(WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University announced that choir registration for the second annual Move on Up! A Gospel Sing-Off is open and will end Monday, March 24, 2025 at 3:00pm.
Move on Up! will take place on Saturday, May 10th at 2:00 pm in Pollak Theatre on the campus of Monmouth University. Admission is free. The winning choir will receive a $10,000 cash prize to be used to improve any aspect of its ensemble. The runner-up will receive a $5,000 prize. A team of judges will select six entries to participate in a “sing-off” to determine the winner. Participants in this year’s sing-off will be announced April 1st.
“Move on Up! celebrates our state’s wonderfully rich tradition of gospel music,” said Springsteen Archives Programs Manager, Jeri Houseworth, the event’s producer. “Gospel began in Black churches and is a vital part of African-American religious culture. Gospel is also a foundation of American popular music. Its influence can be heard in R&B, soul, rock, and the blues.”
Any New Jersey-based church or community choir can register for the event online. Registration includes information about the choir, plus a one song video not longer than five minutes. Videos need not be professionally produced; videos recorded on cell phones or iPads are acceptable.
“Move on Up! is less a competition than a celebration,” added Robert Santelli, executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University. “It’s a showcase of gospel talent, a tribute to gospel music, and a chance to award prize money to be used to elevate the contemporary sounds of the music.”
The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music serves as the official repository for the musical legacy of Bruce Springsteen. The Archives includes photographs, periodicals, oral histories, rare recordings, historic footage, and artifacts related to Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Center for American Music produces museum exhibitions, seminars, concerts, and other public and educational programs that both explore and celebrate the nation’s rich music tradition.
