Congratulations|

Our winner is:  “Virtue & Vice” by Hornbuckle!  This CD will now qualify for the international competition, judged by the Blues Foundation in Memphis.

This CD is beautifully recorded and produced.  The songs are brilliant, sad and uplifting… blues ballads telling a story of failure, struggle, and redemption.  The performances are first rate.

You can listen to three cuts from the CD at our website.  The music player at the bottom of the page plays a list of songs in random order, and you can step through them to find the Hornbuckle tunes.

Congratulations to Michael Hornbuckle and the entire band!

http://www.milehighbluessociety.com
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COUNTRY SHOWDOWN SW REGIONAL FINALS WINNER ANNOUNCED!

The Southwest Regional Finals of the Country Showdown were held at the historic Shuler Theater in Raton, NM on Saturday, October 18th. Featuring state winners from Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri and two parts of Texas, the show was hosted by KCRT/KBKZ Radio in Trinidad/Raton, and MC’d by the radio stations’ own David Phillips.

Drum Roll, Please! The winner was The Brothers Roberson – Rhett & Brendan Roberson, from Missouri! These young, gorgeous guys played two original songs while accompanying themselves with guitars and blending well with the live back-up band Colfax Reunion from Albuquerque, NM. In a nod to their showmanship, they gave off an Everly Brothers vibe with terrific, ear-pleasing harmonies. They will now advance to the National Finals to be held at the Ryman Theatre in Nashville on January 21st, 2015.

Winners of five regions across the U.S. will compete for a $100,000 cash prize and perhaps an opportunity to be signed for a record deal as Crystal Yates, our SW Region’s winner from last year, was! In fact, Ms. Yates is opening for Martina McBride on portions of her tour right now.

Other contestants were – and this is one of those nights when YOU didn’t want to be a judge ‘cause the acts were ALL SO GOOD and the scoring had to be mighty close — our own Katey Laurel, representing Colorado; Tyler Hammond, North Texas; Jana Lee Cox (only 15), representing Oklahoma; Keeira Lyn Ford, Arizona; Matt Coleman, Kansas, and Ashley Pierce, South Texas. Each contestant sang two songs of their choice. Some did two covers, some their originals only, and some mixed it up. One of the differences in the Country Showdown as versus other singing competitions is that contestants are given extra points for writing their own songs.

Each year, thousands of artists compete throughout the U.S. in their local competitions, then move to their state contests. Past local, state, and regional contestants include Martina McBride, Garth Brooks, Miranda Lambert, Neal McCoy, Sara Evans, Brad Paisley and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Visit www.countryshowdown.com  for more information.

Check out Colorado’s winner at http://www.kateylaurel.com

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