong Music Competition, presented by Citizen Vinyl! The program’s curated showcases have been a fixture in the national music scene since 2001. The competition finals, formerly staged in New York City at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, relocated to Asheville, N.C. in 2017.Eight finalists (to be named on September 13) selected from advance online submissions from across North America and beyond, will bring their musical magic to Asheville where they will perform, compete, and connect with one another. A panel of music industry judges will select one grand prize winner to receive a fully funded six-song EP, plus 300 vinyl records of the grand prize project pressed at Citizen Vinyl.
 Past NewSong winners include Crys Matthews (Nashville, TN), Jobi Riccio (Nashville, TN), AC Sapphire {Portland, OR), and Slow Runner (Saluda, NC). The 2025 Grand Prize Winner was Susan Anderson (Asheville, NC).
Patio Show: Becks! Beacon, and Abbie McAllister
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE Becks! Becks! is a queer singer-songwriter whose Appalachian roots ground their music to place, while pushing the envelope of what it means to ‘belong’ in the folk and old time scenes. Their family history of union organizing and three generations of ‘card-carrying communists’ bring an edge to their live performances that ties the history of the Appalachian region and their family’s history along with it. Abbie McAllister Rural West Virginia-based singer-songwriter Abbie McAllister began her musical journey singing in family church choirs and on the porches of small local businesses— her music obsession fueled by the natural sounds of home and history. With her sound that blends soft rock, grunge, and blues with appalachian roots, she has gained attention as an up-and-coming artist with new pathways for music and inspiration. Beacon Beacon is the hard-hitting rock fusion project of North Carolina musician Alvin Carlisle. The music is based in leftist political messaging, ecstatic improvisation, and the fusion of Black American genres into an enrapturing show.
Patio Show: Ben Musser
-ALL AGES -LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE Ben Musser Ben Musser plays indie soul with some rock n roll. His new album ‘Sentimental Fever’ (Blackbird Record Label) has just been featured on NPR, CMT, EARMILK, Grateful Webb plus charting on AAA radio stations across the country. He is thrilled to return to NYC on his 2026 album release tour. Performances on this tour will feature Ben’s one-man band approach to songs, where he plays kick drum, hihat, shaker, while performing guitar, singing, and sometimes the piano and harmonica.
Patio Show: ANZA
-ALL AGES-LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEANZA ANZA is a high vibe sister duo consisting of 14 yo Anzi & 17 yo Anna Rivers. Song writing and composing has been a life long passion. Born in Colorado and raised between the high mountain desert landscapes of the Rockies and the lush, ancient mountains of Western North Carolina, the sisters draw deep inspiration from the natural world and the communities that have shaped them. Their musical journey began in the womb into childhood with weekly ecstatic dance, nightly improvised lullabies, bedtime stories sung instead of read, family dance nights and conscious summer music festivals. Their lives have been filled with backyard campfire jam sessions, conversations that reach beyond cultural norms, and impromptu performances in living rooms, art galleries, and community gatherings. Since the age of five, Anna and Anzi have studied with Jeremy Dittus at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies, cultivating a deep musical foundation that led them to piano, guitar, composition, and performance. Their educational journey has included Waldorf education, homeschooling, forested Co-ops and inner city high schooling. This has allowed them to explore a wide range of artistic, cultural, and academic studies. ANZA has performed throughout Western North Carolina at venues including Ayuprana Listening Room, LEAF Global, White Horse Black Mountain, Grey Eagle, and Salvage Station. They have shared their music at festivals, ceremonies, retreats, and around countless campfires and stages with artists such as Max Ribner, Paul Izak, Tubby Love, Shylah Ray Sunshine and The Freedom Family Band. ANZA has sung alongside MaMuse, Samara Jade, Aimée Ringle, and Micaela Kingslight during Circle Revival Gatherings, an immersive six-hour musical ceremony attended by over 1,100 participants. They have spent significant time recording in professional studios with Max Ribner and Roots Grown Deep and have received encouragement and praise from Grammy Award-winning songwriter Jim Lauderdale and acclaimed songwriter Marty Dodson. A UK radio station recently described their debut album, Break Through, as: “With a clear ’60s influence, reminiscent of the style and storytelling associated with Joni Mitchell, which is surprisingly rare in artists of this age. The harmonies are a real standout, and the vocals have a warmth and confidence that genuinely evoke that era rather than simply imitate it. It feels timeless rather than retro for the sake of it.”
PATIO SHOW: Future Aaron
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEFuture Aaron is an American singer-songwriter andsinger for The Spiritual Machines. As a solo artist, Aaroncreates modern songs rooted in the golden age ofsongwriting. Drawing inspiration from artists like PeterGabriel, Crowded House, Sunny Day Real Estate, JohnDenver, and Nick Drake, his music blends rich vocals,percussive acoustic guitar, infectious melodies andthoughtful lyrics into a sound that feels both old andnew. After honing his craft on the West Coast and inAustin, Texas, Aaron is happy now to call Ashevillehome, where the musical spirit resonates with hisformative folk roots.
