Blackwell chasing music dreams in NASH Next Competition
NASH Next, an artist development competition with a stated goal of “discovering and releasing music from prominent and talented newcomers,” is carrying a strong Van Zandt County presence in its inaugural year with the inclusion of local singer-songwriter Stephen Blackwell in the field of 100 semifinalists.
Blackwell, and Edgewood graduate who lives in Wills Point with his wife Robin (formerly Sewell), a Wills Point native, and their two sons, Dodge and Truett, entered the competition back in June.
“The judges are Kix Brooks, of Brooks and Dunn, James Stroud, award winning record producer, and John Dickey, Executive Vice President and Co-Operating Officer of Cumulus Media,” said Blackwell during a recent interview. “I recently signed two of my original songs, Good and Faithful and Rescue, with Big Gap Music in Nashville. As I was planning a trip to Nashville and booking gigs, I found the NASH Next competition. I signed up and honestly, didn't do any of the promotion in the first round, only because I saw that many signed up already have huge following, and tour fulltime in the USA and Europe. I thought it was a long shot for a teacher from East Texas. But, then about two weeks ago I received an email that, after the judges’ votes, I had made the Top 100! It has been a blast so far and I'm excited to see how far we can go!”
The competition is broken down into six rounds, with the field of contestants getting whittled down until a winner is named. Entering this week, Blackwell had made the semifinal stage of the competition. “I have made it into round one, the Top 100. We had to choose from 3 songs and make a cover video. I picked another East Texas artist, Miranda Lambert's ‘Automatic.’” Voting for round one was scheduled to end just before midnight on Aug. 27.
In order to stay in the competition, Blackwell needs to get enough votes to carry him from one round to the next. “I need fans to go to www.nashnextcountry.com or download the app, register as a fan, find me, heart my page and click the up arrow on my challenge video to vote for me. Then like, share and spin my songs daily. By midnight on August 27 we will know if I made the next round. This competition is very fan driven and social media based. The next challenges involve Twitter, Periscope, Instagram and PicCollage. I need everyone to stay involved as long as I'm in it and participate in the challenges with me. It is going to be fun!”
The grand prize winner will be signed to the new NASH Next record label, with the Top 10 also participating in the NASH Next concert tour, which will kick off in early 2016. \
