OFFSTAGE: Open for Taylor Swift at Canada's Capital Hoedown
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift only has one show on her tour calendar so far this year. It's in Ottawa, Canada, at the Capital Hoedown. And guess what? She needs an opening act. Want to apply for the gig? The Hoedown has partnered with OurStage.com to discover an undiscovered country talent, all online. They're calling it the Capital Hoedown Showdown. And all you have to do is submit your very best original country music before June 25. There will then be three rounds of judging, and then the big winner will be chosen from the Top 40 artists based on things like presentation, originality, melody, vocal ability, lyrics and entertainment value. If you win, you'll get a 45-minute main stage performance slot on Aug. 11, before Swift and Canadian country singers Dean Brody, Tara Oram and Chad Brownlee. And you get $2,000 for your travel expenses. And while they don't list this as one of the prizes, you get to see a Taylor Swift concert. If you're a Swift fan and an aspiring country artist, that has to be the grandest grand prize of all.