In a packed room at Wild Wing Café, six finalists sang their original songs before a live audience for a chance to take home the title of champion.
Will Shehan, from Gaffney, performed his song “Good News” to win the second-annual 1BlueStringHubCity singer-songwriter competition.
Solution Band opened with a guest appearance by last year’s winner, Mara Jennings.
Presented by AFL, the competition began in January with an open call for musicians of all genres to submit an original song based on this year’s theme — Embrace Your Voice. Six finalists were chosen from eighteen submissions.
Similar to shows like The Voice or American Idol, this competition was made specifically to give amateur and rising musicians in the upstate an opportunity to showcase their talents.
The winning prize package for Shehan includes $500 cash, a new guitar, recording of his winning song, radio airplay and spotlight performance gigs at several upstate venues and festivals such as RJ Rockers, Stomping Grounds, Music on Main, Sparkle City Rhythm & Ribs, FR8Yard and more.
Fans can follow his performance schedule by visiting 1bluestringhubcity.com.
Jamie Hughes, the competition’s organizer and representative for Safe Homes – Rape Crisis Coalition, announced that next year’s competition will be renamed 1Voice Hub City in an effort to better reflect the diversity of musical talent throughout the upstate, as well as, bring a greater sense of community. The competition will lower the age requirement to 16 years old for contestants and next year’s theme will be “Overcoming Adversity.”
All proceeds from the event went to benefit Safe Homes – Rape Crisis Coalition in Spartanburg, as they raise awareness and support for survivors of sexual violence. The agency has been serving the community for over 30 years by providing quality services to those affected and to create social change through education, training, and activism.
(Written by Jamie Hughes, SHRCC.)