Congratulations to Jonas Friddle and The Majority, winners of the $20K Song of the Year Prize!

We'd like to offer a HUGE congratulations to our 2012 Song of the Year recipients Jonas Friddle and the Majority for their song "Belle de Louisville"! You can check out the song here. They took home the Grand Prize in the Folk category and edged out all of our other great Grand Prize Winners to claim $20,000 in cash, an Avid prize package, a $1,000 Mackie prize package, and a $1,000 gift certificate to Digital Media Academy.

Jonas Friddle and The Majority make music that is both timeless and immediate. They met at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music and make orchestral folk music that pairs traditional American instrumentation with intricate rythmes and harmonies. Bandleader Jonas Friddle, a North Carolina native, is a banjo virtuoso with a voice to match and his top-notch songwriting is reminiscent of American legends like Buddy Holly. You can watch Jonas Friddle and The Majority perform their award-winning "Belle De Louisville" here and watch and an interview with the band here.

It's always hard to pick just one song but Jonas Friddle and The Majority and "Belle de Louisville" represent songwriting at its finest and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to share his music with the world. The next session of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest has already begun so if you think you have what it takes to win Song of the Year like Jonas Fiddle, then head to the JLSC website to learn about the contest, judges, prizes, past winners and more.

Lennon Award Winners

Hey folks,

The Song of the Year Winner is going to be announced this month! Which Lennon Award Winner has what it takes to go all the way? Let's check out a few of them:

Eastern Sunz took the hip-hop prize with their smooth rhymes, clever wordplay and genuine walrus sounds. Check out their winning song "I Am The Walrus" and try to catch all the Beatles references.

We got so many great jazz songs this year but Rick Webster took home the prize for his very classy  song "Fade Away" with vocalist Allira Wilson. Give it a listen and enjoy Webster's guitar chops.

Finally, banjo-master Jonas Fiddle swept the folk category with his beautiful composition "Belle de Louisville". Watch him perform it live here at the Square Roots Festival in Chicago.

With so many great choices, it's going to be hard to pick just one. Head over to our website to check out the rest of the Lennon Award Winners and send us a message on Twitter or Facebook to tell us who you think deserves win. And remember that Session II of the JLSC is open now! Enter your songs here for a chance to win $20,000, gear from Avid, Mackie, Roland and more!

Song of the Year Winner to Be Announced Soon!

Hey everyone,

The Lennon Award winners for 2012 have already been announced so that means there's only one thing left to decide... The Song of the Year winner! We've had so many great entries and this has been one of the hardest years to decide ever. Sometime this month the winner will be announced but until then, why don't you help us decide! You can check out the Lennon Award winners here and listen to all of their songs for free. Go to our Facebook page or Twitter and tell us who you think deserves to win, and be sure to hashtag it #jlsc!

Think you've got what it takes to be a Song of the Year Winner? Then here over to the John Lennon Songwriting Contest website and enter your song for a chance to win $20,000, a slot on the Vans Warped Tour and much much more! You can also check out this year's judges and past winners, so what are you waiting for?

Hey folks,

Just wanted to share a couple songs from some of the very talented artists that have won in the past:

Lunic took home the Grand Prize in the electronic category in 2012 for her beat making skills and violen chops. Talk about multi-talented! Check out the video for here song "Self Destruct" here.

If you're looking for something a little smoother, check out the video for Banky W's song "Yes/No". Banky took the Grand Prize in 2006 and not only does he have the voice of an angel, but he's also an activist and community-builder. His blog The Bank Statements gives some insight into this incredible man's mind.

And finally, for the children, take a look at the wonderfully zany Gustafer Yellowgold who was a Grand Prize Winner in 2008 in the Children's category. Gustafer makes music that's accesible enough for children yet interesting enough for adults. Don't believe me? Check out the video for "I'm From the Sun".

We've had so many great artists in the past and every year we find more! To learn more about the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, head over to jlsc.com where you can hear more from past winners, learn about our fantastic prizes, and enter your own original material for your chance to win!

Shawn Pander Performs in UK and Yoko Ono's Meltdown Festival

Hey folks,

Last month, at the Launch Event After Party for the John Lennon Bus Europe, 2006 Grand Prize Winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Shawn Pander performed his original song "Let Me Love You" at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, UK. Pander blends jazz, country, blues, soul and wise songwriting to create music that beautifully illuminates the world around him. You can check out the video here and learn more about Shawn Pander here. 

Yoko Ono's Meltdown Festival in London is well under way and the John Lennon Education Tour Bus Europe is there from June 14th to the 23rd! The bus is offering tours to the public and you can check out the Meltdown website here to find out when. Be sure to check out the rest of Meltdown for performances from Yoko Ono, Iggy & the Stooges and Patti Smith, along with films, panels on activism, and more!

Also, Session II of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest has just begun. Check out our website to learn more about the contest and sign up for your chance win cash, recording gear and performance opportunities! 

The Deadline Approaches!

Hey everybody,

The time comes once again.  The first session of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest ends on June 15th at 11:59PM PST so be sure to enter before then! We have so many great judges this year including Fergie, Sean Paul, Natasha Bedingfield and Bob Weir and they're all are excited to hear your best songs.

This year's prize package is bigger than ever before with a $20,000 cash prize for our Song of the Year winner and great gear from Avid, Mackie, Roland, Neutrik and many more for our Grand Prize Winners and Finalists.

For more information about the competition, judges and prizes, check out the John Lennon Songwriting Competition website. If your submission isn't ready by the 15th, remember that Session II starts right when this one ends so there are always more opportunities to get your music heard.

Any questions or concerns? Send us an at info@jlsc.com and we'll help you out. Good luck and keep the songs coming!

Remeber Dovetail?

Dovetail won our Session I, 2012 Grand Prize in the Rock category and went on to become the 2012 Lennon Award winner in the Rock category. Recently they sat down with the Dallas Morning News! Check out what they had to say here.