Before he “made it,” legendary Broadway songwriter Fred Ebb was 40 and living with his mother.
That’s something that stuck with his niece and Bethesda arts booster Cathy Bernard. It’s also one of the reasons she devised a first-ever local songwriting competition that will debut Friday at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.
“Even with talent, it’s hard to get a break,” Bernard said. “I think it’s important to help people that are trying to fulfill their dreams.”
Starting last summer, Bernard and members of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District she chairs organized, promoted and recruited artists for the Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards.
Nine finalists were selected out of 258 entries to perform their songs in front of a live audience on Friday. The grand prize, to be awarded by a panel of musical theater professionals, is $10,000 with a $2,500 prize going to a young songwriter under 18.
“This fit because it was different than anything else we had done,” Bernard said. “It seems to have sparked people’s interest.”
The songwriting isn’t limited to theater tunes. The finalists who will perform Friday (starting at 8 p.m.) do musical theater, jazz, folk, country, contemporary and pop. The six adult finalists will perform two songs each. Bernard said some have described it as a local version of “American Idol,” though she’s not sure she’d agree.
Bethesda jazz and folk artist Laura Baron will perform two songs. The full-time musician and performer has put out three records, including one last year that got five Wammie nominations from the Washington Area Music Association.
“My career is having a lot of very nice things happening at the moment and to be able to perform at this wonderful venue will only help,” Baron said. “This is my town. To see a competition with a very big prize attached to it in Bethesda I thought was a great opportunity.”
More than the $10,000 grand prize, Bernard hopes the stage time can help some of the finalists advance their careers.
She also hopes the event itself can help boost Bethesda’s art scene.
“This is kind of a stodgy area,” Bernard said. “We didn’t know what to expect.”
The Arts & Entertainment District, run under the banner of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, has introduced a documentary film festival, play competition for local theater companies and children’s events. Bernard said the idea for songwriting had been thrown around for a couple years.
Last summer, she used her local theater connections to put out the word to artists, find judges and organize sponsors to help put up the prize. The 258 entries is a good indicator of the demand. Entries were limited to those artists who live in the D.C. or Baltimore areas.
“The first year is the hardest. Not only do you have to set it up and get the whole process together, you have to let people know about it,” Bernard said. “We want to do it every year. We hope it’s going to grow.”
Baron said she liked the competition’s focus on songwriting. Each entry required three songs and information on why songwriters made the choices they did.
“This is more than the actual song itself,” Baron said. “They wanted to see our body of work. I enter several competitions and I have never seen one exactly like this. In a sense, you don’t want to just win the awards. I’m here for what I am as a writer and why I love the music.”
Tickets for the event are $10. Audience members can arrive beginning at 6 p.m. for dinner and drinks, which aren’t included in the ticket price.
To buy tickets or for more information, visit the official event site.
Via Bethesda Urban Partnership
