April 2, 2026
Creative Capital Award Application
Say It With A Song submitted an application to the Creative Capital Award, one of the most significant grants in the United States for independent artists.
The Application
On April 2, 2026, at 2:42 AM, Say It With A Song submitted its application to the Creative Capital Award. The timing was deliberate. April 2nd is 4/2. The submission time of 2:42 contains 42 within the hour. The number carries weight for Joseph David Murphy, the writer and producer behind every song in the catalog.
The application presents the full scope of the project: five artist vehicles, each with its own voice and audience, all written and produced by one person. Josef Avid writes country. Sandi Solara writes country from a woman's perspective. Less Than The Least sets Shakespeare to alt-rock. Solano del Norte is a mariachi ensemble with Salvadoran roots. And SayItWithASong is the umbrella, writing across genres and languages.
The mission is singular: to lift every listener to look up and look forward. Every song begins with the lyric. The sound follows the story being told. The vocal character shifts to match the moment. The genre serves the people the song is written for, not the other way around.
What Creative Capital Supports
Creative Capital is one of the few grant programs in the United States that funds individual artists working at the intersection of innovation and ambition. The award provides up to $50,000 in direct funding along with career development services, mentorship, and a network of fellow awardees.
The program has supported over 700 projects since 1999. It is highly competitive, with acceptance rates in the low single digits. The application required a detailed project narrative, work samples, a professional resume, and a clear articulation of how the work would develop over three to five years.
The Vision
Say It With A Song is not a traditional label. It is one person writing for the world, using five distinct vehicles to reach different audiences in their own language and their own genre. The songs are composed and produced using modern production tools, but the craft is rooted in the oldest tradition there is: a person with something to say, finding the words, and setting them to music.
Joseph David Murphy is bilingual in English and Spanish, having spent seven years in the Yucatan Peninsula. He writes poetry, songs, and prose. He is a minister of the gospel. And he believes that music, at its best, encourages people to look up and look forward.
What Happens Next
The Creative Capital Award review process takes several months. In the meantime, Say It With A Song continues to release music, build its catalog, and develop each artist vehicle's presence across streaming platforms, YouTube, and the web.
If you are interested in the vision behind Say It With A Song and would like to discuss the application in detail, we welcome the conversation. Reach out at press@sayitwithasong.pro.