Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Huske Unplugged Showcases Local Songwriters by STEPHANIE CRIDER to offer. The fifth season of Huske Unplugged starts on Sept. 4, and if the past four seasons are any indication of the talent that is likely to participate, Fayetteville is in for a treat. "Our very fist winner, Nathan Fair, opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd at Sturgis this year," While there are several venues for musicians to perform locally, Huske Unplugged said Biltz. "He said they asked him to come back next year, too." is a platform for songwriters (many of whom also happen to be performers). Last Nicholas has been to Nashville as part of winning the scholarship category last season. season ended with a bang as both local and national "I went to Nashville to watch Autumn. It was her sponsors awarded prizes worth more than $20,000. first appearance as a PCG Nashville client," said Huske Hardware House owner Josh Collins Biltz. "She blew everyone away." has been a strong supporter of the event since While Ethan Hanson won last season in its inception when he offered $2,000 of his own the cash award category, the execs from PCG money as the prize. Last season, PCG Nashville, an Nashville were reaching out to him, too, on the agency that helps professionally develop artists of night of the finals. While there were several topall genres awarded a $15,000 scholarship to their notch performers at the finals in April, Biltz called program, Reed Lallier Chevrolet offered $3,000 or a Hanson's victory a well-deserved win. "There were one-year car lease and Manifold Recording offered some people that I thought had a good chance, free recording time. Through the entire season but then Ethan came in and just ate everybody's the audience was treated to a variety of music by lunch," he said. songwriters with varying levels of experience and Casey Cotton competed last season and has put expertise. In the end, Autumn Nicholas won the together a group that is building quite a following scholarship category and Ethan Hanson won the around town. cash award category — and truly the biggest winners "Casey is the best keyboard player I have seen in Local songwriters are invited to Huske Unplugged to share their work with 30 years. He is a showman," said Biltz. "He puts were the people who came out week after week to the community. encourage and listen to the songwriters. on a good show and he knows how to connect Sponsors are stepping up to support the with the audience. His music is upbeat and hard participants. Mike Tiemann of Manifold Recording has confirmed that they will once to describe. They do some fairly well-known pieces, but the way they put it together is again be a sponsor for Huske Unplugged Singer/Songwriter Night. The songwriter different and fresh." awarded best overall performance will receive a day of free recording at the stateMitch Clark is another crowd-pleaser that Biltz hopes to see at Huske Unplugged. of-the-art facility in Pittsboro. There will also be cash prizes each week and at the "He has been a finalist in all four events and he is coming along phenomenally as conclusion of the season. well," said Biltz. "He is really developing as a songwriter. In 2011, he had never As in previous seasons, there are eight weeks of preliminaries. Wednesday nights at written a song before and he came in third place." 7 p.m., the sign-up sheet goes out. Performances start at 8 p.m. There are 12 available With so many talented writers and performers it's hard to tell who may or may not slots each week. The winner walks away with a cash prize and a spot in the semishow, but Biltz is excited to see what this season brings. finals. Songwriters should come prepared to perform two to three songs, one of which "I've said from the beginning, and I tell everybody who shows up to play that this can be a cover song. isn't about the money or winning a prize," said Biltz. "It's about an opportunity to "Songwriters come to this with different levels of experience," said Greg Biltz, have your original work heard. It is a chance to play your own songs in front of people cohost and cofounder of the event. "Sometimes one song is all they've written, and we who are interested in hearing them. Shoot, if I weren't hosting I'd be up there every still want to give them a chance to be heard." week just to get my material heard." There are two weeks of semi-finals leading up to the big night on Nov. 20. Huske Hardware House owners Josh and Tonia Collins have been supporters of Throughout the competition Biltz has made sure that the event remains focused on local musicians for years. In fact, their daughter, Summer Collins, has graced the the songwriters and the work they put into their compositions. stage at Huske Hardware, Festival Park and other local venues since she was in middle "This is not American Idol Fayetteville," said Biltz. "This showcase is about school. Thanks to her family's support and her talent and hard work, Summer is yet songwriters. Not every songwriter is a natural performer, and we want to keep this another success story in the Fayetteville music scene. about content. We've had some amazing talent come out in the past four seasons and "I am finally heading west to Nashville, Tenn., to attend Belmont University as a I hope to see some familiar faces, along with plenty of new faces, this time around." commercial music major," she said. "I will be working with masters of the industry and In the past four seasons combined, 96 songwriters have participated. Only one, surrounded by inspiration. I am anxious to dive into the Music City culture and driven Nicholas, has won both the cash prize category and the scholarship category. That to make Fayetteville proud." means there is a chance that the audience will get to see some of their favorites come Season five of Huske Unplugged starts, Wednesday, Sept. 8 at out again since winners are only able to win each category once, at the current time. Huske Hardware House. Check the Huske STEPHANIE CRIDER, Editor. An advocate for local musicians, Biltz is impressed with the talent in the area and Facebook page at https://www.facebook. has been blown away time and again with the many musical acts and what they have com/HuskeHardware for more information. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM AUGUST 21-27, 2013 UCW 13