Music To Life

Music to Life 2008- announcement and guidelines

Public Domain Foundation, in conjunction with the Kerrville Folk Festival, has now produced three Music to Life contests and concerts (2001, 2003 and 2006). These unique opportunities prompt artists to submit songs of social and political significance which are competitively selected and promoted through a variety of means. Winning finalists perform their songs at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas.

Headed up by a panel of judges including such esteemed artists as: Tom Chapin, Janis Ian, Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, Holly Near, Len Chandler, Christine Lavin, John Stewart, Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, Cheryl Wheeler and Mary Travers, the Music to Life contest solicits and receives entries from songwriters domestically and abroad. Subsequently, Music to Life judges choose ten finalists to perform their compositions at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. Three top finalists also receive donations to the charities of their choice. Finalists typically each represent a different state from around the country and offer songs which speak to such issues as the emotion of children in foster care, the vitality of volunteers, and the brutal impact of war.

In addition to creating a live platform for these artists to voice their concerns, their songs are connected to organizations that are acting upon the issues they care about. Public Domain Foundation helps these artists build relationships with nonprofits which utilize their songs as vehicles for promotional and educational purposes.

Music To Life Contests will continue to be scheduled every 2-3 years. We encourage those of you who are interested in our work to join our mailing list and purchase copies of our Music To Life live CDs (all proceeds support Public Domain and its charitable activities).

Participation by our judges, the Kerrville staff and all of our Music to Life contestents continues to be confirmation of Public Domain Foundation’s belief that artistic expression can serve as an emotional bridge—bringing our world closer together by reminding us of our common human condition.

From the MTL Archives:

People always ask me, "How did Peter, Paul & Mary get your song?" They are often surprised when I tell them it was through the Public Domain Music to Life Songwriting Contest. I entered the contest in early 2001 with a little cassette tape, just recorded. I wasn't a winner. I wasn't even one of the 10 finalists that year. But then, four months after the contest ended, I get an e-mail. It was all in small print, a casual looking little letter. It started out: "Hi, I'm the tall, balding guy in the middle of Peter, Paul & Mary and we love your song. May we bring it to America?" After I recovered consciousness, I immediately e-mailed back: YES!

Needless to say, it was a thrill of a lifetime for an unknown singer-songwriter. My song, "Jesus Is On The Wire," was then performed frequently at Peter, Paul & Mary concerts from August 2001. It was included on their 2004 album, "In These Times," and was the only new song performed in its entirety in the P,P & M career retrospective, "Carry It On," broadcast many times on PBS-TV.

"Jesus Is On The Wire" is political song: It delves into the horror of the hate crime-crime murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard. I feel honored that Peter, Paul & Mary selected my song to perform. I've gotten responses, from as far away as England, from people who were emotionally affected by the song. A couple of church choral groups have sung it. It's been mentioned in reviews in both America and England. (I've also gotten a few anonymous, angry e-mails from supposedly Christian gay-bashers.) And folk-singers, one in Colorado and one in Hawaii, have subsequently recorded my song.

As a singer/songwriter, I appreciate the opportunity that ‘Music to Life’ provided to spread the important message of my music.

-Thea Hopkins

Read “Dirty Linen's” take on the Music to Life contest
Learn more about the Kerrville Folk Festival