In 2007, Sufjan Stevens held a contest wherein the composer of the best new Christmas song would receive the publishing rights to one of Steven’s own (unreleased) winter-themed songs.

A man named Alec Duffy won this contest, and in turn, won the rights to a song titled ‘The Lonely Man of Winter.'

Instead of releasing the song publicly, Mr. Duffy decided to offer private listening parties for fans to listen to the song.

As it currently stands, this offer appears to be unavailable, and fans of Sufjan have no way to hear the song (disregarding the fact that only those with the time/money/locational proximity could listen to the song if it was still available in this way).



Sufjan Stevens is one of the most celebrated songwriters of our time. After releasing numerous albums spanning multiple genres, he has become a loved and celebrated artist by listeners and critics alike.

By Duffy's own admission, 'The Lonely Man of Winter' is "on par with his best songs." (Link)

Keeping this work of art from the people who would love to listen to and enjoy it for over eight years is a disservice to the music community.

Because of this, we ask Alec Duffy to make the song available to the general public; whether that be for free (On YouTube, Soundcloud, etc.) or for purchase (Bandcamp, physical USB copies, etc.) in some way.

Music is meant to be heard.