Song Slam

Wes Collins is a winner of the prestigious Grassy Hills New Folk Competition and a North Carolina Arts Council Songwriting Fellowship. He has been featured as a finalist in The Telluride Troubadour Contest in Telluride, CO; The Songwriter’s Serenade Competition in Moravia, TX; and The Wildflower Performing Songwriter Contest in Dallas, TX. www.wescollins.com 

Isabel Valls has been performing since 2010 and is part of the songwriting duo “Barry and Isabel”. She has released two albums of her original songs under her former name, Taylor: Awake Again (2016) and Isabel Taylor (2019). Both albums secured the 15th spot on the Folk Radio chart. www.isabelsings.com www.barryandisabel.com

Barry Gray is a member of the duo “Barry and Isabel” and the family band “Graymatter”. Barry was a recipient of the 2017 NC Arts Council grant and was awarded a North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship in Songwriting in 2018 that enabled the album “Footsteps”. www.reverbnation.com/barrygray

Kirk Ridge has had songs featured on NPR’s Car Talk and Celtic Roots Radio. His lyrics have been published in American Songwriter Magazine, and he is performance director for Durham CenterFest. Kirk co-hosts the weekly “Pass The Hat” radio show on WHUP and produces songwriters’ events statewide. www.kirkridgemusic.com