WeHo poets win competition

On Saturday, April 20, the West Hollywood Slam Team competed and won first place at the Chill List Poetry Slam Invitational in Modesto, CA.

The Chill List features four of the best poetry slam teams in the country competing for a $2000 prize with a mix of group and individual performances of original poetry. Five judges from the audience award points to teams based on the strength of their poems and the quality of their performance. West Hollywood won with a cumulative score of 113.4, beating our competing teams from Oakland (111.4), Salt Lake City (110.1), and Visalia (108.7).

Chill List founder and host Sam Pierstorff says, “The West Hollywood team brought brilliance to the Chill List stage. Our Modesto audience loved their range from the humorous to the deeply emotional, intellectual, and inspirational.”

The West Hollywood Slam Team started meeting in July of 2023, assembled by former West Hollywood Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace and poet/coach Nate Lovell, the founders of The Mic @ Micky’s WeHo. Team members include the founders and five top poets slams at Micky’s: Meliza “Missy Fuego” Bañales, Dan “Pastiche Queen” Lovato, Tee Gardiner, and Raul Herrera.

Team member Pastiche Queen says, “The team operates as a microcosm of West Hollywood itself; nobody is gonna take care of us like we take care of us.”

Slam veteran and team member Missy Fuego explains the team as a historic first. “The West Hollywood team is not only the first slam team in WeHo, it’s the first all Queer/Non-Binary/Non-Labeled Slam Team in North America,” they say. “For years, slam has typically been dominated by heterosexual and cis narratives, with one or two members representing the LGBTQ community. The West Hollywood Slam Team steps forth, proudly, as the first all-inclusive team to prioritize LGBTQ issues and culture as well as regularly center sexual orientation and gender.”

The West Hollywood Slam Team is currently creating a showcase performance with  revolving guest poets, and is available for Pride performance bookings through rentpoet.com.