We're proud to announce the WINNER of 2024's Rising Artist Award! Rebecca Berlin! With a wide-ranging voice, incredible piano chops and fascinatingly-intelligent lyrics ("fascinating" means they make you raise one eyebrow like Spock…). We're very proud to recognize her talent… and to reward it!

Rebecca Berlin had taken a long break from music, but has returned with inspiration and DRIVE - and is exactly the kind of artist we think Vic and Reba Heyman would've championed. We're proud to keep the Heyman spirit alive by uplifting someone who has been working on this for a while, is just getting their footing, and who, with a little help from FocusMusic, is no doubt destined for great things.

Imagine the voice of Sara Bareilles mixed with the honesty of Joni Mitchell and the poetic lyricism of Ani DiFranco. If there's one word to describe Rebecca Berlin it is alchemy. Her musical style, “folk with a twist”-blends the narrative quality of traditional folk with elements of jazz and musical theater, and she is known for unique melodies and song structures, vulnerable storytelling and a voice that cuts through the noise. After taking a 13 year break from music to pursue dance and build her career as a Pilates/Yoga/Gyrotonic teacher, Rebecca burst back into the music scene in 2023 and is rapidly gaining attention as a writer, singer and performer. Past releases include “Anatomy of a Breakdown” (2006), and “Grief Triptych” (2023); her upcoming album, “Questions and Answers”, is set to release in the Fall of 2024. 

More about Rebecca Berlin at www.rebeccaberlin.com

Focus Music is pleased to announce Tina Ross as the 2023 recipient of the Heyman Rising Artist Award. Focus Music created this award to honor the legacy of Vic and Reba Heyman, folk angels who supported and promoted countless artists. 

Focus Music is dedicated to bringing folk and acoustic music to a growing audience through virtual and in person performances in the greater Washington metropolitan area. 

Tina has emerged in her “Act Two” as a dynamic singer songwriter after first act gigs as a mother, wife, grandmother, chiropractor, nutritionist, advocate for raising awareness of food insecurity and hunger, public speaker, vocalist in a jazz trio, and a forever hopeful fan of music. All these experiences enrich her songwriting and performances. 

Tina had to overcome challenges before she could fully explore a songwriter career. After being accidentally hit in the throat, she could not talk for more than five minutes without her voice frying. Singing was out of the question. She worked through this successfully with doctors, physical therapists, and vocal coaches. Then, after she injured her hands as a chiropractor, she searched for a way to adjust her guitar playing to the limitations of this disability. Open tunings became an essential part of Tina’s music, opening 
sonic landscapes that she would not have imagined without that adaptation. This discovery resulted in distinctive, nuanced textures in her guitar playing. 

A quiet, elegant fierceness runs through her songs, speaking to wonder, humility, doubt, defiance. They are imbued with vulnerability as well as mastery. And like Tina, they are a testament to giving it one’s best shot. Her debut album, “While I’m Here” was released in February2023. Focus Music is happy to support her next effort with this award. 

The Rising Artist Judging Panel also named Gabrielle Zwi as the runner up. Gabrielle is an up-and- coming musician in the Washington, DC area who masterfully performs folk-pop and bossa nova in songs about love, identity, and the issues we collectively face.