Gems in the Rough Contest Semifinalists

This is the top 10 (well…11)
We got almost 700 entries this year and Anthony Simpkins literally watched every single entry. With your help and the help of some of our friends like Western AF, Benjamin Tod, The Hill Country Devil, and Matt Heckler, we've somehow picked out our semifinalists out of the most talented entry pool yet. The entry pool was so good that, at the last minute, we decided to add one more slot and pick 11 semifinalists this year.

Patrons, your vote matters
Patrons, you’re the reason we can spend time and money and effort running this contest. We want you to pick the top 3 finalists. So check out the semifinalists, and pick out your favorites. You can vote for 1 of the semifinalists; you can vote for 10 semifinalists. The top 3 vote-getters will become semifinalists.

Watch here, vote on Patreon
Below are all 11 semifinalists (ordered chronologically by time of entry). Check out their entries and check out some of the other music they’ve got online linked below their submissions. This is not a contest just to pick the best song entry. We’re trying to find a new regular presence on Gems, so vote for folks you believe have a future on the channel and in the community-at-large.

Cast your vote(s) through our Patreon poll. If you somehow got to this page and you’re not yet a GemsOnVHS Patron and would like to vote for one or more of these artists, consider joining the community. We can run this contest because of direct support from our community. Thank you for the support y’all. DIY till we die.

The Entries

You can watch all 11 entries on this Youtube playlist, but we also encourage you to check out some more music by each artist (linked below each entry)