Chico State’s School of the Arts Productions will host the first of three musical competitions, Chico Unplugged, at the Madison Bear Garden restaurant on Thursday, Sept. 20.

This biannual competition by SOTA allows the competition of singers and songwriters, for three Thursdays, to share their original work with others in the Chico community. Artists can perform up to two original songs, with a panel of three judges assessing each performance. At the end of each evening, three winners are announced.

The winners’ showcase offers a grand prize of a one-hour recording session at Chico State’s recording studio, where recording engineers will record the original music of the winning artist.

The first competition will take place in the 2nd floor of Madison Bear Garden on E. 2nd Ave from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20. Signups start at 6 p.m. on a first come, first serve basis. The next competition will be on Sept. 27, with the winners’ showcase on Oct. 4.

For more information, Public Relations Director Gabriel Castillo is available at (530) 321-8867.

Natalie Hanson can be reached at [email protected] or @NatalieH_Orion on Twitter.