Enter The Rocky Mountain Songwriting Contest

• Grand Prize Winner and the top four finalists will be nationally recognized.
• The Grand Prize Winner will be invited back in 2027 to play as a paid songwriter at the 11th Annual Red Lodge Songwriter Festival.
• You’ll have the opportunity to get your songs heard and evaluated by Nashville music-industry professionals.
• You’ll have the opportunity to advance your songwriting abilities.
• You’ll have the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience at the Songwriting Contest Showcase.
• Your song(s) will be posted on the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festival website, www.rockymtnsongwriterfestivals.org

1) PRIZES

• The winner will receive an invitation to perform at the 11th Annual Red Lodge Songwriter Festival in 2027 as a paid Rising Star Songwriter.
• The winner will receive a Guitar.
• The 1st place and 2nd place songwriters will have the opportunity to open the show before the Nashville Hit Songwriters on Saturday, June 20, 2026
• 3rd, 4th, and 5th place songwriters will play in the round with Tai Shan, last year’s winner, on Saturday afternoon, June 20, 2026, before a live audience.

2) ELIGIBILITY

• The contest is open to songwriters who are 18 years of age or older on the date of song submission.
• For the competition, a song must have both lyrics and music. All submitted songs must be original songs that have been written or co-written by the entrant(s).
• For competition purposes, an unpublished song is defined as being recorded and self-released by the entrant(s) and/or not co-published by a commercially active music publisher.
• Co-writers are subject to the same eligibility criteria.
• Past grand prize winners of the Rocky Mountain Songwriting Contest are not eligible to enter the contest. All other previous entrants and finalists are eligible.
• Artists from anywhere in the world are eligible to enter.

3) FINALISTS AND WINNER(S) SELECTION

The finalists will be selected from their MP3 audio submissions by a panel of judges. A total of twenty (20) finalists will be selected and invited to the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festival Contest Showcase. Each finalist will perform their chosen song in front of a panel of music industry judges.

4) THE FINALS, SONGWRITING SHOWCASE 

• The finals are held in Red Lodge, Montana, on Saturday, June 20, 2026, in conjunction with the 10th Annual Red Lodge Songwriter Festival.
• The top twenty (20) finalists’ songwriters will be notified by March 1, 2026
• Twenty (20) finalists will be selected from advanced online song entries and invited to compete, network, and perform at the showcase.
• From the showcase performance, judges will select an overall winner and place two through five.
• The grand prize and 2nd place songwriter will have the opportunity to open the show before the Nashville Hit Songwriters on Saturday, June 20, 2026.
• Places 3rd through 5th will play on Saturday at 1:00 pm before a live audience.

5) JUDGING 

Judges for our songwriting contest are music industry professionals. Our judges use a consistent set of standards to make impartial decisions regarding the merits of the song. We strive to ensure that the judging is fair and aligns with our mission of supporting and encouraging songwriters.

SONG STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION

• The song has a clear theme or cohesive idea
• The song has clearly identifiable sections, verse, melody & chorus.
• The song is between 2 and 5 minutes.

LYRICS

• The lyrics evoke an emotional response from the listener
• The lyrics are singable and memorable
• The lyrics have an identifiable rhyme scheme or pattern

MUSIC & MELODY

• The music and melody add to the emotional impact of the song
• The music keeps the listener interested and engaged
• The music and lyrics fit together in a cohesive way

ORIGINALITY

• The song expresses the theme in a new or fresh way
• The song is memorable
• The song has commercial potential

6) COST TO ENTER

• $45, you can enter up to two songs

The 2026 Songwriting Contest will close on February 28, 2026, or when we have reached 100 songwriter submissions. 

** Songs must be submitted electronically in an MP3 FILE format. 

** Lyrics sheets must be in PDF FORMAT with your NAME on them. 

Email songs and lyrics to info@redlodgesongwriterfestival.org

7) SUBMISSION POLICY

• Each entry must be an original, unpublished musical composition (“composition”) for which the contestant retains the copyright and authority to submit and perform the composition in the contest. Payment for each composition entered in the competition must be made at the time of submission. Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals Inc. is not responsible and disclaims any liability for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, postage due, stolen, or misappropriated entries or for any errors in online submissions, including, but not limited to, unsuccessful file uploads. Materials submitted will not be returned, and Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals Inc. reserves the right to dispose of all submitted material in any manner.
• All songs will be posted on the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals website.
• We will accept song submissions from October 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026, or when we reach 100 submissions from songwriters.

8) HOW TO SUBMIT TO THE 2025 Rocky Mountain SONGWRITING CONTEST 

• Songs must be submitted electronically in an MP3 FILE format with a lyrics sheet in PDF FORMAT. 
• Email songs and lyrics to info@redlodgesongwriterfestival.org
• Songs must be paid for in advance using our online payment portal.
• Songs will be posted on our website once we’ve received payment. You can make your payment by clicking the button below.
• Email any questions or requests for information to: info@redlodgesongwriterfestival.org

9) NOTIFICATIONS & WAIVERS

• The top twenty (20) finalists’ songwriters will be notified by March 1, 2026
• Selected finalists will be notified by email, and each winner must provide the following items to be eligible to compete in the Rocky Mountain Songwriting Contest Showcase:

Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals Inc. retains the exclusive right to use in perpetuity any media, including ancillary rights, created in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festival Inc., including but not limited to live recordings, video, webisodes, and photographs. Participants grant Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festival Inc. the use of this archival material in perpetuity.

10) RESTRICTIONS

• Entries must be original songs.
• The song contest entrant MUST perform the song. Songs that have been recorded with more than one backing musician can be submitted — for example, sending in a cut from a CD with multiple players. However, please note that if you advance and perform live, you will only be allowed one backing musician on stage. This accompanist may play an instrument(s) and/or sing backup.
• Co-written songs may be submitted, but the person who enters the song must be the one who is the lead singer of the tune.
• IMPORTANT POINT: Though co-writers will be acknowledged, only the performer of the song can qualify to win.
• The writer(s) retain all rights to submitted songs.

You may be asking why I should enter these types of contests. Contests provide opportunities. For a small fee, you gain access to thousands of potential fans, other music professionals, and festival bookers. Their Facebook pages, websites, and live audiences provide you access to fans you may never reach otherwise. In the case of the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Festivals, we invite the winner to come back and play as a paid songwriter at the Red Lodge Songwriter Festival the following year. In addition, many of our paid Rising Star songwriters were first introduced to us through our songwriting contest.

At any given festival, 20-30 songwriters perform at paid shows and open mics. This is your opportunity to network and interact with other great songwriters. We hope you’ll experience our festival in the years to come.

Songs must be submitted electronically in an MP3 FILE format. Lyrics sheets must be in PDF FORMAT with your name on them. 

Email songs and lyrics to info@redlodgesongwriterfestival.org