Shane McAnally & Jessie Jo Dillon Named As Mentors For 25th Annual NSAI Song Contest

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Shane McAnally (Photo: Robby Klein) & Jessie Jo Dillon (Photo: Noah Needleman)

The 25th annual Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Song Contest is set to kick off on Oct. 1 with over $30,000 worth of prizes and a chance to win mentor sessions with triple-Grammy winner Shane McAnally and 2024 ACM Songwriter of the Year Jessie Jo Dillon.

The judging process is composed of four parts. First, each entry will be evaluated by an industry professional using a 10-point questionnaire. Next, based on those scores, up to 22 entries will place in the next three rounds of judging which will conclude with a live-taped final judging where the Lyric Category Grand Prize winner will be announced and the Song Category top 10 finalists will be judged before revealing the Song Category Grand Prize Winner. Judging will take place no later than February 2025.

The Song Category Grand Prize Winner will receive $5,000, a one-on-one mentor session with McAnally and a one-year single-song publishing contract with Dream 3 Publishing. Additional prizes include a Taylor Guitars 50th Anniversary guitar, $1,500 towards Guitar Center (courtesy of the Guitar Center Music Foundation), a meeting with a CMT Music & Talent representative, tickets to the 2025 CMT Music Awards, and a performance opportunity at The Bluebird Cafe and 2025 Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival. They will also get industry meetings, sheet music transcription from Musicnotes with a $100 gift card, a 12-month SoundCloud Next Pro subscription, a custom engraved capo from G7th, a Southwest Airlines roundtrip flight, a 2-night stay in Nashville, a $250 gift card and more.

The Lyric Category Grand Prize Winner will take home $2,500, a mentor session with Dillon and a Taylor Guitars 50th Anniversary guitar. They will also receive a meeting with Dream 3 Publishing, tickets to the 2025 CMT Music Awards, a roundtrip Southwest Airlines flight, a two-night Nashville stay, a year-long SoundCloud Next Pro subscription, a custom engraved capo from G7th, a $250 gift card, two tickets to a show at The Bluebird Cafe, $1,500 to spend at Guitar Center, a $100 Musicnotes gift card with a plaque of the winning lyrics and more.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary, all entries will only be $25. Following the end of the promotion, entries will be $35 for NSAI members and $45 for the general public. The contest encourages songwriters from all genres to submit their songs and or lyrics online at www.nsaisongcontest.com or by mail (NSAI–ATTN: Song Contest, 1710 Roy Acuff Place, Nashville, TN 37203) from Oct. 1 at 12 p.m. to Nov. 1 at 5 p.m CT. All entries mailed in must include the submission form, entry fee (no cash accepted), printed lyric sheet and one audio CD (unless a Lyric Category entry). There is no limit to the number of songs or lyrics that songwriters can submit.

John Nix Arledge
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