Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 7pm
KOVAL Distillery Tasting Room, North Center
4241 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL
$45 - GA - Includes Two Drink Tickets
$25 - Student | Industry - Includes One Drink Ticket
Fourth Coast Ensemble and Sparks & Wiry Cries present the Seventh Annual Chicago songSLAM on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 7pm at the KOVAL Distillery Tasting Room in Chicago, IL.  

Fashioned after poetry slams and story telling events, teams will present a new art song of 5 minutes or less for the voting audience, who will award $2,000 in prize money to the top three teams.  Additionally, Fourth Coast Ensemble will award a $1,000 commission prize to one composer for a new work to be premiered in 2026.

The competition is emcee'd by Chicago composer Stacy Garrop at the beautiful KOVAL Distillery Tasting Room in Chicago's Ravenswood corridor.  Fourth Coast Ensemble will perform a collection of Ms. Garrop and other composers' art songs to close the night as votes are tabulated.
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In Person single tickets for this event are $25-$45 and include one or two craft cocktails at the KOVAL bar with admission.  

RULES:

1) Registration for teams is $20 USD and opens on the Sparks and Wiry Cries website Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 5pm Central time on a first-come, first-served basis.
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2) Performance slots will be given to the first 10 applicants to apply; there will also be space for 5 alternate slots in the event of cancellations. The registration fee will be refunded to those teams who do not make the performance or alternate list.

3) Original compositions presented at the Chicago songSLAM must:
  • be composed for voice and piano
  • feature texts that are in the public domain or have
  • written and signed permission from the author/trust (more info on this to come once accepted)
  • receive their world premiere at our event.

4) Songs should be no more than 5 minutes in length.

5) A composer can only submit ONE song for the event. Performers can only perform in ONE song for the event.

6) Texts may be in any language.

7) There is no age limit for those who wish to apply.

8) Composer must be present for the premiere.

9) Poets may be a part of the team.

10) Further prizes may be granted at the discretion of the Co-Artistic Directors of Sparks & Wiry Cries, including but not limited to: online publication and sales of any song(s) of their choosing, hosted through Sparks & Wiry Cries’ website, and possible inclusion in a songSLAM song book published through New Music Shelf.  Sparks & Wiry Cries and Fourth Coast Ensemble will never claim ownership of the music premiered at any songSLAM. The rights to the premiered works will remain solely within the Artistic team that applied and how they see fit to divide any assets. Sparks may ask for permission from the entire team to use the recording in their promotional materials.

11) Teams should be complete at the time of registration and must consist of at least two people. Composer/poet can be either pianist or singer.

12) Completed scores must be submitted by April 21, 2025.

Teams are encouraged to bring their friends, as all prizes will be awarded by audience vote!
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