Songwriter Showdown – 2026
The Songwriter Showdown is back for its third year! The historic Brown County Playhouse in Nashville, Indiana, will once again host this musical competition from September through November. Amplify Nashville and Rainwater Studios are thrilled to host this exciting event.
We will welcome 24 contestants to the stage to compete for a robust prize package. We want to help one talented independent singer/songwriter take their career to the next level. The winner of the Songwriter Showdown receives:
- $1,500
- 500 pressed CDs
- Opening spot for a future touring act at the Brown County Playhouse
- Opening spot in a future Amplify Nashville event at the Brown County Music Center*
How Does it Work?
The Songwriter Showdown takes place in three rounds. In every round, audience members vote for their two favorite performers to determine who will progress.
Round One: Six contestants play three original songs each. The show features two acts with a brief intermission. In each act, three performers take the stage and play as writers-in-the-round.
Audience members vote at the end of the night, and the top three performers go on to the Semi-Finals. Winners are announced the next day on the Amplify Nashville, Brown County Playhouse, and Rainwater Studios Facebook pages.
Round One takes place on these Thursdays at 7:30:
- September 3
- September 10
- September 17
- September 24
Round Two – Semi-Finals: The Semi-Finals follow the same show format as Round One, with two acts featuring three songwriters each playing in the round, for a total of six contestants each night. The winners from September 3 and 10 compete in the Semi-Finals on Thursday, October 1. Winners from September 17 and 24 compete in the Semi-Finals on Thursday, October 8.
Audience members vote at the end of the night, and the top two performers from each Semi-Final go on to the Finals. Winners are announced the next day on the Amplify Nashville, Brown County Playhouse, and Rainwater Studios Facebook pages.
Round Three – Finals: The four winners from the Semi-Finals perform in the final showdown to determine who takes home the prize. Each contestant plays three songs. After the four contestants have played, we have an intermission to collect the votes. A headliner performs while the votes are counted, and we announce the winner live that evening.
The Songwriter Showdown Finals take place on Saturday, November 14.
Who is Eligible?
To participate in this event, you must:
- Live within a 50-mile radius of Nashville, Indiana
- Be at least 16 years of age
- Participate as a solo or duo
- Have at least 3 original songs
- Perform all music and vocals live the night of the show (no backing tracks)
- Perform in the first two rounds without a monitor
- Have participated in the Songwriter Showdown no more than once in previous years (those who competed in both the 2024 and 2025 Showdown may not apply for a third consecutive year)
How Do I Enter?
STEP 1: Submit your name via Facebook Messenger to Amplify Nashville at 8:00:00 a.m. on Friday, July 10, 2026. Do not submit your name before 8:00 a.m., but do be prompt.
STEP 2: Complete the full application within 24 hours. When you submit your name, you will receive an auto-reply with a link to the full application. Submitting your name via Facebook Messenger holds your place in line, so you don’t need to rush through the application. Please take your time and be thorough. The more we know about you, the better we can promote you for the show. Triple-check that your e-mail address is correct, because this is crucial for the next step.
STEP 3: Respond to your invitation email within 48 hours. The first 24 applicants to submit their name via Facebook Messenger and complete the application within 24 hours will be invited to participate in the Songwriter Showdown via email. You must respond to your invitation within 48 hours to secure your spot.
If an applicant doesn’t complete these three steps within the allotted time, they are disqualified from the competition, and an invitation will go out to the next applicant in line.
How Do I Know if I’ve Been Selected?
Check your email to find out if you’ve been selected for the Songwriter Showdown. The message will come from contact@rainwaterstudios.com. Mark this address as safe to make sure it goes to your inbox. Look in your junk folder to make sure you haven’t missed the email.
Once 24 applicants have accepted their place in the Songwriter Showdown, we will announce the contestants for each show on the Amplify Nashville Facebook page, Brown County Playhouse Facebook page, Rainwater Studios Facebook page, and RainwaterStudios.com
In addition to our 24 contestants, we will also select six alternates and notify them via email. If one of our contestants is unable to compete, we will call on our alternates to fill the spot. In previous years, we used several alternates. There is a decent likelihood that you will receive this call.
