The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Hello SongFighters!

We will be running the next iteration of SpinTunes starting on March 12 and running until May 9. Four round elimination tournament with a week to write each song followed by a week break for judging, and ending with a bonus cover round where participants can submit covers of their favorite songs from the tournament by other participants.

Sign-ups are open now until March 11; you must sign up at the link below before the tournament to compete officially, but otherwise shadow entries are welcome from anyone as well.

Sign up

Full schedule

Official rules

Hope you'll consider joining us!

Signed up! I'm gonna win the whole thing, I just know it!

probably not

Just a few hours left to sign up for SpinTunes 19!

https://spintunescontest.blogspot.com/2 ... -form.html

Who's judging you? Meet them here!

https://spintunescontest.blogspot.com/2 ... udges.html

SpinTunes 19 - Meet the Judges

I am pleased to introduce you to your judging panel for SpinTunes 19, five talented and thoughtful musicians who will be giving feedback on each round of the tournament.


Brian Gray - SpinTunes 18 Champion

Brian got an early start in music, being selected to sing “You Are My Sunshine” for his pre-school graduation. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, studying violin, piano, percussion, voice, theory, composition, orchestration, guitar, and ukulele.

Brian progressed from musical theatre in high school to contemporary a cappella in college, and finally tried his hand at songwriting. We’ll let you know how that turns out. Or you can judge for yourself by listening at his website.


Matthew Keeler

With an educational background in music history and ethnomusicology, Matthew Keeler has performed music from the British Isles and rural America at festivals and reenactments for over a decade.

His songwriting is largely influenced by the traditional music he studies, particularly pre-WWII acoustic blues and old-time American ballads. For a better understanding of this, check out his YouTube channel or his website.

Alongside his musical interests, he keeps busy backpacking, raising five children with his wife, Jennifer, in Ottawa, Ohio, and working full-time as a high-pressure boiler operator at a nearby ethanol plant.

Since Covid, he mainly focuses on presenting his music on YouTube, but if you would like him to perform in person feel free to contact him via his website or on Facebook. He'll talk your ear off about old music and unusual instruments!


Nancy Rost

I'm a piano teacher, songwriter and performer based in Madison, Wisconsin. A long-time participant in February Album Writing Month and 50 Songs in 90 Days, I appreciate the power of collaboration and online musical communities. I'm also a band coach and keyboard instructor with Girls Rock Camp, an Ashbory bass aficionado and a cat lover.


Red Watcher

Red Watcher is the musical alias of Ted Kiper. Invited by JoAnn Abbott of Menage a Tune, he has been participating on and off since ST4, as a competitor or as a judge. And he would like to apologize for co-creating the Viagra song in ST7R3. No one likes hearing about their inadequacies. Or maybe no one likes hearing the sounds of a floppy trumpet and a zipper. Maybe that.


Sara Parsons

As a competition veteran back to the Song Fu days of the late 2000s, I'm no stranger to low-stakes songwriting contests. While I can't claim to have ever won the grand prize, I've very much enjoyed following along and getting my brain gears buzzing when each new round is announced.

I'm a multi-instrumentalist and enjoy creating music with just about anything that makes a noise, though I am probably best known in this community for my voice - I am a classically trained singer and when I'm not doing my boring day job in HR, I can usually be found at choir rehearsal or learning a new mezzo aria with my voice teacher.

Each time SpinTunes comes around I always find myself getting excited about songwriting all over again, and I look forward to sitting down with all of the entries in the coming weeks to hear what everyone comes up with.