You have to hand it to the Mullen & Mullen Music Project for supporting the local music scene. In addition to Mullen & Mullen’s local concert series JAMBALOO launched in February, plus the $20,000 Venue Prize awarded to The Cicada in July 2025, the Dallas-based personal injury attorneys have announced another contest for local artists: the JAMBALOO Music Prize.
Like the Venue Prize, this one awards the winner $20,000, as well as a bevy of recording, distribution, and promotional opportunities. In an industry known for its inverse relationship between bullshit and intent — Hunter S. Thompson once referred to the music biz as a “cruel and shallow money trench” where “thieves and pimps run free” — it’s refreshing to see actual investment in promoting local bands. Clearly, Mullen & Mullen appreciate the value that local music brings to our cities.
“This community has always shown up for live music,” said Mullen & Mullen Managing Attorney Shane Mullen, “and the artists here deserve that same level of support in return. With the Music Prize, we’re showing that Dallas–Fort Worth can invest in its own talent and create real opportunities without waiting on big labels or outside investors.”
Frankly, it’s nice for the scene to be, well, seen. Or heard, anyway, as the JAMBALOO Music Prize is essentially a Best DFW Album of 2025 contest. It’s open to solo artists and bands of which at least 50% of their members reside in North Texas (defined in JAMBALOO’s Terms & Conditions as the counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant). Participants must have released albums between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2025. These albums, per the T&C, “must contain a minimum of seven songs and have a total runtime of at least 30 minutes.”
Between Jan 5 and Feb 9, a panel of 15 anonymous judges — a group of nationally recognized artists, Grammy winners, local media, and industry and civic leaders who will be revealed once judging is done — will select 10 semifinalists to be announced on Feb 10, 2026, which also happens to be in the middle of the next JAMBALOO festival (Feb 7-14, 2026). After that, a combination of the judges’ opinions (weighted 60%) and online voting from the public (40%) will select the contest’s winner, who will be announced on Jun 6, 2026, at a concert at Longhorn Ballroom. At that show, the contest’s three finalists will be the opening acts for a national headliner, whose name will be released during the JAMBALOO festival in February.
“We are not only awarding $20,000 to a deserving artist,” said Mullen & Mullen attorney and JAMBALOO co-founder Joe Morrison, “but also throwing the biggest celebration of the DFW music scene of the year that same evening.”
There’s more. In addition to the cash prize (and an actual JAMBALOO trophy), winners get studio time at Luminous Sound in Dallas to record a single with famed producer Tre Nagella (Lady Gaga, Blake Shelton, Travis Scott); Josey Records placement — besides the stores in Dallas, Garland, and Plano, Josey has locations in Kansas City, Tulsa, and Sedalia, Missouri; radio support from 91.7 KXT (including airplay on the Homegrown Music Show and Homegrown Bites); promo packages, each valued at $5,000, from ticketing service Prekindle and entertainment website Do214; additional promotional support from the Texas Music Office, Dallas Music Office, and Hear Fort Worth; and artwork for that new Tre Nagella-produced single, courtesy of resident JAMBALOO/Thirst & Co. artist Conor Dardis.
I have a few persnickety thoughts on this. Does Leon Bridges or Rhett Miller count as a “local” artist? If you were ignorant of this contest and put out a really great EP earlier this year, do you now wish you’d put three or four more songs on it? Will area grindcore bands take this as a challenge to record and release albums that make it past the 30-minute mark in time for the Jan 4, 2026, submission deadline?
Overall, the JAMBALOO Music Prize is way cool. If you’re a local musician with an album out in 2025, you have nothing to lose by entering the contest and a lot of cool stuff to gain. Apply now at Jambaloo.live/prizesubmission.
