Nashville-based songwriter Tarrah Walston has been named as the grand prize winner of the 22nd annual Nashville Songwriters Association International Song Contest.
Whalston’s song “Tabs On You” took top honors and prizes that include $5,000 cash, a mentor session with 2019 ACM ‘Songwriter of the Decade’ and NSAI Board Member Rhett Akins, NSAI and CMT prize packs including tickets to the CMT awards, as well as a one-year single-song publishing contract with Anthem Entertainment.
Walston will also be invited to join in the 30th anniversary Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival happening this week, March 29-April 2, 2022, as part of her award. She will perform the winning song on Tuesday, March 29th at 9:00pm at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville (stage sponsored by: Musicnotes) to open the round presented by 95.5 NASH ICON, featuring Jamie Floyd, Ty Herndon, Jake Hoot and Rachel Thibodeau.
James Maltese of Princeton, NJ won the songwriting competition’s Lyric-Only section for his submission “Ferris Wheels.” The prizes for his win include a mentor session with hit songwriter Ali Tamposi, $2,500 cash, an NSAI prize pack including a new acoustic guitar and more.
In total, the competition drew more than 2,500 entries that were paired down to just 22 songs after several rounds of judging before the final winners were decided on March 10th.
The judging panel featured Kelly Archer (professional hit songwriter), Fletcher Foster (President and CEO of F2 Entertainment Group), Leslie Fram (Senior Vice President, Music Strategy and Talent at CMT), Erika Wollam Nichols (COO and General Manager of The Bluebird Cafe), and Tim Wipperman,(President of Publishing at Anthem Entertainment Nashville).
The finals can be replayed at www.nsaisongcontest.com or www.nashvillesongwriters.com.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Grand Prize Winner
“Tabs On You” – Tarrah Walston (Nashville, TN)
Lyric-Only Winner
“Ferris Wheels” – James Maltese (Princeton, NJ)
Lyric-Only Runner-up
“Where The Green Grass Glows” – Everton Rocca (Franklin, TN)
Song Category Runners-up
“Better On You” – Lauren Eliza (Nashville, TN)
“Comes To Light” – Andrew Marik (Memphis, TN)
“Cowboy Buddha” – Andrea Brodeur (Boston, MA)
“Hold That Thought” – Elysse Yulo (Nashville, TN)
“How Many Angels” – Sam Varga (Louisville, KY)
“Jingles In My Heart” – Sal Cosentino (Brooklyn, NY)
“John Denver” – Chris Nurthen (Memphis, TN)
“Make It A Habit” – Hayden Cain (Richmond, KY)
“The Devil’s A Liar” – Russell Dritz (Chappaqua, NY)
Honorable Mentions
“Beer Thirty” – Robert Starnes
“Broken Heartland” – Matt Jordan
“Buying Houses” – Sam Blasko
“Colors Of God” – Russ Parrish
“Seven Day Weekend” – Steven Sumners
“Starts With A Spark” – Jon Eborn
“Stealing Home” – Alli Carruth
“Till It Happens To You” – John Frank
“Why We Drive Trucks” – Ryan Price
“Wrong Turns Right” – Carin Fradin
