folk music and works from his albums 1317 and Sand From The Desert.

A classical piano student from the age of five, St. Paul-based singer-songwriter Debbie Cushman taught herself to play guitar as an adult. One awesome teacher and a couple of decades later, guitar is her primary instrument and she has written three albums of songs since 2012, all published under the Footfall band name. While Americana is a natural home for most of her repertoire, Debbie is happy to sing and make music across genres; she is equally comfortable with hymns and rock and roll. Debbie plays in a variety of settings and configurations, including as a soloist and with the bands Footfall, Granger’s Moonshine and Wayward Creek. Thanks to the good humor of her band-mates, youmay also see her dabbling in harmonica and washboard.

Debbie is one of three winners of Zeitgeist's 24th annual Eric Stokes Song Contest. Named in memory of late composer Eric Stokes, the contest is designed to encourage and celebrate amateur composers throughout the Twin Cities. Debbie will join Zeitgeist to perform her winning song, Crazy Sky, at Zeitgeist's annual Playing it Close to Home concert Feb. 8-9 at Studio Z.

Debbie writes about her winning song and her work as a songwriter:

I wrote Crazy Sky when a friend sent me a summer storm photo--one of those pink and orange and black Midwestern skies after the rain has moved out. Not all songs just come together, but this one wrote itself quickly. The studio additions made by violin and cello (The