OneBeat 2025 Music Residency Program for Musicians

OneBeat is the premier multinational music exchange program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Through a suite of programs designed to use collaborative music creation to promote civic discourse, young musicians explore how artists, institutions and communities can work together to rejuvenate local economies and promote civic engagement through music, technology, and the creative arts.

OneBeat is accepting applications for a month-long U.S.-based music exchange scheduled for the spring of 2025, which will convene 25 musicians from up to 54 eligible countries and territories. OneBeat Fellows will spend approximately one month in an intensive residency which offers a chance for artists to write, produce, and perform original music, and develop strategies for arts-based community engagement. OneBeat Fellows then go on tour across a region of the U.S., performing for a wide array of American audiences, collaborating with local musicians, and leading workshops with youth and community organizations. During the month-long exchange, OneBeat musicians develop projects for their home countries that embody the power of musical collaboration and civic engagement to address shared community challenges.

• Table of Content
• About OneBeat
• OneBeat Music Residency Program
• Aim and Benefits of OneBeat Music Residency Program
• Requirements for OneBeat Music Residency Program Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About OneBeat

OneBeat is the gathering place for the musical leaders of the 21st century. Launched in 2012, OneBeat began as an annual U.S-based residency and tour program that brings early-career musicians together from around the globe to collaboratively write, produce and perform original music, and develop strategies for arts-based civic and social engagement. Since then, OneBeat has grown into a constellation of programs in production around the globe. OneBeat provides a chance for musicians and artists from an incredible diversity of backgrounds to seek common ground, create new musi... continue reading

OneBeat Music Residency Program

Aim and Benefits of OneBeat Music Residency Program

• Collaboration is central. OneBeat offers musicians the opportunity to collaborate on new projects and to explore new musical traditions. Rather than showcasing solo talent, OneBeat musicians will work together across stylistic and cultural divides in pursuit of new musical possibilities.
• OneBeat is socially engaged. We are looking for musicians who have a strong commitment to their communities and who are seeking new ways to engage in youth development, music education, music therapy, conflict resolution, a global dialogue through music, and other ways of working towards more egalitarian and democratic societies.
• OneBeat is a FREE program (but not a paid gig). The OneBeat program covers all Fellows’ travel, transportation, food, and lodging. We also offer a modest stipend. While we are not able to pay performance fees, OneBeat offers Fellows a chance to create new material, establish lifelong musical partnerships and friendships, learn new marketable skills, tour the US, and develop professional connections.

Requirements for OneBeat Music Residency Program Qualification

• Musical Excellence – A high level of performance, composition, improvisational, production and/or technological skill. Ideally OneBeat musicians will be innovating stylistically, lyrically, or technologically within their musical worlds.
• Collaboration – Applicants’ willingness to reach across cultural and musical divides in creating original music or re-interpreting traditional music, while respecting the essence of each tradition. Applicants should be prepared to try new things musically.
• Social Engagement – Musicians who have used music to serve their communities or greater societies. This might consist of guiding young people in music education, addressing social or political issues through musical content, reviving dying musical traditions, and more.
• Age – Applicants must be between 19-35 years old.
• English Proficiency – Applicants should be able to converse in and understand basic English, as it will be the common language of the OneBeat program.
• Country or Territory of Origin – OneBeat Fellows must currently live full-time in one of the 45 eligible countries and territories. We also seek applicants who have not traveled extensively to the U.S. or have rarely performed in the U.S.
• Internet Proficiency – Whenever possible, OneBeat Fellows should actively use email and be able to connect to the internet to participate in website-based activities.

Musicians from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply, with or without formal musical training. We welcome music of all genres, including but not limited to: traditional/folk, hip hop, experimental, electronic, jazz, classical, sound design, beat-making, multimedia art, or any combination of these styles. In additional to full-time professional musicians, we also invite adventurous musicians who double as community organizers, instrument builders, writers, videographers, musicologists, educators, storytellers, dancers, shadow-puppeteers, and more.

Audio/Video Application Materials: Applicants should plan to write about their musical background and interests as well as future projects and goals. Applicants will be asked to submit 3-5 samples of their solo and collaborative work (both audio and video are accepted).

Application Deadline

How to Apply

If you have questions please contact [email protected]

Please register to start a new application.
If you've already started, login to continue.
Please read the Frequently Asked Questions before beginning your application.

For more details, visit OneBeat website