FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Texas Country Music Association Announces

2023 TCMA Songwriter Contest Winners

Country and Christian Country Songwriter of the Year Announced

 

FORT WORTH, TX (September 14, 2023) -- The Texas Country Music Association announced today that the 2023 TCMA Songwriter Contest’s Final Round Judges have named the overall winners in both Country and Christian Country categories.

The 2023 Songwriter of the Year of the Country category is Trey Calloway for his song, “One Tough Job”. The 2023 Songwriter of the Year in the Christian Country category is Christian Martin, RayNicole and Clay Thrash for “Book of Momma”. Each songwriter will perform their song on stage at Billy Bob’s Texas on November 12^th as part of the 2023 Texas Country Music Awards ceremonies.

The 2023 TCMA Country Songwriter Contest Winner, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th Runners Up, and Honorable Mentions are:

Winner – Trey Calloway for “One Tough Job”

1^st Runner Up – Charlie McCabe for “Amigo”

2^nd Runner Up – Nate Burnham and Zach Linley for “Guitar In My Hand”

3^rd Runner Up – Paige Lewis for “Under The Texas Sky”

4^th Runner Up -  Joe Darwin for “Gone To Texas”

Honorable Mention – Matthew Soileau and Brandon Chase for “When It Rains I Pour”

Honorable Mention –Trey Calloway, Greg Wilson and Hal O’Dell for “You Are”

Honorable Mention – RayNicole, Christian Martin and Conrad Johnson for “Honky Tonk”

Honorable Mention – Charlie McCabe for “Hard to Quit”

Honorable Mention – Jacob Wheeler for “She Wouldn’t Be Gone”

The 2023 TCMA Christian Country Songwriter Contest Winner, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th Runners Up, and Honorable Mentions are:

Winner – Christian Martin, RayNicole and Clay Thrash for “Book of Momma”

1^st Runner Up – Jed Seneca, Claire Seneca and Kevin Click for “Hallelujah Feeling”

2^nd Runner Up – Meredith Crawford for “When God Made Horses”

3^rd Runner Up – Jacob Bryant and Jami Grooms for “Outlaw Jesus”

4^th Runner Up -  Tara Tinsley for “Faith”

Honorable Mention – Payton Howie for “Jail and Jesus”

Honorable Mention – Tiona Campbell and Heidi Mays for “Jesus and Coffee”

Honorable Mention – Steve Waites for “Lead Me On”

Honorable Mention – Jacob Wheeler for “You Found Me In A Bar”

Honorable Mention – Payton Riley for “He Chose You For A Reason”

Each Runner Up and Honorable Mentions’ names will be called out during the 2023 Texas Country Music Awards’ Pre-Show, which starts at 5pm on November 12, and they will be able to pick up their award side-stage or have it mailed to them if they are unable to attend.

According to TCMA President Linda Wilson, there were 385 total songs submitted in both categories and all entries were original works. Preliminary and Final Round Judges scored each song on creativity, lyrics, melody, arrangement, originality, and overall technique. The Final Round Judges scores were averaged determining the Winner, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th Place, and Honorable Mentions in each category.

“All of the songs were so awesome and there are so many great songwriters in Texas who deserve recognition. It is our job as the supporting organization for the Texas Country Music Industry to encourage them and work on their behalf to help get them recognition and create opportunities.” says TCMA President Linda Wilson.

TCMA Executive Vice President, Richard Wilson says, “The annual songwriter contest is evidence that songwriters pour their hearts into their music. It was certainly difficult for judges to choose only 10 in each format and then judge those 10 to determine the winners, runners up and honorable mentions. I’m so proud of our Texas songwriters and they deserve all the support we can give them.”

Tickets to the 2023 Texas Country Music Awards are on sale now at billybobstexas.com. For more information about the Texas Country Music Association and the 2023 Texas Country Music Awards, visit www.texascountrymusic.org.

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MEDIA CONTACT (For media use only – do not print):

Linda Wilson, President

Texas Country Music Association, Inc.

903-472-8008

tcma@texascountrymusicassociation.org