Marilyn Rogers to Perform at Walnut Valley Fest

Marilyn Rogers recording vocals at Manhattan Mob Records recording studioPhoto byBenjamin Stephens

Marilyn Rogers is a vocalist, guitarist, and country music artist from Barnes, KS. Her journey with music and songwriting has been lifelong but resumed in Spring 2022 after finding Manhattan Mob Records, a recording studio and record label that recently moved to downtown Manhattan, KS.

After joining the label and producing several albums, singles, and music videos, Rogers decided to pursue one of her lifelong wishes - to submit to The Walnut Valley Festival’s NewSong Showcase. The 51st Walnut Valley Festival organizers have recently made public the names of the winners and alternates of the showcase listing Rogers as a winner in two of ten categories, granting her the doubly rare opportunity to provide two performances in the running for contest winner. Only two performances and two alternates are selected per category.

The NewSong Showcase provides a platform for budding songwriters to present their compositions to accomplished musicians for evaluation. The most exceptional entries in each category are granted the privilege of performing their songs live on stage at the esteemed Walnut Valley Festival.

Chris Jones, a distinguished music journalist and the lead vocalist of Chris Jones and the Night Drivers, assumes the role of a curator for the Showcase. He collaborates with a team of reviewers to make the arduous decision of awarding top honors to deserving candidates. Additionally, the reviewers offer constructive feedback to all the songwriters who have submitted their work. This year witnessed a nearly record-breaking count of 296 song submissions, which were of exceptional quality.

Rogers will perform a song titled “How Hot’s Your Hot” in the humor category on Thursday, September 14th at 10:00 am, and another in the Religion/Spirit category called “Combiner’s Prayer” on Saturday, September 16th at 11:00 am, both on stage 3. Both songs were previously released in the fall of 2022 and can be found on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and most other major streaming platforms. She will be accompanied by Robert Rosenberg on banjo, Alice Boyle on violin, Anthony Gude on pedal steel guitar, and Aliyah Stephens on bass.