Opening night of Arts in the Heart of Augusta saw one new feature – The Augusta Press Press Play Songwriter Contest.
The contest has been in the works for several months with area songwriters submitting entries in the spring. A round of reader votes narrowed the field, and six finalists took the stage Friday night.
When the songs were sung, the top prize went to Paul Gordon, who entered a song called “Moving On.” Gordon, a golf course superintendent, has written lots of songs over the years and relied on his daughters’ advice when picking the songs to sing Friday.
“I really enjoyed this,” he said.
Gordon was surprised to be chosen by judges Coco Rubio, Ed Turner and Brooke Lundy.
“There were some very good acts up there,” Gordon said. “They all did great songs.”
Second place and $250 went to Chris Hardy, a veteran songwriter, who writes an array of songs — sometimes about inanimate objects.
Third place and $100 went to an assistant principal from Langford Middle School Priscilla Alexander.
MORE: Press Play: Priscilla Alexander
Other finalists included Baby Boi, Dan Agnetti and Bryan Hatch.
Arts in the Heart of Augusta will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Badges are $15 per person. Children 10 years old and under are admitted free. Badges are good for the entire weekend.
For additional information, visit artsintheheartofaugusta.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor of The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
