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:

Competition Rules:

1) Registration is $20 and opens HERE (link will go live) on Thursday, February 19th, 2026 at 5pm Central on a first-come, first-served basis. There is NO age limit.

2) Performance/Recording slots will be open to the first 10 teams that register; there will be up to 3 additional ‘alternate’ slots in the event of cancellations. Teams who do not successfully register in time to at least be an alternate will have their money refunded. Those on the alternate list will not have their fee immediately refunded; instead, they will have the choice to either stay on the list or be taken off, in which case their fee will be refunded.

3) Original compositions presented at the 2026 Chicago songSLAM must:

a. Be composed for voice and piano
b. Feature texts that are in the public domain or have written and signed permission from the author/trust
c. Receive their world premiere on May 7, 2026

4) Songs should be approximately 5 minutes in length or fewer.

5) A composer can only submit ONE song for the event. Performers can only perform in ONE song for the event. While the composer and poet may also be a performer we strongly advise that teams be made up of at least three people to broaden the web of collaboration, creativity, and reach and depth of expertise.

 6) Texts may be in any language. Be advised that if your registration is successful, and if your text will not be in the public domain on or before May 1, 2026, you will need to obtain permission from your poet, or from the trust of the poet if deceased.

7) Prize money for the live event is as follows: $1,000 for first place, $600 for second place, and $400 for third place. These prizes will be awarded by the live audience vote.  Additionally, a $1,000 commission will be awarded by Fourth Coast Ensemble.

8) 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 selected songs, hosted through Sparks & Wiry Cries’ website; a commission prize for the composer of their choice; and possible inclusion in a songSLAM song book published through New Music Shelf.

9) Please note, regardless of premiere, publication, and recording, Sparks & Wiry Cries nor any partner institution will ever claim ownership of the music premiered at any songSLAM. The rights to the premiered works will remain solely with the artistic team that applied.

10) Composers must be present during the live performance.

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