Contests

Inspired by his own kids, Jason Ringenberg of Jason & the Scorchers fame developed the persona of “Farmer Jason,” entertaining children with rocking tunes based on his own childhood growing up on a farm. Three albums later it's time for a Christmas album!

The record contains 12 Christmas songs featuring six new original compositions that conceptually deal with the farming connections to Christmas.

“I think ‘Eat Your Fruitcake’ is my favorite original on the record,” he laughs. “Let’s face it folks: throwing those holiday fruitcakes away is using up our landfills!”

When it ends, change the article to include this at the top:

This contest has ended.

The winner is JIM L. of So. Lyon, MI.

Cheryl Barnes wants you to Listen to This, her debut five years in the making.and steeped in Jazz and Blues. It features a stellar list of sidemen including Brandon Fields on Sax, John Hammond on Piano, and Rickey Minor on Bass with Orchestration by John Beasley. Best of all, she has signed it with her best wishes on the front cover!

This contest has ended.

The winner is LEEANN C. of Bedford, KY.

This contest has ended. The randomly selected winning entry is Audrey C. of Richlands, NC.

American Dad! is moving to TBS!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, Critical Blast is happy to present this one of a kind (okay, technically it's one of 1400, with this one specifically being number 342) matted print, featuring all your favorite American Dad! characters spoofing a classic "Indiana Jones" scene.

This print is mounted on some sort of foam board to make it good and stiff, and the back has a hanger so you can put it on your wall, and a fold-out prop-up thingy in case you want to set it on your desktop.

Whatever it is, it's pretty darn cool, and if you're an American Dad! fan, you already know you want it. So enter your information in the form below and pray to Uncle Sam that you get picked as the random lucky winner!

New Jersey singer/songwriter Evie Archer is creeping up on her career in music. She started writing early but unveiled “On Christmas Day” only last holiday season, and her debut album Life in Sand is now available, with its single "Close To You” breaking through the Adult Contemporary (A/C) music charts.

This contest has ended.

The winner is RA C. of Salem, MO.

Kanisha K. is this multi-talented 21-year-old singer/songwriter's self-titled full-length album featuring the uplifting and empowering track "My Another Day” and new single "Bring Me Home."

"Music is a way for people to get acquainted with me, but I really want people who like my songs to get to know me in a more intimate way,” says Kanisha. "I love being able to do what I love and to inspire people who think that their dreams can't come true. All of this is hard to believe for me sometimes, but I think everything boils down to focusing on your passion and working hard."

This contest has ended.

The winner is RANDY S. of Rochester, MN.

Hieroglyphs of Emotion is the second CD in Mae Edwards' multi-media project "Starlette & Saint: A Memoir on Dualism" containing commentaries reflecting her years-long studies into numerous spiritual traditions (Christianity, Buddhism) as well as thought provoking references to folklore, world history, psychology, U.S. travel destinations and popular film.

Soaring vocals, electric violins and sweeping lyrical imagery power the second CD and you have a chance to win it by entering the form below.

This contest has ended.

The winner is JILL R. of Pennsville, NJ.

God’s unconditional love is the central focus of Joanna Beasley’s new album, Loud Love. About it, Joanna says "We’re singing back to God what He already says about Himself and about us. His love is bold, true, loud, unconditional, and constantly pursuing you wherever you go!”

This contest has ended.

The winner is BARBARA B. of Auburn, KS.

"Backbone cracking music." That's how the New Orleans natives in Flow Tribe describe their sound. It's a groove-based gumbo, a mixture of classic Louisiana traditions (funk, jazz, electric blues) and modern-day influences (rock, hip-hop). It's music that moves. Music that hits you in the heart and the feet. Music that sounds as celebratory as the Big Easy itself.

More than anything, though, it's music that gets you dancing.

This contest has ended.

The winner is HEATHER B. of Auburn, ME.

"Living in New York City is like tug of war. I'm constantly going back and forth deciding if I like it here," says indie-folk songwriter Ben Rabb, whose first EP, Until It's Gone, was written after an influential move to NYC. "These songs are about me trying to make sense of my experiences here. New York is a place with a lot of people, a lot of noise, a lot of ups and downs… which makes it a great muse."

This contest has ended.

The winner is NANNETTE R. of Brockport, NY.

Minnesota singer/songwriter Brett Larson offers a nice collection of old-fashioned country music on his third album. His songwriting has been featured on the Blood Washed Band's latest, a group composed of some of the Twin Cities’ top alt-country musicians, including several who contribute their talents to Brett's solo effort.

This contest has ended.

The winner is DENISE A. of Flushing, NY.

This contest has ended. The selected winner is Elisa D. of Cleveland, Ohio.

Has it really been that long since we watched Fred Savage and Danica McKellar grow up on the television screen? It seems like it was only yesterday -- which is the same emotion we got from the the adult Kevin Arnold's perspective as we were weekly walked through moments from his formative years.

For six seasons, The Wonder Years captured the angst of growing up in suburban middle-class America in the late '60s, as seen through the life and times of Kevin Arnold (Savage). Audiences eagerly followed his evolution as a typical teenager who remembered every moment of his transition from childhood with excruciating detail and remarkable hindsight.

Derek Fawcett presents his solo debut, but fans of his previous band, Down the Line, should find plenty to love here. “Where it departs is that I've put down the djembe in favor of the piano, my songs go in some new stylistic directions, and there are more moments of musical chaos and disorder."

“The songs on this album tell compelling, unique stories that are likely to resonate with just about anyone. My hope is that all who listen to this album will hear something that speaks to them, to the extent that it brings them joy, solace, solidarity...and hopefully, even encourages them to sing along for awhile."

This contest has ended.

The winner is MARILYN W. of Miramar Beach, FL.

This contest has completed. The randomly selected winner is: MIKE G. of FORT PIERCE, FL.

I was introduced to Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series about the same time I was reading Holly Black's Ironside. When I saw the Easter egg crossovers in each book (subtle as they were), I twigged to the fact that these two ladies knew each other, and expected them to someday work together on something.

That day has come.

The Iron Trial is the first book of a new fantasy, The Magisterium, a five-book series aimed at middle-grade -- and which will no doubt be read by their fans of all ages.

Critical Blast is happy to blast a copy of this your way if you're the selected entry in this book giveaway. Simply enter your information in the form below -- no mystical trials required -- and wait to see if you are the lucky random pick.

"I was reasonably accomplished in my other work, but for years, despite my love for music, I never thought I was good enough to write, sing or play it. I kept it inside for years,” says Liz Kennedy, a fourth generation Southern Californian. "I became someone who told people I was writing music but I would never share it. Which began to feel slightly weird. When I finally met my producer, Joel Jaffe, his encouragement allowed me to step inside the studio and record my songs so I wouldn't have to hold them in any longer. And that felt very freeing. Very good. And I improved over time, which led to more and more writing. Meeting and playing with incredibly talented musicians lead me even further along the path."

"Breaking Free" is the second independent release from Rebecca Moreland's new EP, Far From Heaven. The San Antonio native co-wrote the new single with Scott Whitley and co-produced the song with producer and engineer Leland Elliott at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

"The song is very personal," Rebecca says. "I was reaching a crossroads where I had to choose between fully pursuing music and keeping my full time advertising job. I chose music. I wrote the majority of the song the day after I quit my job."