Rules & Information
The 2022 John Hartford Memorial Festival Songwriters Challenge is now accepting entries. The deadline for entries is midnight, March 31, 2022 or when we reach 40 compliant entries. Entrants will be prejudged and notified by April 14th, 2022. Held at the Lawrence County Recreational Park in Springville, IN from June 1-4, the 2022 Annual John Hartford Memorial Festival is a genre busting, family friendly event honoring the life and legacy of the late John Hartford, one of America’s most beloved and ground-breaking musicians.
Click Here to apply to the 2022 Songwriters Challenge.
Entrants are prejudged and notified. Contestants who purchase tickets in advance and win 1st - 3rd place passes, will be reimbursed their ticket cost at the festival upon presenting identification, and verification by the gate personnel. Your name will be on the guest list. You will be reimbursed at the Song Challenge Showcase on the Hartford Stage, right after your performance.
Our top three winners will be offered the chance to perform on Friday, June 3rd, in our Songwriter's Challenge on the Hartford Main Stage. Our top 10 will be added to our digital playlist showcase!
What Will You Win?
- 1st place wins two full festival tickets, an autographed festival poster by the artist Jon Griffin, $250.00, a signed copy of "The Cosmic Path to Melody and Lyric", by Ernie Hill, a slot in our Hartford Main Stage Songwriters Showcase, digital publication of your song along with a published interview to be posted on the JHMF website, a cd from johnhartford.com and an invitation to return to the 2023 John Hartford Memorial Festival to perform your winning song during our 2023 Songwriting Contest Showcase! and bragging rights.
- 2nd place wins one full festival ticket, $150.00, an autographed festival poster by the artist Jon Griffin, a slot in our Main Stage Songwriters Showcase digital publication of your song and a cd from johnhartford.com.
- 3rd place wins one full festival ticket, $100.00, an autographed festival poster by the artist Jon Griffin, a slot in our Main Stage Songwriters Showcase, digital publication of your song and a cd from johnhartford.com.
- Additional prizes may be added leading up to the festival. Keep checking the John Hartford Memorial Festival Songwriting Contest page for updates.
- All primitive tent camping is free for anyone with a wristband. If you make the showcase, you will be given a wristband and your primitive tent camping is free.
Click Here to apply to the 2022 Songwriters Challenge.
Entrants retain all rights to their songs, however, by entering you agree to allow us to add your song to our website playlist and also to allow us to use photos, video and audio of your song on our Website, YouTube channel, Social Media and for other promotional purposes.
The 1st place winner will perform two songs- the winning song and another original song of choice. (prepare to perform three). 2nd place through 3rd place will perform their entry. (prepare to perform two originals). You may perform solo or with up to three accompanists. Winners must perform into a system provided by our professional sound crew. You will not be allowed to plug in your instruments. Due to time constraints, no drums. All compliant contestants will be considered for booking at future JHMF events. If a winner cannot attend the festival, they may still claim their place publicly, however they will forfeit their prizes to the next highest scorer who is present at the festival.
Please email samanthaherrin@gmail.com if you have any questions.
The top ten songs will be added to our website playlist along with a link to your website or social media page.
The Rules
- This event is a challenge to you to meet our criteria and write an original song with John Hartford in mind. Songs must mention the complete name, "John Hartford" (not John, or Hartford) at least once in the song and/or contain one or more of the song titles we provided below. We encourage you to read "About John Hartford".
- We cannot forward your song to our judges until your entry is complete.
- Non-refundable fee of $10 + complete registration + mp3 and typed lyrics = complete entry.
- Include your name and complete contact info at the BOTTOM of your lyric sheet. Lyric sheets that are marked with letterhead, or watermarks, or any non-removable ID, will not be forwarded to the scorers and will be considered ineligible. Lyrics must be typed in a readable font and submitted as a Word doc or RTF, only. No PDF.
- Your entry will be logged, name removed, and a number assigned, before being forwarded to our scorers.
- Failure to comply will result in your song not being forwarded and your entry fee not being returned.
- Only one song per entrant will be allowed.
- Acoustic, lyrical songs only.
- Do not speak or talk about your song on your recording, including announcing the title and/or your name. "Talking songs" are allowed.
- Songs must be no longer than 4 minutes in length.
- Only MP3 files will be listened to. Do not include album info with your entry. If you copy from a cd, convert it to an independent MP3 so your personal name will not be attached and your entry disqualified.
- Your song entry must match your performance ability. You must enter the song in the same way you will be allowed to present it if you win. In other words, do not submit a whopper of a studio production. Submit what you can perform on stage as listed in these guidelines.
- Songs will be judged on originality, melodic and lyrical content, the above criteria and the use of the song title list we provided below.
- Booked performers, members of booked bands, JHMF staff will not be permitted to enter. Volunteers and Street Team members may enter. It will be up to Volunteers to adjust their scheduling to make the Showcase if you place in the top three. If a winner cannot attend the festival, they may still claim their place publicly, however they will forfeit their prizes to the next highest scorer who is present at the festival.
- Past first place winners must skip the year following the year they won, for example, the winner from the last festival may not enter 2022, and must wait a year to enter again. Past winning songs may NOT be re-entered however, your non-1st place song may be re-entered.
TIP- Our judges look for originality. It is usually pretty easy to tell if a songwriter just used a previously written song and threw the name John Hartford, or one of the required song titles to make it compliant. We urge you to take the challenge, read up on John and listen to his music, and put your Muse to use! ;o)
TIP - Our entry form will not allow files larger than 8mb to be uploaded. Studio recordings tend to be larger. Our judges are primed to score lyric and melody, not production. All you need to submit is a clear simple recording with no talk. Volume is important. Make sure your submission is as loud as possible without distortion. Do you really need that overdub or extra instrument? Remember, this is a lyrical contest. Keep it simple.
TIP- We accept only 40 compliant, complete entries. This contest fills up quickly so please, if you are thinking about entering, jump on it asap.
TIP- In the past, we have seen entrants copy the link to enter and enter after the deadline. Any entry received after the deadline will not be considered.
Lyrics must mention the complete name, "John Hartford" (not John, or Hartford), at least once in the song and/or contain one or more of the following John Hartford original and complete song titles, keeping John Hartford or the festival in mind:
- 1 I Didn't Know the World Would Last This Long
- 2 Morning Bugle
- 3 Don't Leave Your Records In The Sun
- 4 Learning to Smile
- 5 Skippin In the Mississippi Dew
- 6 Today
- 7 I Wish We Had Our Time Again
- 8 The First Girl I loved
- 9 Let Him Go Mama
- 10 Can't Stand To Throw Nothing Away
- 11 Street Car
- 12 Cant Get No Better
- 13 In Tall Buildings
- 14 Bye Bye
- 15 Steamboat Whistle Blues
- 16 Back in the Goodle Days
- 17 I Would Not Be Here
- 18 Old Time River Man
- 19 The Six O’clock Train and A Girl With Green Eyes
- 20 Flower Power Died
- 21 No End Of Love
- 22 You Don’t Have To Do That
- 23 Interstate Waltz
- 24 I Just Wanna Look In There
- 25 Wonder Woman
- 26 The Wings Of A Song
- 27 On The Road
- 28 Your Tax Dollars At Work
- 29 Didn’t Want To Be Forgotten
- 30 Nobody Knows What You Do