1st & 3rd Wednesdays at ROOTED Cafe at 7 PM

Songwriters in the Round at the Center for Arts at the Armory has an important milestone to celebrate. And we want you to join us!

Exactly one year ago we started getting talented, creative songwriters together in Somerville. No frills, no laser show, no choreography. We wanted to get to the heart of live performance, which, as it turns out, is people putting their energy, ideas, skills and emotions to work on a song — and then to share that song with people who want to hear it.

So many music venues close because they never establish the personal connections required to build a community around a place. Our goal at Songwriters in the Round is not to maximize profit extraction, it is to maximize everyone’s social capital. It is to get our eyeballs off our screens and see our neighbors face to face. It is to feel good about chipping in a few extra bucks to make sure that a songwriter can get dinner and an Uber home. This is art. This is humanity. This is not a zero-sum game. It adds something to all of us.

Come celebrate one year in this business of show at Songwriters in the Round on Wednesday, April 5, 7pm. David Thorne Scott will be the greeter and M.C., but then will turn it over to our guest host, Scarlet Keys. Scarlet’s warm, insightful interviews of Grammy-winning, Platinum-record-selling, and non-famous-but-still-incredible songwriters have made her podcast What’s In A Song a must-listen. Michael Wartofsky is the pride of the Boston musical theater scene, writing musicals such as Late, Cupcake and Car Talk while mentoring young composers. Ella McDonald returns with their poised, soulful performances of relatable emotional scenes. And Janie Barnett sings incisive, high-def pictures of love, joy, and heartbreak.

Songwriters in the Round
Wednesday April 5, 7pm-8:30pm
Arts at the Armory Café

Four songwriters, trading songs and swapping stories. And you have a front row seat.

Four songwriters take the stage, seated in a comfortable semi-circle. They take turns playing songs, occasionally joining in with each other on harmony vocals or guitar licks. The format encourages conversation between the writers, which gives the audience an opportunity to hear these creative people talk as if in their own living rooms. Inspired by the “guitar pulls” of the legendary Bluebird Café in Nashville.

Hosted by Somerville singer/songwriter David Thorne Scott. Held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $10.

Part of the ROOTED Armory Café Series. Café menu is available here: https://artsatthearmory.org/rooted-cafe/rooted-menu/
Beer and wine also available!

You might hear a young up-and-coming pro, an established mid-career performer and mentor, and a cherished elder of the scene — all sharing music. The growing relationships will warm your heart and enrich your soul. Come every week as the lineup shifts and new friends are made.

Our songwriters this week

Guest host Scarlet Keys is a Professor at the Berklee College of Music and a former staff songwriter for Warner Chappell. Scarlet’s songs have appeared on film and TV and garnered her a gold record. She has collaborated with artists such as Chris Stapleton, Eric Roberson, Melissa Ferrick, and local artist Sam Robbins. Some of her students include: Lizzy McAlpine, Charlie Puth, Amy Allen, Ingrid Andress, and Betty Who. Scarlet is the host of the “What’s in a Song” podcast and the author of “The Craft of Songwriting: Music, Meaning and Emotion” but most notably she is a world class parallel parker. https://www.scarletkeys.com

Janie Barnett came up as a performing songwriter in the alternative roots settings of Virginia, New England, and finally New York City, where she also became one of the top singers in recording sessions for film and television, sung behind seasoned artists such as Linda Rondstat, Rickie Lee Jones, and Bonnie Raitt and mentored emerging songwriters at Berklee College of Music. She has played performing arts centers, college theatres, and folk stages from City Winery to Club Passim, to the renowned Birchmere. Janie’s 2016 release “You See This River” was named a top 10 on several roots radio stations, and she is currently at work on a new album of original songs, as well as an album of re-imagined Cole Porter. www.janiebarnett.com

Ella McDonald is a Cambridge-based musician and songwriter whose thoughtful, intimate lyricism glides from haunting to healing in the same breath. Their 2018 debut album, February, is a lyrical exploration of her growth in friendship, self love, and queerness, and musically melds folk and R&B influences into a cohesive body. After spending last summer as a Lead Audio Technician at Interlochen in Michigan, they are working on recording their sophomore album. Ella’s creative spirit pulls from her experiences as a community organizer and their passion for cooking, photography, and music. You can find Ella on Instagram and TikTok at @ella.mcd, and on Spotify and Apple Music as Ella McDonald.

Michael Wartofsky is a Professor at Berklee College of Music, where he established an undergraduate minor in Musical Theater Writing in 2015 and won a Distinguished Faculty Award in 2018. Michael composed the music for LATE, a new musical chosen for a development process and Boston New Works Festival workshop by Moonbox Productions in 2022. His 2019 album “All the Possibilities: Broadway Sings Wartofsky” on Yellow Sound Label, produced by Sean Patrick Flahaven, features twelve breathtaking Broadway voices interpreting his original songs, including Kate Baldwin, Annie Golden, Alysha Umphress and Shayna Steele, with music direction by Eric Stern. Full productions as composer include the musicals CAR TALK: THE MUSICAL!!! and CUPCAKE, which ran simultaneously in Boston in 2012; music/lyrics for THE MAN IN MY HEAD starring Darius de Haas at New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) 2006 and music for FRIENDSHIP OF THE SEA (book and lyrics by Ms. Cahill) for North Shore Music Theater’s mainstage and school tour (2002, 2003). www.michaelwartofsky.com

1st & 3rd Wednesdays at ROOTED Cafe at 7 PM

Four songwriters take the stage, seated in a comfortable semi-circle. They take turns playing songs, occasionally joining in with each other on harmony vocals or guitar licks. The format encourages conversation between the writers, which gives the audience an opportunity to hear these creative people talk as if in their own living rooms. Inspired by the “guitar pulls” of the legendary Bluebird Café in Nashville.

You might hear a young up-and-coming pro, an established mid-career performer and mentor, and a cherished elder of the scene — all sharing music. The growing relationships will warm your heart and enrich your soul. Come every week as the lineup shifts and new friends are made.

Hosted by Somerville singer/songwriter David Thorne Scott. Held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Part of the ROOTED Armory Café Series. Café menu is available here. Beer and wine also available!