SongCircle Names BARNABY BRIGHT Winner of 5th Annual Songwriting Contest

NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- SongCircle (www.songcirclemusic.com) is proud to announce that Barnaby Bright and their song "Don't Look Down" is the Grand Prize winner in its fifth annual songwriting contest.  Barnaby Bright, the husband and wife duo of Nathan and Becky Bliss from Brooklyn, NY (by the way of Kansas City, KS), thrilled the capacity crowd and an esteemed panel of judges gathered at the City Winery in New York with their stunning vocals, harmonium and guitar playing and creative hand/guitar percussion.

"We have been working really hard for three years playing any and every venue possible," said lead vocalist Becky Bliss.  "It has not sunk in yet that we have won, what can I say it is a dream come true."

"We are riding the most amazing high and won't be coming down anytime soon," said Nathan Bliss.  "We are so honored to be a part of this competition and it is our proudest musical moment to date.  Not only are the prizes absolutely incredible, but we met so many amazing and kind musicians who already feel like family.  What an incredible experience."

Becky and Nathan will be receiving $10,000 in cash, offered a recording, publishing and full label services agreement with SongCircle Music/EMI, a chance to perform a the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a radio spot on "Out Of The Box With Jonathan Clarke" on Q104.3 FM in NYC, a top of the line guitar from Gibson and studio session time with a top record producer.

Barnaby Bright joins a prestigious group of previous SongCircle Grand Prize winners including Kate Voegele (Interscope), Company Of Thieves (Wind-Up/Sony), Mieka Pauley, and Reed Waddle.

Taking home second place honors this year was Flearoy for their soulful Southern offering "Hey Brother."  Flearoy is fronted by Macon, GA native Jonathan Seale and his bandmates Dan Knobler, Matt Porter and Zack Rosen from New York and Jason Burger from Los Angeles.  The Brooklyn-based group Lucius took a close third place for their homespun and mountainous-feeling "Shenandoah."  The singing and songwriting duo of Jess Wolf and Holly Laessig entranced everyone with their rich harmonies and playful melding of voices to create a lyrical message straight from their Fairview, OH, roots.    

"Songwriting is alive and as strong as ever," said Tina Shafer, Artistic Director for the SongCircle and host of the contest.  "We are really looking forward to working with Becky and Nathan to help them achieve their goals and take their careers to the next level."

About SongCircle(sm):  SongCircle Music (formerly the New York Songwriters' Circle) has been producing and directing semi-monthly shows at the legendary Bitter End club in New York City's West Village for over 20 years and is one of the most popular music events in New York City. Different from any of its competitors, SongCircle Music is a hybrid online and offline community that offers musicians the opportunity to perform at live showcases in major U.S. cities, expose their music through the SongCircle's unique chart ranking and multi-media system and to garner the attention of music industry executives and a mass targeted audience.  For more information and contact visit:  http://www.songcirclemusic.com

SOURCE SongCircle