It’s November, which means Prize Fest 2025 is almost wrapped up. The main weekend of the festival was October 17 through 19, and the only remaining event is the Battle for the Golden Fork held on Tuesday, November 18, at 5 p.m. on Bossier Parish Community College's main quad.
It was another successful year for Prize Fest, bringing in musicians, actors, comedians, film artists, and excited crowds. One of the events, Music Prize, was held in the Prize Garage in downtown Shreveport.
Joshua Mitchell has worked for Prize for seven years, and he mainly helps with Music Prize. He says the event started as a music showcase, but now it’s a competition.
“This is just a showcase of the arts, just the culture in this area,” Mitchell says.
Markey Pierre has been going to Prize events since its inception. She says she has seen the work put into Prize by its founder, Gregory Kallenberg, really pay off.
“He can really do this anywhere, I think, in the country," Pierre says. "But I think that there’s something very special and unique about Shreveport, and he continues to have it here and to circle all of that talent through this community. And I really like that, and I support him in that.”
This year, the Music Prize stage was shared by 10 bands. Only two of these bands were from Shreveport, one being Bond+. According to many attendees, including loyal Prize attendee Valorie Jameson, Bond+ is a staple of the Shreveport music scene. Jameson says she’s seen them many times.
“They do a great job and the community comes out and supports them,” she says.
Attendees selected Bond+ to be a winner of the Audience Choice Award, alongside Big Wy’s Brass Band from Austin, Texas.
Slive and The Underdogs was the other Shreveport-based group to take the stage. The mononymous singer, performer, artist, playwright, and producer, Slive, says this was his first year at Music Prize.
“I mean, I feel on top of the moon…over the moon…out of the stratosphere,” Slive says.
Even after a high energy performance, Slive stood outside of the green room of the garage recording my interview with his bandmate, Taylor Crews. He says and other bandmates have performed a few times with other groups at Music Prize. He says there’s a lot of musical talent in Shreveport, but one of the best parts of the festival is meeting the bands from out of town.
“There’s definitely a sense of community and comradery between the musicians,” Crews notes.
This sense of comradery is present even when there’s a $10,000 cash prize on the line, with which the bands can do whatever they want.
“If I win, [we’re] going to Disneyland. No. No. No. We’re going to Disneyworld! [We’re] splurging!”
While Slive was telling me about his dream to visit the place where dreams come true, Lew Apollo began his set on stage. The soul artist, also based in Austin, was Music Prize’s second place winner. Dallas-based group Cure for Paranoia was the 2025 Music Prize Winner.
Cure for Paranoia, founded and led by Cameron McCloud, defines itself as an alternative hip-hop collective. McCloud has performed in Shreveport before, but this was his first time at Music Prize.
“Was it a great experience, Or was it just a lot?” I asked.
“Girl, we won $10,000, so I think it was alright,” McCloud replies.
McCloud says that the whole Music Prize experience was insightful and fun, sometimes unexpectedly so. He says that Shreveport showed a lot of love for his band.
“That might be one of my, like, favorite shows that I’ve played in a long time.”
McCloud’s music tells his history with mental illness, and making music is his “cure for paranoia.” McCloud says that the band’s core group was Tomahawk Jonez and Jay Analog, but it’s now grown into a 14-member band. With Music Prize’s $10,000 reward, McCloud says he’s going to pay his bandmates first.
“I really do feel like, apart from paying them for this show, it’s really going to be right there in the [Cure for Paranoia] budget for these other shows that we’ve got coming up,” McCloud says.
With Red River Radio News, I’m Alaina Atnip.