Verbal tradition
holds that Songmakers was started in the late 1940's as an informal jamming group. A
recently-unearthed newsletter from 1963
reveals that the club was formally launched in 1953 as a "workshop" for
songwriters. Over the years it has evolved into more of a mutual support group for
songwriters, musicians and singers wanting to improve their craft, meet other like-minded
folks, play lots of music together, and generally have a lot of FUN!
Songmakers was incorporated in the '60s as a non-profit organization. At that time
a set of by-laws was adopted, a board of directors was formed,
and a more formal organizational structure was thus adopted. We don't let that interfere
with our FUN, however!
Songmakers is somewhat like a folk music club, except that (we feel) we welcome and
embrace a more eclectic mix of musical genres and styles, such as country, oldies (from
the 20's through yesterday), bluegrass, gospel, blues, humorous songs, and of course folk.
The only common thread is that everything we do is acoustic (with the exception of
occasional performances before large groups) and FUN!
We currently have about 500 members.
