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Start spreading the news — the second annual Songs for Our City songwriting competition is about to hit the streets of New York. And you can be a part of it — because audience members vote for their favorite performances on their mobile device at the end of each concert!
Hosted by Times Square Alliance, Songs for Our City runs from June 1-5, with Broadway Buskers host and curator Ben Cameron as emcee. The series will feature five live concerts in Times Square with limited-capacity in-person seating — bookable via this link. The performances will also be live-streamed for free online at www.TSQ.org/Songs.
After the audiences have had their say, the event culminates in a final performance on June 5, when the winners will be chosen from among eight finalists by a panel of judges that includes Director of New Artists at The Public Theater, Jack Phillips Moore, theatre critic and creator of Token Theatre Friends, Jose Solís, and Cambodian Rock Band playwright, Lauren Yee.
“We are so excited to bring Songs for Our City back this year, LIVE in Times Square! It’s no secret that theatre artists have been hit particularly hard throughout the course of the pandemic and the accompanying quarantines. As our world not only wakes up, but evolves and grows, it feels amazing to pay tribute to our city through the universal power of music,” said host Ben Cameron.
Songs for Our City features original songs by é boylan, Amara Janae Brady, Jaime Cepero, Matt DeAngelis & Christine Dwyer, Lauren Elder, Jasmine Forsberg, Albert Guerzon, James Harkness, F Michael Haynie, John Krause, Rebecca Murillo, Cheeyang Ng & Eric Sorrels, Anthony Norman, Billy Recce, Jen Sánchez, Max Sangerman, Dru Serkes, Starbird & the Phoenix (Courtney Bassett & Andrew Swackhamer), Will Van Dyke & Jeff Talbott, Storm Thomas, The Two Of Us (Nathan Salstone & Micaela Diamond), Josh Walker, Mike Wartella, Ben Wexler & Denise Manning, and Matt Wolpe.
If you think you’ve written the next New York, New York or Empire State of Mind, Songs for Our City is inviting the public to share their own original compositions on social media, using the hashtag #CitySongs.