Stay Tuned for announcements regarding the 2023 Not Your Average Folk Contest, and in the meantime, enjoy this playlist of past applicants:

We will respond to your questions and help ensure applications are successfully, completely, submitted. Be sure to submit your questions at least 72 hours before the application period closes. Use the address contest@ncfolkfestival.com.

To find out if you (or your video) are eligible to win the Contest, you can read through our eligibility guidelines.

We’ll allow you to identify yourself however you wish! The application will include a written short answer where you can tell us “how does community, tradition, and identity play a role in the music you create”, and help us understand the roles that community and the folk arts play in your music.

Yes. One artist may participate in multiple videos if you are in more than one distinct group, or submitting as a solo act. To avoid confusion, we suggest that applications be submitted by different individuals. For example, if you are submitting as both a solo artist, and as a member of a band, have a band mate submit the band’s application. However, you cannot be a finalist in two different groups/acts. If both score high enough to be considered finalists, the higher scoring act will advance.

No, videos should be newly recorded for this contest.

Videos must be created after the contest opening date. We will reference the youtube video upload date to verify this.

No. In order to be eligible to win the contest, you must not be represented by a booking agency and cannot be signed to a major label.

A major label is a record label affiliated with groups such as EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.

If it isn’t safe for you to gather, you can record your parts individually and edit them together. Your video should still be representative of a live performance and each band member and part heard in the music should be represented on screen. One member cannot play multiple parts or overdub. We want to see what you would be like on stage so the music must be replicable in a live setting.

Your submission does not have to be an original work. For example, you may perform an arrangement of a traditional / folk song that is in the public domain. You may not submit a performance containing material that violates another artist’s intellectual property rights or constitutes copyright infringement. This includes arrangements or transcriptions, and in some cases, sampling. Ensuring the work(s) performed do not infringe on any preexisting rights is the responsibility of the applicant.

The term “public domain” refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright. For example, the folk song, “We Shall Overcome” is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. The folk song, “Freight Train” by Elizabeth Cotton is copyrighted to the estate of Elizabeth Cotton and is not in public domain. A web search about the copyright of a song should be able to help you determine if the song is copyrighted.

Unfortunately, no. While we love our friends around the world, the contest is open only to musicians or groups with at least one member who resides in the state of North Carolina.

Yes, by our definitions, you would be considered NC Based if 50% of your group currently resides in North Carolina.

You will not be disqualified, however, our judges are not obligated to continue watching after the 7 minute mark.

Please make sure you’ve completed every required question on the form – you won’t be able to submit it if you’ve missed any required questions. If you’re still having trouble, please contact us with details about what happened when you tried to submit (provide a screenshot if you can) and what browser, browser version, and device you were using. This information will help us fix any bugs on our end.

Only one submission is allowed per entrant. If you need to re-submit because of a mistake, please contact us. We’ll need you to provide the name of your song and the email address that you used.

You can not submit multiple submissions under the same artist/group. You can submit multiple entries if you are a part of different groups (for example, if you’re submitting as a solo artist and a member of a band).

We have no restrictions on lyrical content for the festival, just bear in mind that the first round panelists will be scoring your entry based on how suited they think you are for our festival stage, and our event is for all ages.

Our judging panel is made up of a group of 5 music experts that represent diverse communities from across North Carolina. To ensure fairness and respect the privacy of these individuals we do not plan on announcing the members of this panel until after submissions have closed.

You must be 18 years of age to enter, that is the only age restriction.

The artist/band who wins will be treated like any other artist we book at the festival. We will negotiate your performance fee, meals during the festival, and if you are traveling from far across the state, travel and accommodations.