Contest Winners Play Detroit-Area Theater

Six winners of the Great Lakes Songwriting Contest will perform in concert on Saturday, 2/17/07, at Trinity House Theatre in Livonia. Performers are Jen Cass, Whit Hill, Rachanee and Rachele Eve of Michigan; Bruce Holmes of Chicago; and Leo Clark of Minnesota. The 2007 Great Lakes Songwriting Contest is currently open for entries from residents of the eight states bordering the Great Lakes and the Province of Ontario, Canada.

Ann Arbor, MI (PRWEB) January 22, 2007 -- Six top songwriters from across the Great Lakes region will perform at Trinity House Theatre in Livonia on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007.

The concert will feature the winners of the 2006 Great Lakes Songwriting Contest, some of them appearing in Michigan for the first time. Performing will be Jen Cass of Bay City, Whit Hill of Ann Arbor, Bruce Holmes of Chicago, Rachanee of Lansing, Leo Clark of Burnsville, Minnesota, and Rachele Eve of Plymouth.

The annual Great Lakes Songwriting Contest is exclusively for residents of the eight states bordering the Great Lakes, plus the Province of Ontario, Canada. The 2007 contest is currently open for entries until April 14, 2007. The contest is organized by The Michigan Songwriters, based in Ann Arbor, and sponsored by Elderly Instruments of Lansing, Lamb's Retreat for Songwriters of Royal Oak, and the Songbridge music marketing company of Ontario, Canada. The contest website, www.GreatLakesSongs.com, contains more information on the 2006 winners, the 2006 judges, and the current contest.

Jen Cass will perform her Grand Prize winning song "Small Town Boy," about the exodus from rural America to the industrial Midwest in the early 1900s. "It's a tribute to my grandparents, who taught me how to love unconditionally, and to anyone who's ever survived hard times by leaning hard on good love," Cass says.

Cass, who grew up near Detroit and now lives in Bay City, MI, has been a winner in numerous music contests (including the Metro Detroit Songwriting Contest and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest), and has performed her songs in major venues across the US. Her winning song comes from her third and most recent album, "Accidental Pilgrimage," which was produced by hit producer John Jennings and features some of the top session musicians in the country. Five of Cass's songs also received honorable mentions in this year's contest.

Whit Hill won two prizes in the 2006 contest: First place for "Farsighted" and second place for "Sandusky." Trained as a child actor in New York City, she went on to get a degree in dance from the University of Michigan before forming her band, "Whit Hill and the Postcards," in 2001. She has two CD releases: the critically acclaimed 2003 album "We Are Here" and the newly released "Farsighted." She also received honorable mentions for three songs in this year's contest.

Bruce Holmes will be making his first Michigan appearance. The Chicago singer-songwriter won both second place honors for "Shine" and a third place award for "We Were A Family." Both
songs are from his debut recording, "Life's An Intelligence Test," which has been featured on over 70 radio stations across the country. He is also a novelist, former championship chess coach and former teacher of Aikido and juggling.

Leo Clark will also perform in Michigan for the first time. The Minnesota computer instructor and former Marine Corps captain won second place honors for his light-hearted country-rock ballad,"Nothing Looks Good on You."

Singer-songwriter Rachanee of Lansing, MI, won second place for her haunting exploration of life's pathways, "From Here," which she co-wrote with Steve Wilson of Nashville. She is currently touring the country, performing songs from her debut album "Ordinary Girl."

Local favorite Rachele Eve of Plymouth, MI, was the youngest winner in the 2006 contest. Her winning song, "Lady in Black," explores a young woman's internal struggles with romantic rivalry. It's from her first solo recording, "Wishful Thinking." Now 20 years old, she was still in high school when she joined Avenue, an established Detroit area band. The band went on to appear on the Fox News Morning Show and twice on the nationally syndicated Mitch Albom Radio Show. Now living in Chicago, Rachele Eve will return to Trinity House for a rare Detroit-area appearance.

Trinity House is a small theater that the Detroit Free Press calls "one of the most delightful settings for live music in Metro Detroit." It has become a favorite listening room for up-and-coming singer-songwriters, and is located at 38840 W. Six Mile Road, just west of I-275, in Livonia. The concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets will be $12 at the door. For directions and to reserve tickets, call the theater at (734) 464-6302 or consult the theater website at www.TrinityHouse.org. For more information on the winners and the 2007 contest, go to the concert website at www.GreatLakesSongs.com.

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