Aeolian’s Second Annual Songwriting Contest

Celebrating London’s UNESCO City of Music Designation

Competition Begins June 1st, 2023

In support of Canada’s Songwriters and to London, Ontario as a UNESCO City of Music, The Aeolian is running a National Songwriting Contest.  Song writers need to record and submit a song in any genre (country, classical, jazz, popular etc.) with themes of freedom, hope and justice.

The contest is designed to offer a platform and showcase for artists to celebrate their creations, gain support through prizes and showcase London as a UNESCO City of Music.  It is also a way  to celebrate Canada’s talented creatives and focus on inspiration during this especially challenging time.  

“We’re thrilled to open this contest up to all of Canada to support our talented songwriters and celebrate Freedom, Hope and Justice.”

Clark Bryan, Executive and Artistic Director

Andrea Wasse is a Canadian singer and songwriter, currently working and residing in LA. Born in London, Ontario, to a pianist and an actor, the joys of music and performance were introduced to her at a young age. Through both nature and nurture, she found herself following in her parents’ footsteps. She began writing songs, forming a band, and performing at the tender age of 15, long before School Of Rock normalised young teens playing in bands. After playing a handful of concerts, her band The Weekend’s demo tape landed in the hands of Canadian indie label Teenage USA, and through them she was able to release her first full length record and secure a publishing deal with EMI Canada by the age of 19. Through the many years that have followed, with the longstanding support from and relationship with EMI (now Sony), she continues to fine tune her craft in both writing and performing She has written for and performed as front person for pop rock outfits The Weekend, goth pop duo Digital Daggers, cold wave dream pop duo DeadxLife, and jangle shoe gazey NightJacket, and has had her own minor success as a solo artist in the dark country genre, highlighting her ability to be a musical chameleon, all the while remaining true to a goal she once jokingly set- “I just want to make music people can cry to”. Her songs have been featured in countless television shows and movies from the early aughts to present day, from accompanying Paris and Nicole on a shopping trip in The Simple Life, Brittany Murphy dancing in Uptown Girls, supernatural happenings on The Vampire Diaries, an emotional montage on Orange Is The New Black’s final season, and most recently some gods kicking ass in a hospital in Netflix’s The Old Guard. She has also written specifically for projects, script in hand, such as She’s The Man, and television shows Instant Star and Mudpit. From London, Ontario to Los Angeles, California, she is grateful that her journey began in the Forest City, home to some very fine talent.

Valdy is a Canadian folk and country musician whose solo career began in the early 1970s. He is known for “Rock and Roll Song”, his first mainstream single. Valdy is the winner of two Juno Awards for Folk Singer of the Year and Folk Entertainer of the Year, and has received seven additional Juno nominations. His fourteen albums have achieved sales of nearly half a million copies, four of which are certified gold.

Tony Dekker is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Most noted as the leader of the indie folk band Great Lake Swimmers, he has also released two solo albums.

Born and raised in Wainfleet, Ontario, Dekker studied literature at the University of Western Ontario. Both of the band’s first two albums, Great Lake Swimmers and Bodies and Minds, were recorded in Wainfleet, in an abandoned grain silo[4] and a Catholic church, respectively. By the time of the band’s third album Ongiara, Dekker and the band were based in Toronto full time.

In addition to his work with Great Lake Swimmers, Dekker released his debut solo album Prayer of the Woods in 2013. He followed up in 2014 with Tony Dekker Sings 10 Years of Zunior, an album of covers of other Canadian artists — including Old Man Luedecke, Chad VanGaalen, Christine Fellows, Ohbijou, Rae Spoon, Matt Mays, Martin Tielli, Jennifer Castle and Cadence Weapon — released to mark the 10th anniversary of Canadian web music store Zunior.

contest rules

Open to amateur and professional songwriters.

As this contest is intended to support musicians, there is a $20 fee per song to apply to cover admin expenses.

This contest is a celebration of London’s designation as a UNESCO Music City and the wealth of talent we have here and throughout Canada. As such, songwriters must be official residents of Canada or pursuing resident status.   The contest duration is:

June 1st-September 1st, 2023

Songs must be recorded and provided in audio or audio/video format. A phone recording is sufficient. Artists need not incur any cost in the production of their submission as judging will be based on artistic quality of the song – not production quality of the audio/video.

Songwriters may ask a musician to perform their work  if they are not technically able to do so on their own.

Co-writing is permitted with prize money being shared equally.

A maximum of two songs may be submitted by each songwriter.

Though we appreciate all entries, neither The Aeolian or the competition judges are able to provide feedback or review of content received.

