Last Saturday night I was setting up to play with my buddies at a coffeehouse in a church in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Church-sponsored coffeehouses are a time-honored tradition in Dallas, the oldest of which is the famous Uncle Calvin’s. Church or no church, things can get pretty raucous at these events, so [...]

About the unexpected magical moments within live performances, where songs take a shape of their own and transform into something broader than originally written. The audience, the room, the sound all become significant but your intuition and inspiration even more so.

To do your songs justice when playing in front of a new audience, you owe it to yourself to work on some of your stage mannerisms. Even a great song can end up sounding rather mediocre if the groundwork isn’t laid for the audience to be receptive to your songs. Here are a few tips [...]

Went to Eddie’s Attic last night for their Monday Night Open Mic Competition, along with fellow Asheville Singer-Songwriter Chris Jamison. It was a three-and-a-half hour drive from Asheville but well worth it. Got there around 5:30pm and checked in. Went for a quick dinner around the corner at Raging Burrito (highly recommended). Changed clothes. Walked [...]

Just finished watching Joseph Arthur perform “Slide Away” on Letterman (video link) and I have to say the guy is sounding better than ever. For those of you familiar with him, it looks like he is definitely making an attempt at larger mainstream exposure. Instead of the brooding, mysterious Joseph Arthur we see a new [...]

So you have a handful of original songs and you feel like trying them out on a listening audience? You’ve played them at your local coffee shop ad nauseum. People like them. But you want to spread your wings and see what a new audience might think? Try an Open Mic tour. What is an [...]

Every Monday I will post some of my favorite live singer-songwriter MP3′s from around the web. Glenn Philips (w/ Willy Porter) -Walk On The Ocean (flac) 5/10/2006 Live @ World Cafe Convert FLAC files to MP3. Or listen to FLAC files with Winamp. Michael Tolcher -Sooner or Later (mp3) 3/18/2005 Roseland Ballroom NYC Martin Sexton [...]