Main Stage Audition Form

These songs reflect a rich blend of patriotic, folk, gospel, and community music that has been carried across generations. Musicians auditioning for the Main Stage are invited to explore the titles below and choose the songs that best fit their voice, style, and interest.

The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States. Francis Scott Key wrote the words in 1814 after Fort McHenry, and the song uses a tune associated with John Stafford Smith. It became the official national anthem in 1931.

America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful is one of the country’s most beloved patriotic hymns. Katharine Lee Bates wrote the words in 1893, and the familiar melody is Samuel A. Ward’s 1882 tune. The song is admired for honoring both the beauty of the land and the ideals of the nation.

Home on the Range
Home on the Range is one of the best-known songs of the American West. Its words trace to Dr. Brewster M. Higley’s Kansas poem from 1873, and the tune is generally credited to Daniel E. Kelley. It later became the state song of Kansas.

Red River Valley
Red River Valley is a 19th-century folk standard long linked with the northern plains and borderlands. Its exact origin is debated, but the song has endured as one of the best-known farewell songs in North American folk tradition.

Oh! Susanna
Oh! Susanna is one of the most famous American songs of the 19th century. Stephen Foster wrote it in 1848, and it quickly became a standard of American popular music. It was especially popular during the California Gold Rush.

Clementine
Clementine, often known as Oh My Darling, Clementine, is a Western folk ballad that became widely popular in the late 19th century. It is often credited to Percy Montrose and is closely tied to Gold Rush imagery and later oral tradition. It remains one of the most familiar story songs in American folk music.

Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish song traditionally associated with New Year’s Eve. Robert Burns wrote down his version in 1788 from an older Scottish song tradition. Its title is often understood to mean “for old times’ sake.”

Skip to My Lou
Skip to My Lou is a traditional American partner-dance and play-party song. It has long been part of community singing, children’s music, and folk tradition. Its lively simplicity has helped it endure across generations.

She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain
She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain is a traditional folk song later widely sung in the Appalachians. It became especially popular as a children’s and camp song because of its easy, repetitive structure. It remains a familiar invitation to group singing.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Take Me Out to the Ball Game was written in 1908, with lyrics by Jack Norworth and music by Albert Von Tilzer. The full song tells the story of Katie Casey, a devoted baseball fan. Its chorus later became part of the seventh-inning-stretch tradition.

This Little Light of Mine
This Little Light of Mine is an African American spiritual and gospel song that later became a freedom song during the civil rights movement. It was documented by John and Alan Lomax in Huntsville, Texas, in 1934. The song has endured as a simple, joyful call to courage and witness.

When the Saints Go Marching In
When the Saints Go Marching In is a traditional gospel standard that later became one of the signature songs of New Orleans jazz. Louis Armstrong helped carry it into American musical history. It remains one of the best-known songs of celebration, hope, and procession.