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Mallory Hurley and Juliana Regan win inaugural songwriting contest (12 photos)

The two were awarded recording time with Tidal Records

Students from Superior Heights, White Pines, St. Mary’s College, Korah and CASS showcased some serious talent Thursday evening during the inaugural Soo Youth Songwriter’s Contest at the Kiwanis Community Theatre Centre. Jillian Katzenback, Jenna Konieczny, Mallory Hurley, Adrian Sullivan, Tristan Goslow, Sandler Assiginack, Juliana Regan, Liam Tallon, Maddie Schmoogy, and Hannah Lindsay were competing for recording time with Dustin Jones at Tidal Records.

Jones, along with Tidal records recording artists Frank Deresti and Shannon Moan, adjudicated the event. When the trio completed deliberations, they were left with a tie for first place. Both Mallory Hurley and Juliana Regan won studio time to record their original compositions.

Hurley, a Grade 10 student at CASS, told SooToday she has wanted to record her songs for quite some time and would love to pursue a career in music. She’s looking forward to recording The Sun Didn’t Shine, the song she chose to perform during Thursday’s songwriter’s competition.

“The feelings I have at the time, that’s how I write my songs,” she said. “The things going on in my life and the lives of people close to me, sometimes it just makes you want to get away from it. That really inspired the lyrics for the song.”

Regan, a Grade 12 student at St. Mary’s College, has only been writing songs for the past year and just recently began playing an instrument – a ukulele gifted to her by an uncle.

“I’ve sung my whole life, but I didn’t really have a way to harness anything,” she said.

The song she performed Thursday night was completed the morning of the competition and has yet to be named.

“I like to leave my things really interpretive, so maybe I won’t name it,” Regan joked.

“This is only the third or fourth time I’ve ever performed anything, and because it was a song that I wrote, (this win) means the absolute world to me. I can’t even put it into words, I’m just so humbled.”

“It was unbelievable how good these kids were. I was expecting some talent and I was expecting someone to blow me away, but not all of them. There was not one weak link in the whole 10,” said Jones of the competitors. “I want all of them to come record with me. Shannon, Frank and I were just floored.”


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Donna Hopper

About the Author: Donna Hopper

Donna Hopper has been a photojournalist with SooToday since 2007, and her passion for music motivates her to focus on area arts, entertainment and community events.
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