Songwriting Festival Brings a Country Vibe
Source: vineyardgazette.com
Country music is coming to the Vineyard once again as part of the Martha’s Vineyard Songwriting Festival.
The four-day festival runs from Thursday, Sept. 18 to Sunday, Sept. 21 at various venues around the Island.
Midnight Taco, The Strand and Sandbar will host songwriters and rising stars hailing from the country music scene in Nashville. The artists will also take part in the Tivoli Day celebration, which takes place all over downtown Oak Bluffs on Sept. 20.
Songwriters attending the festival include CJ Solar, Dave Kuncio, Rick Huckaby, Paul Sikes and Ben Williams, who have written songs for musical artists such as Alicia Keys, Megan Maroney and Morgan Wallen. The writers will be sharing their creative process with audiences.
Up-and-coming singers and musicians round out the event.
Festival founder Matt Casey, who grew up visiting the Vineyard, decided to expand the event this year due to popular demand.
“I tried to make it a little bit bigger this year, but still keep it very manageable in terms of attendance and not have any impact on traffic,” he said.
Many artists who performed last year are returning.
“I feel like a lot of the artists and hit writers developed good connections with people on the Island while they were here,” Mr. Casey said. “It seems like people are excited to have a little more overlap of people coming back this year.”
Mr. Williams, who is behind hits such as Tennessee Orange by Megan Maroney, said he enjoys sharing the story of how he came to write a particular song.
“It’s so fun to hear the story behind the song and where it came from, what that day looked like writing it, what that year looked like writing it,” he said.
He is excited about the upcoming festival.
“To get to go somewhere like Martha’s Vineyard and then hear a whole room or a whole theatre sing every word to all your songs back, it’s something that just doesn’t get old,” he said.
Songwriter Paige Davis, a Massachusetts native who grew up visiting Cape Cod, is one of the returning artists.
“I’m really excited to play my music for new people up on the Vineyard,” she said. “I’ve been writing a lot and releasing a lot of music, so I’m excited for people to hear it.”
With a degree in psychology, Ms. Davis often finds a common thread between her studies and songwriting.
“I feel like a lot of my writing is very self aware and reflective,” she said. “When I write with and for other people, it makes it a little bit easier to kind of suss out what they’re maybe trying to say, or how they’re feeling, because I have a good background of trying to figure out the layers of people.”
Mr. Casey said the Vineyard is the perfect backdrop for an event like this.
“[The Island] is great for being a contained area where people really love live music,” he said.