Songs must be have one or more of the following these:

Freedom
Hope
Justice

Submissions must be accompanied by lyrics.

Though the songwriter retains ownership of the song, the song writer must agree to the Aeolian using the song for all purposes without licensing fee.

Judging will be completed by a jury of music professionals.

Songs must be new (during the period of the contest), unpublished and previously unrecorded or performed).  If there is evidence that the song was written/published/recorded before the festival, the entry will be disqualified.

Submissions must be received by September 1st, 2023

Submissions may be sent via email to aeolianperformingartscentre@gmail.com using a Google drive link or a private, unpublished YouTube link or dropped off at the Aeolian Hall on a USB drive. Entrants will be notified that their entry has been received successfully in a viewable format.  Entrants are welcome to follow-up with the Aeolian by phone or email should they not receive a confirmation within 2 business days.

FIRST PRIZE

 

  1. A $5000.00 cash prize.
  2. A professional audio recording of the song at the Aeolian’s state of the art recording studio Installed with support from The Ontario Trillium Foundation.*
  3. A multi-track video recording (40 minutes) to be broadcast as an Aeolian Phoenix Session production.*
  4. Aeolian will produce at no cost to the artist a live show featuring the artist’s music.  In the case that there isn’t enough music for a live show, arrangements will be made to feature the artist as an opening act to another Aeolian production.*
  5. A guitar.
  6. Marketing of artist through Aeolian’s social media, website, and e-newsletter for 3 months.
  7. A consultation on or support in the development of an Electronic Press Kit to include a photoshoot, video content and support with bio and artist branding with a professional expert as well as two hours of professional marketing consultation to help with career growth.
*The Aeolian does not pay for transportation, meals or accommodation costs for recordings or concerts as part of this prize.

second PRIZE

 

  1. A $1000.00 cash prize.
  2. A professional audio recording of the song at the Aeolian’s state of the art recording studio Installed with support from The Ontario Trillium Foundation.*
  3. A multi-track video recording (40 minutes) to be broadcast as an Aeolian Phoenix Session production.*
  4. A Guitar.
  5. Marketing of artist through Aeolian’s social media, website, and e-newsletter for two months
  6. A consultation on or support in the development of an Electronic Press Kit to include a photoshoot, video content and support with bio and artist branding with a professional expert as well as one hour of professional marketing consultation to help with career growth.
    *The Aeolian does not pay for transportation, meals or accommodation costs for recordings or concerts as part of this prize.

Third PRIZE

 

  1. A $500 cash prize.
  2. A professional audio recording of the song at the Aeolian’s state of the art recording studio fInstalled with support from The Ontario Trillium Foundation.*
  3. A guitar
  4. Marketing of artist through Aeolian’s social media, website, and e-newsletter for one month
  5. One hour photo session for promotional photos at The Aeolian Site*
  6. One half hour of professional marketing consultation to help with career growth.
*The Aeolian does not pay for transportation, meals or accommodation costs for recordings or concerts as part of this prize.

ENTER the contest

  1. Complete the application so that we have your information.
  2. Submit your song using google drive (see below)
  3. Submit your lyrics in pdf format by email or google drive.
  4. Fee:  $20 per submission.  Two Song maximum

To enter the Aeolian Songwriting contest, complete the application below and submit your audio or audio/video.

You may complete the form now and submit your video anytime before the deadline if you plan to enter.

Audio or audio/video submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m. on March 31, 2022.

Video submissions may be sent via email to aeolianperformingartscentre@gmail.com using a Google drive link or a private, unpublished YouTube link or dropped off at the Aeolian Hall on a USB drive.  Lyrics must be included for a complete application.

Entrants under the age of 18 must have parental permission to participate.

Entry

Name
Address
Max. file size: 50 MB.
Is the entrant 18 or over. If under 18, please provide parent/guardian name and contact information below.
Parent/Guardian Name (if under the age of 18)

UNESCO CREATIVE CITIES NETWORK

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network strives to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.

This website presents the Cities of Music and key projects taking place in them. At the same time, it is meant to be an invitation to cooperate, communicate and launch further activities within the network.

Rent The Aeolian

The Aeolian is a beautiful, unique, award-winning location to host your event.

While particularly renowned for its acoustic/live music presentations, the Aeolian is a versatile facility and can host all sorts of events from weddings and parties to conferences and fundraisers.

Give to Culture

Explore the arts. Support your community. Discover yourself.

The Aeolian relies heavily upon a strong base of community support that benefits many projects and events. All contributions, whether small or large, make a huge difference and will help sustain The Aeolian Musical Arts Association’s mission and future.