***
Contest rules and policies are subject to change at the discretion of the event organizers without prior notice. Any disputes regarding rule interpretation will be resolved at the sole discretion of the event organizers, and their decisions will be final and binding.
*In the event that Amplify Nashville does not take place in 2027, the Songwriter Showdown winner will receive cash compensation of $500.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may apply if you have only competed in the Songwriter Showdown once. However, you may not compete for a third consecutive year if you were in both the 2024 and 2025 Songwriter Showdown. Previous winners are not eligible to compete again.
The 24 contestants are chosen in the order that submissions are received. We log applicants’ names in the order they come through Facebook Messenger. Please keep in mind that dozens of applicants may press Send on their message at the same moment as you. We go down the list as the names are received via the Amplify Nashville Facebook Messenger account.
If your name is in the first 24, you meet the qualifications, and you complete all three steps in the application process on time, you’re in!
Contestants are disqualified throughout the application process if:
– They do not complete the full application form within 24 hours of their Facebook Messenger submission.
– They do not meet the eligibility requirements listed above.
– They do not respond in the affirmative to their invitation email within 48 hours of the time it’s sent.
Your email invitation will let you know which show you’re selected for. It will also specify the date of your Semi-Finals and Finals should you go on to the next rounds. Please make sure you’re available for all three dates.
We assign contestants to dates in Round 1 based on the order in which submissions are received.
Alternates are called in if a contestant is unable to compete. This happened several times in previous years, so there is a good chance you’ll hear from us if you’re on the list of alternates. Unfortunately, cancellations are often received on the day of the performance. You will get a phone call as soon as we know of a cancellation to give you as much time as possible to invite your friends and family and compete in the show.
Most audience members come to the show for their favorite performer. That’s great! But the two-vote system makes sure your existing fans aren’t the only votes you’ll get. We want to discover the best new talent, and part of that is introducing everyone in the audience to a diverse selection of performers.
The second vote makes it possible for audience members to highlight their favorite new discovery – the artist they didn’t expect to see but fell in love with anyway.
Yes, audience members must vote for two contestants in every round of the Songwriter Showdown.
We’re serious about the two-vote system. If a ballot is submitted with only one vote, it’s discarded and does not count toward the total.
The best way to increase your chances of winning is to bring as many friends and fans to the show as you can. While you will get bonus votes from the two-vote system, we found that the artists with the biggest and loudest cheering sections typically went on to the next round.
The Brown County Playhouse will create a Facebook Event for each show. Share the event, invite your friends, and promote your show as often as you can. Tell your fans at other gigs. Make noise on social media. A supportive fan base is your greatest ticket to success.
If you win the Songwriter Showdown, you will receive $1,500 in prize money. If you use these funds to produce an album within one year of the Finals, you can access the remaining promotional perks to publish and promote your work. When you have your finished recordings in hand, you will get 500 pressed CDs.
Regardless of how you use the prize money, you will be:
– Contacted for a future opening spot at the Brown County Playhouse
– Featured as the opening act in the 2027 Amplify Nashville concert at the Brown County Music Center (In the event that the 2027 Amplify Nashville concert does not take place, you will receive $500 in compensation)
You must play three original songs for the Songwriter Showdown. No covers. Please keep your performance family-friendly, as this is an all-ages show.
We suggest playing fan favorites that you’ve worn in with lots of practice and performance. While it’s exciting to play a brand-new piece, these songs are the ones most likely to suffer missed chords or forgotten lyrics. Put your best pieces forward to engage new fans who are hearing you for the first time.
We’re in search of a great acoustic solo or duo, not necessarily the sound of a full band in solo or duo form. Due to the complexity of the event and Thursday night time constraints, we need to keep the production simple for the first two rounds. Contestants will need to perform without monitors for Round 1 and the Semi-Finals. We will provide monitors for the final round.
Tickets will be available through the Brown County Playhouse at www.browncountyplayhouse.org or at the box office. Tickets for the Songwriter Showdown are $9.70 as a nod to our friends at B97.
We discourage plus ones for this event to streamline the organization and production of the show. All audience members must purchase a ticket and come in through the front entrance to get a ballot and vote.