Melissa Mitchell

For the past 11 years, popular public radio program “Mountain Stage” has teamed with the independent music organization NewSong Music to sponsor a contest for performing songwriters. Competing in the regional round is Anchorage-based singer-songwriter Melissa Mitchell, whose song “Ask” is included in the West region.

Twelve semi-finalists will move on to perform next month in New York as part of the Awards Round. The grand prize winner will receive 10 days of studio time at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, N.C., with producer Iestyn Polson, who’s worked with David Bowie and David Gray. The winner will also appear on an episode of “Mountain Stage” and perform at the 2013 Sundance/ASCAP Music Café.

There’s also a People’s Choice award, which goes to the top vote-getter on the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest website.

Mitchell also performed at the "Mountain Stage" taping that took place in Fairbanks last month. That episode will air Sept. 30 and features performances by Hot Club of Cowtown, Horse Feathers, Tim Easton and The Whipsaws.