Highway 309 Studio Sessions Contest
ISU Senior Samara Jane wins 2025 Highway 309 Studio Sessions Contest!
WGLT is excited to announce that Samara Jane has been named the winner of this year’s Highway 309 Studio Sessions Contest, presented by CEFCU! Samara is an Illinois State University senior from Normal. She is a School of Music student, majoring in music therapy.
Samara impressed our judges with her songwriting, powerful vocals and original sound that embodies the creative spirit of Illinois State University’s music scene. As the 2025 winner, she received her $1,000 prize and recorded a live studio session at WGLT November 14.
Read the full story here.
About the Highway 309 Studio Sessions Contest
Highway 309 Studio Sessions, inspired by NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, gives students a chance to share their music with the ISU campus and the Bloomington-Normal community. The contest is possible with support from our presenting sponsor, CEFCU.
Congratulations to our Fan Favorite winner Kennedy Carico!
We received nearly 300 votes for our top five contestants that were entered into the fan favorite competition.
Watch Kennedy's winning submission, Waiting, on our YouTube channel along with the other video submissions. Thank you so much to everyone who entered our inaugural competition.