Songwriters Roller Derby Showcase
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW SONGWRITERS ROLLER DERBY SHOWCASE The Songwriters Roller Derby Showcase, presented by the Asheville Songwriters Association, is a quarterly music show with no roller skates included – just four performers “rollin’ out the songs, elbows-n-all.” Curated and hosted by Thomas Kozak and Jodi John Pippin, each “Derby Night” at The Grey Eagle will showcase the craft of songwriting in an intimate and welcoming setting. As an added element of the Songwriters Roller Derby Showcase, a surprise guest will join the performers on stage for interactive, on-the-spot commentary ~ a “look under the hood of the songwriting process” of sorts. The audience will have a chance to share comments as well, if they are inspired to do so. For most of the evening, the songwriters will perform finished songs, but they will also each share a brand new song that has not yet been performed on stage. Come support the songwriters as they show their vulnerable side and help nurture the art and craft of songwriting in the region and beyond. The performers for this first Derby will be: Old Sap: Old Sap. Poet from Chicago, rambled out to Montana, cut a banjo from a tamarack, strings across the country, foot like a freight train, voice rushing down over lush Appalachia, sings a thrush tune through the rush hour and into your long-forgotten prairie dreams. Folk. Folk Rock. Americana. Silk and Stone: Silk and Stone is an Ohio-grown duo writing honest songs about lifeand the emotions that come with it. With acoustic guitar, closeharmonies, and a shared love of storytelling, their music is rooted inconnection and authenticity.At the heart of their songwriting is love, in all its forms. Fromfalling in love and heartbreak to friendship, family, andself-discovery, they believe love is the thread that ties together thehuman experience. Their songs explore the moments that shape us. Lillie Syracuse: Pulling from a well of folk-rock, soul, and jazz inspiration, Lillie Syracuse has formed a genre bending artistry and writing style deeply and uniquely her own. With a voice often likened to Norah Jones, Bonnie Raitt and Brandi Carlile, Lillie sings to the fullness that is being alive with a razor sharp focus on the heart of each person in the room with her. Lillie has just released her self produced sophomore album Big New Heart and lives in Blue Ridge mountains of Asheville, NC. Ryan Furstenberg: Ryan Furstenberg has been an active member of the Asheville music scene for almost two decades. His main project The Moon and You, a chamber-folk duo with his wife Melissa Hyman, has spent the last decade touring the US and Europe. Ryan also performs his songs under his own name and with his roots rock group Phantom Clutch.In addition to his role as a bandleader, Ryan enjoys collaborating and performing as a sideman with the long-time Asheville groups Tina and Her Pony, the Dulci Ellenberger band, and The Dark Turn of Mind band, a spooky October collaboration between The Moon and You and local songwriter Hannah Kaminer.
Patio Show: Rebekah Todd
ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE Rebekah Todd Rebekah Todd is an Asheville, NC based artist with a voice that is hard to forget. She is currently touring with Dumpstaphunk and is also a member of New Dawn Starkestra with renowned drummer Jeff Sipe, Isaac Hadden, and Quinn Sternberg. When she isn’t playing music, you may find her in her garden, at the gym, or hanging with her dog Jack.
Patio Show: McKinney
ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRSTCOME FIRST SERVE McKinney FIRST NAME MCKINNEY, LAST NAME MCKINNEY, BAND NAME MCKINNEY. McKinney is a bass player and singer-songwriter. She spent her formative years in southern West Virginia where she literally LIVED inside a music school. Deeply incapable of leaving the Appalachian mountains, but needing an escape from her 6,000 person hometown, she landed right around the bend in Asheville, NC. When McKinney isn’t on stage you might find her teaching music lessons at LEAF Global Arts, working shows at The Orange Peel, or at lock on the rugby pitch. McKinney’s music genre is about as fluid as the average Asheville resident’s sexuality. Her Indie Pop sound is blended with influence from her blues singer mother, a BFA in Jazz, and the 8 year old version of herself that just wants to play classic rock. Although pinning down her genre may be hard, you can consistently expect sad lyrics. You will probably enjoy her lyricism if you are emotionally suppressed and enjoy listening to sad songs to make yourself feel better.
Patio Show: Derian Blane
– ALL AGES – LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE DERIAN BLANE Derian Blane is a dynamic singer/songwriter known for their genre-blending songwriting that bends boundaries. They are funky, rustic, and soulful with a voice and lyrics that resonate deeply. Derian’s acoustic sets are an intimate experience, drawing listeners into a world of original compositions that explore themes of love, identity, and resilience. Derian’s songs serve as a voice for the weird, the unheard, and the curious.
PATIO SHOW: Jesse James Deconto (The Pinkerton Raid)
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEJESSE JAMES DECONTO (THE PINKERTON RAID) Leading up to Independence Day, The Pinkerton Raid’s songwriter Jesse James DeConto will release “The Fight for Freedom was in VOGUE,” about Lee Miller, Solange D’Ayen and the Parisian artists who stood up to the Nazi occupation in the ways they knew how. “VOGUE” is among a series of narrative-driven resistance singles from his upcoming full-length album, IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY, TELL THEM, singing his story as a dad trying to hold onto hope and imagine a future for his kids in the face of American fascism and climate catastrophe. Back home in Durham, NC, with partners like Indivisible, Jesse often leads singalongs of classic protest songs from Bob Dylan, NENA, Neil Young, 4 Non-Blondes, Crowded House and others. “The sane response to tyrants is to sing,” Jesse says on “VOGUE,” inspired by a famous quote by revolutionary painter Pablo Picasso. On Wednesday, July 1, he’ll bringing his “protest songs with Big Dad Energy” to the Grey Eagle patio in Asheville’s River Arts District.