2020 Tucson Folk Festival
Stefan George Memorial Songwriting Competition
(To learn more about Stefan George, go to bottom of page.)
SATURDAY, APRIL 4: NOON to 2 PM
JACOME PLAZA – WILDFLOWER STAGE
AWARDS
1st PLACE
$100 Cash Award
Free Registration to 2021 Folk Alliance International Conference
25-Minute Set on the Jacome Plaza Stage Saturday, April 4 at 6 pm
RUNNER-UP
$50 Cash Award
3rd PLACE
TKMA T-Shirt and Cap
2020 TFF Songwriter Information Fact Sheet
Important Dates
November 1, 2019 Application acceptance opens ($25 Application Fee for all submissions)
December 15, 2019 CLOSED: Application acceptance closes
December 30, 2019 Songwriting Contest Finalists announced
January 5, 2019 Deadline for Finalist commitment to attend
April 4, 2020 Competition Finals – Live Performances – Wildflower Stage
April 4, 2020 Winner Performs on Plaza Stage Saturday Evening
STEFAN GEORGE
Noted for his outstanding songwriting, Stefan George had a passion for music that drove him to excel in virtually every musical endeavor he set his sights upon. And there were many, even within the confines of our so-called folk music festival where he played with so many different ensembles and configurations including the String Trotters, Arm and Hammer, White-bread, Songtower, BK Special, Four Corners, the Ditchriders and, of course, under his own name and that of his beloved partner, Lavinia White.
While Stef was already making a name for himself throughout the late 1980s and ‘90s, and often playing in primetime slots at the festival, for 20 years he could still be seen backing his mother, Emilie, usually in the hot mid-afternoon sun, whose sets were part performance and part history lesson of Eastern European folk music and traditions that she grew up with and were so much a part of her life. While it would be both difficult and redundant to add to what has already been written about Stefan, it should be noted he and Emilie were as much a part of this festival as any one or two people could be.