Songwriter's showcases local pub features area acts

The Bloomington Songwriters Showcase at the Player’s Pub brings four local, national and world singer-songwriters to play together in a set in which each singer performs four or five songs.

Local Bloomington artists Dave McConnell, Laura Lashbrooks, Tim O’Malley and Joe Peters performed Americana melodies with original lyrics about politics, love and Halloween on Monday.

The Showcase was founded by Dave McConnell, Marc Haggerty and Suzette Weakley in January 2006. Weakley said the showcase is modeled after the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tenn. McConnell and Weakley manage the booking and require auditions for the artists wanting to play.

Weakley said there are 325 listed writers for showcase and word is getting out as artists from Toronto, Brazil and Austin, Texas are added.

“We are looking for originality and somebody that is not like everyone else,” McConnell said.

McConnell said he looks at artists’ MySpace pages or Web sites and goes to open mic nights in search of songwriters. Artists of all genres are welcome to perform.

“We like to mix it up from blues to rock and roll to folk,” Weakley said.

Weakley began singing as a little girl, but did not start songwriting until she was in her 30s.

“I wake up with music in my head, it never goes away,” she said. “If I didn’t write songs, I’d go crazy.”

Weakley said songwriters are often overlooked as the people with the big pipes that take the attention. 

The pub allows entry for patrons ages 21 and older, but the south room recently became available for those older than 18.

“Even though the 2010 schedule is half full, we would really like more students to play,” Weakley said.

She added that the showcase is popular because no one else in town has anything happening on Mondays.

“People always say ‘boy I wish we had a place like this in our town,’” McConnell said.

Player’s Pub owner Greg Hill said he was honored that the Songwriter’s Showcase chose his bar.

“Someone will say they saw one of these guys or gals who is going to make it big in my pub,” he said.