Local musicians do not have to wait for American Idol auditions to begin in order to join a music competition.
On Friday, Sept. 21, A Kennesaw State student won the second annual “High Note” Music Competition, an event that KSU hosted this year that included students from several universities in Georgia who competed to win money and music deals.
The four competing schools this year were Kennesaw State, Georgia State, Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.
This year’s top three winners were Hannah Murphy from KSU in first place, Bryce Hitchcock from Georgia Tech in second place, and Jacob Mallow from the University of Georgia in third place.
The competition was held at the Austin Residence Complex Amphitheater and was hosted by 11 Alive’s Entertainment Anchor Francesca Amiker and Emmy award-winning CBS-46 journalist Vince Sims.
“’High Note’ is a possibility for students to pursue a degree and an education while also pursuing their music dreams,” said Royland Lyons, creator of High Note.
The competition hosted a panel of judges that included Grammy award-winning producer’s Matt Still and Chris Henderson, Sony Red’s Director of Southeast Promotion Michael Chase and Indiehitmaker CEO Bram Bessoff.
Lyons explained that the goal of “High Note” is to create a platform for students to showcase their talents in hopes to give artists the exposure they deserve.
“We focus so heavily on sports like football, baseball, and basketball and we don’t really focus on music,” Lyons said.
“High Note” had a two-round structure for its competition. In the first round, one artist from each university performed one cover song and one original song. The judges then chose two of the competitors to compete in the second round where they performed one original song.
“High Note” had a variety of prizes for its winners. The top four artists were allowed access to Backstage Economic Alliance, a local nonprofit that gives financial advice to local artists.
The top three winners received free distribution on streaming services such as Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and Indiehitmaker.
The first-place winner received a $1,000 donation to a charity of their choice along with the opportunity to work with Grammy award-winning producer Chris Henderson on one song that he will help write and produce.
The second-place winner was awarded an interview by Adam Bomb on Atlanta’s Q100 radio station.
The most popular musical style performed at “High Note” this year was acoustic indie music, which was the main style for almost every competitor.
Lyons said that within the next few years, “High Note” hopes to expand its reach to more parts of the country, “hopefully to make a difference in more than just Georgia schools, and to expand into other states like Florida and Alabama.”
For more information on High Note visit their official Facebook page.
