YYC Songwriter Showdown strives to find the best of Calgary

A new competition kicking off Saturday afternoon at Gravity in Inglewood aims to identify Calgary’s best emerging songwriters – with a little help from the public.

YYC Songwriter Showdown features 32 songwriters over five weekly rounds competing for a first prize, including $3,000, studio time and more.

Each songwriter may perform a maximum of three songs per round, or a maximum of 10 minutes, and at least one of the songs must be original.

The scores are determined by 50 percent of the judges’ votes and 50 percent of the audience – who get one vote for every $5 they spend.

The four artists with the most votes will advance to round two of five, with the final scheduled for February 8.

The event starts Saturday at 2 p.m. Gravity is located at 909 10 Street SE

Songwriters compete for $3,000 in cash, studio recording time and more. (photo: Blue Willow Entertainment)