Ángela Férnandez wins BMI Foundation's 2023 peermusic Latin Scholarship

NEW YORK, NY ― October 13, 2022 ― The BMI Foundation has announced winners of the season’s final prizes for the John Lennon Award and the peerLatin Music Award. Both of these long-running programs recognize emerging songwriters in two of music’s most popular genres.

The John Lennon Awards were announced by Samantha Cox, Vice President of the BMI Foundation and Director of the competition. First prize was awarded to Alice Bishop for her song Mercedes. Daphne Browdy and Jackson Tower of the Tower Brothers were awarded second and third place respectively. Bishop said, “When BMI first called me from New York, I thought it was a spam call, but something told me to call back… and I am glad I did. I am so grateful that my hard work has amounted to something greater and proves that I am on the right path.”

The Foundation has also announced Berklee College of Music student Ángela Férnandez as the winner of the peermusic Latin Music Award for her song Ekiss. Fernandez said, “I am incredibly grateful I have been granted this award. It is a great help to continue pursuing my studies and dreams.

The John Lennon Scholarships were established by Yoko Ono in 1997 in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, and honor the memory of one of the preeminent songwriters of the twentieth century. The peermusic Latin Scholarship was established in 2003 through the generosity and vision of peermusic CEO Ralph Peer II, for the purpose of encouraging the next generation of Latin composers. Applications for both awards for the 2023 Season will open later this Fall.

Alice Bishop is a 20 year old singer/songwriter from East Texas who began writing at 10 years old. Over the years, it evolved from a hobby, to a passion, to a career path. At 18 years old, she moved to Nashville to pursue music and make connections with others in the industry while developing her skills as a writer and artist. A few months later, she released her first single, “Mercedes”, and is currently working on her debut album to be released in the near future.

Daphne Browdy is an up-and-coming 21-year-old songwriter whose haunting melodies, heart-melting hooks and tongue-in-cheek expressions have led her to receive critical acclaim from the ASCAP Foundation, American Songwriter, and BMI. She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee but discovered her penchant for songwriting after teaching herself piano and guitar at ten years old. Growing up in the northern suburbs of Chicago in a household full of musicians, she learned to combine musical influences like The Beatles and Ella Fitzgerald into her own unique voice. She explores the painstaking truths of growing up in her songwriting— she found a musical lifeline during the darkest parts of her life by putting pen to paper. Her evocative melodies convey soul-crushing lyrics with a message of hope for humanity, channeling some of her inspirations such as Sara Bareilles and Phoebe Bridgers. Her original song “Reasons” was selected for the top ten in the 2021 American Songwriter contest, which she also performed in the 2021 ASCAP Foundation Honors Ceremony. Daphne writes as though her life depends on it: she wants to give the gift of music back to others that her musical heroes have given to her.

Ángela Férnandez is a Spanish artist who mixes genres such as Pop, R&B, Acoustic and Electronic through composition and production. She is trained in classical piano and dance, in 2013 she played the character 'Marta' in the musical The Sound of Music in Madrid. Angela was a singer in the band The Soul Healers for two years, and she has released two  singles independently, "Cuéntame" and "cuatro". She currently resides in Boston, pursuing her studies in Music Production & Engineering and Contemporary Writing & Production at Berklee College of Music.

Jackson Tower (Tower Brothers) Formed from brothers, Owen and Jackson Tower, along with guitarist Thomas Prescott and bassist Joe Lostumbo, Tower Brothers are an alt rock band like no other. Formed while attending Berklee College of Music, the group combines the musical influences of each member to make their own sound. Fusing together elements of rap, jazz, pop, and funk, their brand of rock music has a distinct identity that pushes the very idea of genre bending to the limit. As fun as they are ambitious, the band spreads good vibes and high energy on every track and at every show.