The South Florida Folk & Acoustic Music Club is accepting online applications for both its National Singer-Songwriter Competition and South Florida Singer-Songwriter Competition through October 31, 2025. A panel of preliminary judges will assess the submissions. Finalists in the national competition will be invited to perform and be evaluated by another panel of three judges during the annual South Florida Folk & Acoustic Music Festival that is slated for January 30-February 1, 2026 at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie. Artists in the local competition will perform prior to the festival, while three winners will be invited to showcase their talents during it.
The entry fee for the National Singer-Songwriter Competition is $25 for two songs, while entrants in the South Florida Singer-Songwriter Competition — open only to singer-songwriters from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties — pay $15 for two songs. All entries must be wholly original, and AI must not have been used in writing the lyrics or composing the music. Entrants are required to submit lyric sheets, along with either a YouTube video or another URL where the song can be heard or a mp3 for the judges to assess. More information, along with online applications, may be found on the club’s website: sffolk.org.
Twelve finalists in the National Singer-Songwriter Competition will be invited to attend the festival (at their own expense) and perform on Saturday, Jan. 30. From among them, three winners will be chosen to perform in a round on Sunday and be invited back the following year as paid performers. Each of the three will also win $300. Ten to 12 finalists in the South Florida Singer-Songwriter Competition – depending on the number of entries received – will be invited to perform at Anne Kolb Nature Center in Hollywood on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 18. Three winners will be selected to perform in a round during the festival, and each will receive a cash prize of $200.
Since its inception, the South Florida Folk & Acoustic Music Festival has been a combination of a music fest, family reunion, community gathering, and weekend musical retreat, according to its organizers. It will feature performances by a number of local and nationally touring artists on two stages, a wide array of jam sessions and workshops, family-friendly activities, and local food and arts & crafts vendors. All festival activities will take place under cover. Discounted tickets are available online until 6 p.m. on Jan. 26. While applications are continuing to be accepted from performing artists until Oct. 31, those already slated to perform include Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Alice Howe & Freebo, The Janzen Boys, Rod MacDonald, Mad Agnes, John McCutcheon, and mean Mary.
The South Florida Folk & Acoustic Music Club (formerly the Broward Folk Club), which presents the festival, is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote folk & acoustic music and to provide a community for people who share a love for it.
