As expected, the Slice was packed, even on a Sunday, for the finals of the South Country Fair Songwriting competition, May 27.
Judges Sil Campus, John Wort Hannam and Shaela Miller had the tough job of choosing the best two songs to play on the South Country Fair South stage this year, but finally agreed on Calgarian Tara Warburton, who was the last to play for her haunting folk number “Raise up my Spirit. ”
She took home the $700 first place prize and will be playing the South Stage.
Cathy Hawley, a familiar face in the competition and at the Lethbridge Folk Club who ended the first set, took second place and $300 will also be playing the South stage during the Fair.
George Arsene won $205 and third place for “Buckeroo,” his heartfelt tribute to beloved songwriter Frank Dooley, who passed away in 2014.
Organizer Steve Foord brought along his donation bucket from the Owl and the generous crowd donated enough to give $100 each to honourable mentions to Alex Ginella for the bluesy “Desolation Bound,” and Chris Gheran, another familiar face at the competition, who submitted “Sweet Jean” and who got applause for his whistling solo.
They had some really tough competition. I really enjoyed Taber born, Calgary based Tanner James’s lovely , lilting duet with ukulele wielding Alex Cowman, whom he met at a songwriting retreat at the Banff Arts Centre called “ This Morning, With You, Drinking Coffee.”
Another familiar face , Chris Drew of the Crooked Creek Warblers, also has a strong showing with “Hard Times.” He was backed by band mate Gabriel Thaine and upright bassist Steve Martin, who also backed Megan Brown on her haunting, jazz tinged “True What They Say.”
Rebecca Lappa came all the way down from Edmonton to perform a powerful gospel tinged number “Lay Me Down In Greener Pastures.”
Ian Smith added a touch of blues with “Rambling Rosies Blues.”
Taylor Lang opened the second set with his Michael Bernard Fitzgerald tinged folk pop song “ You Choose To Love”
I arrived just at the start of the show in time to hear the Mary Gauthier folk stylings of Nancy Laberg’s “Every Word Counts.” but missed the first act, Kathryn Smith’s “Unpleasant.”
