Central Library Hosts Bards & Brews Slam On Friday, May 5

Bards & Brews only hosts three slams a year! Our second slam of 2023 is happening at the Central Library on Friday, May 5, starting at 6:30 p.m.

10 poets will take the stage to compete in rounds for cash prizes. Select audience members will serve as judges, and the audience can use their voices to sway the judges' opinions. This is a special Bards & Brews you don't want to miss!

Unlike our open mics, only 10 poets are allowed to compete in the slam, and registration is required to compete. Registration starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. on-site at the check-in table. To register, poets must pay the $5.00 registration fee. The first 10 poets to register will get to compete!

All poems used in the slam must be original works. Poets have a three-minute time limit with a 10-second grace period. Props and costumes are not allowed in the competition—participants must win the crowd over with their talents alone to get the prize!

Prizes are listed as follows:

• 1st Place: $200.00
• 2nd Place: $100.00
• 3rd Place: $50.00

Audience members can even participate in the slam as judges. Five volunteer members will score the poets after each performance, and the rest of the crowd can try to sway a judge's score by booing or cheering. Or you can just enjoy some of the Birmingham metro area's most talented poets as a part of the gallery and anticipate who will walk away with the prizes that night.

Here are the rules for judges: 

• Must be impartial and not related to or in the entourage of any competitors in the slam
• Must not be employed by the venue and currently working for the venue
• Poems are judged from 0.0 to 10.0 with a single decimal point encouraged as a tiebreaker 

Cahaba Brewing Company is providing beers that night, and our opening entertainment is local musician Rebecca Egeland.

Cahaba Brewing Company is a local microbrewery founded by friends and a love of craft beer. Located inside the Historical Continental Gin Complex in East Avondale, they offer over 26 taps with special brews you can only get from their taproom. 

Rebecca Egeland is an indie soul/funk singer-songwriter inspired by the heaviness, heartbreak, and loss that life brings. Rebecca rewrites the "sad song" trope with her powerhouse vocals and soulful, intimate lyrics. Her music will soothe forgotten parts of you, leaving you feeling seen, connected, and hopefully a little less alone. She believes in building community—she curates a monthly house show series to amplify the talents of her Birmingham, AL hometown. 

Rebecca plays solo, with her duo Rude & True, or in a full band arrangement of her original tunes.

This program is free and open to the public. Must be 18+ to enter and 21+ to drink with proof of I.D. Bards & Brews is sponsored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts. 

Follow the Bards & Brews Facebook page & the Birmingham Public Library's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, & LinkedIn pages for more updates. 

By Cheyenne Trujillo | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Public Relations