Do you feel like there aren’t enough places for you to share your songs in your town? Or do you wonder why there aren’t more venues for touring singer-songwriters to perform in your community? Do you wish you had a way to barter for shows in other areas so you could expand your fan base?
You can do something about it. You can start your own scene for songwriters, right in your town.
How about hosting an open mic for songwriters at the local coffee shop or bookstore? Why not open your home up to friends and fans for a monthly house concert series? What about a singer-songwriter showcase for local performers at an art gallery, yoga studio or restaurant?
I’m doing just that: I’m launching what hopefully will be a continuing series of shows at my local coffee haunt, Brewed Awakening (yes, isn’t that cute!) in my little town of Metuchen, NJ. It will feature myself and two other singer-songwriters each month, with all of us doing half-hour sets.
I’ve done this kind of thing before: I used to help my good friend Meg Braun host her open mic at a now-defunct bar in Alphabet City in Manhattan, and I used to host a monthly singer-songwriter showcase at a now-defunct coffeehouse on the Upper East Side.
And, there are actually a good number venues for singer-songwriters in New Jersey — but not right in my town, attracting the folks in my own and surrounding local communities.
Here are a few reasons I think you should consider hosting a songwriter event, even if you are a performer yourself and want to focus on your own stuff:
1) Scratch someone else’s back and they’ll scratch yours.
If you host a songwriter at your show who’s from, say, Boston, you can ask if they can do the same for you so you can head up to Beantown and gain a few new fans.
2) You’ll get to mentor younger, beginning songwriters, who might be great to know later on!
I still remember the open mics I went to when I first started performing — the Dark Star Lounge, the C-Note, the Baggott Inn, Sun Music Company and many more. That was where I first met so many of my songwriter friends that I’m close with now — many of whom have gone on to record CDs, join bands, tour regularly and I’ve performed with them.
3) You’ll gain new fans in your community.
Folks in your town may not always want to see just you perform — it can be a great hook to invite other singer-songwriters who you think people will respond to. And it just spreads the word that your town is a great place to see terrific artists play.
4) You’ll add to the fabric of the universe.
Well, that’s just one that my husband always says. He says he wishes there were musicians playing on every street corner and every train car because it just adds to the fabric of the universe. True!
Anyway, that’s me on my little songwriting soapbox for today: Get more songwriters and great music going in your community, and you’ll add to the fabric of your town in 2010!
