Friday, December 9th:
- Workshop | 5pm to 6pm
- Artist Talk | Tavia Osbey | 6pm to 7pm
Tavia Osbey is the Co-Founder of New Orleans-based management company MidCitizen Entertainment. After receiving a degree in Business Entrepreneurship from Southern University in New Orleans, she went on to manage Grammy-nominated group Tank and The Bangas and award-winning hip-hop artist Alfred Banks. She has worked in the music industry for the past 13 years and along with her business partners has the mission to help build the infrastructure of music business in the city of New Orleans.
Tickets and additional information HERE.
The festival will showcase spoken word artists and writers from around the US, with participants from eight different states. This year competitors include Alex the Great (Dallas, TX), Breeze (Richmond, VA), Charles Hines (Tampa, FL), Diamond Mason (San Antonio, TX), Eddie Figures (Orlando, FL), Ephraim Nehemiah (Baltimore, MD), Georgie Lee (San Antonio, TX), GiGi (Orlando, FL), HeRo (Port St. Lucie, FL), Jonkel (Miami, FL), LB (Durham, NC), Dove Dupree (Greenville, SC), Masaki Takahashi (Detroit, MI), Native Child (Detroit, MI), Queen Bee (Spartanburg, SC), Shasparay (Madison, WI), Wayne Henry (Dallas, TX), Zarro (West Palm Beach, FL), Lady Brion (Baltimore, MD), who was the second place winner at Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival in 2021, and Blacqwildflowr (Houston, TX), who was the third place winner at the same event.
The final stage of the festival will be hosted by New Orleans-based poet, writer, and teaching artist, Sha’Condria “iCon” Sibley who has appeared on the third season of TV One’s Verses and Flow, and her work has been featured on many platforms including Huffington Post, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, BBC World Radio, and recording projects with Grammy Award-winning artists.
Festival goers will also have the opportunity to attend an artist talk entitled Transcending Genres: Navigating as an Artist Manager with Tavia Osbey, Co-Founder of MidCitizen Entertainment and Artist Manager to musical acts Tank and The Bangas and Alfred Banks. The final stage of the festival will be hosted by New Orleans-based poet, writer, and teaching artist, Sha’Condria “iCon” Sibley who has appeared on the third season of TV One’s Verses and Flow, and her work has been featured on many platforms including Huffington Post, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, BBC World Radio, and recording projects with Grammy Award-winning artists.
This year’s first prize winner will receive $2,500, the second prize winner $1,500 and the third prize winner $1,000.
An additional aspect to this year’s festival is a theatrical performance of County of Kings, a one man play adapted from the life of Tony Award–winning poet, spoken word artist and playwright, Lemon Andersen. This riveting onstage spoken-word memoir touches on his childhood, life on the streets, incarceration, and redemption through poetry in Brooklyn. This experience is presented in partnership with Literature to Life and features both pre and post discussions. Performance only tickets are available for $25.