Grant Proposal Narrative — Jay RebL × TRC Events
International Reggae Day: Roots to Modern Sound
A community songwriting program and free neighborhood showcase built around Jay RebL, timed to International Reggae Day (July 1) — drafted for Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks program.
Target date
Around July 1 (International Reggae Day) — exact date pending park/site confirmation
Target area
South Side Chicago neighborhood (site TBD — see Immediate Next Steps)
Lead applicant
Ras Tafari Inc, presenting Jay RebL as featured artist & workshop leader
Primary funding target
Night Out in the Parks (Chicago Park District)
Positioning Note
Why Night Out in the Parks, not NAP
DCASE's Neighborhood Access Program funds a project performance period of October 1 – December 31 the year after applying — a July 1 date doesn't fall inside that window. Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks season runs May–September, which does line up, doesn't require 501(c)(3) status, and lets Ras Tafari Inc or Jay RebL apply directly. This narrative is written against NOITP for that reason. A separate NAP application — the same workshop concept culminating in a showcase that actually falls inside NAP's Oct–Dec window — is a real option worth pursuing in parallel, not instead (see Immediate Next Steps), just not as the same application.
One more thing to confirm before this goes out: the source brief for this proposal cited NAP awards up to $100,000 for large place-based projects. DCASE's official 2026 NAP guidelines (see the DCASE grants instrument on selassiefest.com) confirm a $5,000–$50,000 range and don't mention a $100,000 tier — that figure should be re-verified against the current guidelines before it's cited to anyone.
01 — Program Design
From Community Story to Community Stage
Two connected parts, not a single booking: a hands-on workshop phase that puts neighborhood residents' own stories into the songs, followed by a free public showcase that performs the results.
01
Community Music Workshops
Public songwriting sessions open to neighborhood residents. Participants share a personal or neighborhood story; Jay RebL works with them live to convert it into a melody and song hook — the same "turn a stranger's word into a melody on the spot" format behind his On the Street and Jay RebL Stories series, applied here as a facilitated community exercise rather than a solo street clip.
02
Free Neighborhood Showcase
A live concert open to the public, presenting the songs and hooks that came out of the workshops alongside Jay RebL's own catalog — staged as an acoustic-to-electric set moving from stripped-down roots arrangements into full Dancehall and Reggae performance (see the companion Technical Rider & Run of Show for the full production plan).
02 — The Artist
Jay RebL
R&B, Hip-Hop, Reggae, and Dancehall artist, guitarist, and producer from Spanish Town, Jamaica, now based in the Evanston/Skokie area. Making music professionally since 2006, moving between genres rather than staying in one lane. Currently the opening act for TRC Events' Charly Black lineup. His catalog spans R&B/soul ("Ride or Die," "Cover Me"), reggae, and hip-hop ("All-nighter"), and his content work already runs on the same formats this program borrows from — live sessions, street freestyles, audience challenges, and storytelling.
03 — Community & Public Benefit
Why This, Why Now
Direct, hands-on community participation in the creative process, not just an audience seat — residents' own stories become the material.
A free, all-ages public program with no cost barrier to attend.
A cross-genre artist (R&B, Reggae, Dancehall, Hip-Hop) whose own migration story — Spanish Town, Jamaica to Chicago's North Shore — mirrors the diasporic Caribbean and reggae heritage the International Reggae Day framing celebrates.
A repeatable model: the workshop-to-showcase structure can run again in a different neighborhood each cycle rather than being a one-off booking.
04 — Timeline
Application Windows
Both programs' windows below are drawn from the source planning brief for this proposal and have not been independently re-verified against Chicago Park District's current NOITP guidelines the way the NAP figures above were — confirm exact dates before relying on them.
Night Out in the Parks
- Early Nov – early Dec: Call for proposals open
- Early March: Acceptance notifications
- Mid-March: Confirmed park dates finalized
- May–Sept: Performance season
NAP (if pursued separately)
- Early June: Idea Submission opens
- Early July: Idea Submission due
- September: Finalists notified
- Early October: Full proposal due
- Oct 1 – Dec 31 (following year): Grant performance period
05 — Immediate Next Steps
Before This Goes Out
Formalize a venue/park commitment
Establish a relationship with a specific park supervisor (e.g. Washington Park or South Shore Cultural Center) so a real, named location can go into the application rather than a placeholder.
Assemble the EPK
Compile Jay RebL's SoundCloud catalog, live acoustic clips, and past performance footage with TRC Events/Charly Black into a 1-page press kit funders and park staff can review quickly.
Draft fiscal/budget alignment
Detail artist fees, production costs (sound system/audio gear), and community workshop supplies in whatever budget template the chosen program (NOITP or NAP) actually requires.
Decide: one program or both
Confirm with Ras Tafari Inc whether this stays a single NOITP application for the July showcase, or whether a second, separate NAP application (workshops + a fall showcase inside NAP's Oct 1-Dec 31 window) is also worth pursuing in parallel — see the Positioning Note below.