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GOOD THINGS don't die young.
Take the Fredericksburg Songwriters'
Showcase, for example. In October 1993,
Bob Gramann and Peter Mealy founded the monthly concert series--and it's still going strong.
"We wanted to create a venue for original acoustic music that is not necessarily commercially successful, but is very good," Gramann said.
The nonprofit showcase is held in the concert hall above Picker's Supply on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg and attracts performers from across the United States and Europe. Local musicians, including Gramann and Mealy, also perform in the series each year.
Gramann is a folk guitarist from Spotsylvania County who was voted Fredericksburg's best acoustic act in a music poll by The Free Lance-Star in 1995. Mealy, who owns Picker's Supply, writes a monthly column in Acoustic Musician magazine and performs contemporary folk music regularly in the area with Laurie Rose Griffith.
"We get calls at least weekly from performers who want to audition and many are very good," said Gramann's wife, Mary Lou, who also donates time to keep the shows going. "Sometimes I think we might get someone here who will be famous someday--someone like a Tracy Chapman, who was discovered playing small venues."
About 50 people usually attend the shows--and some come from as far as Northern Virginia or Richmond to take in the sound and cozy setting. They range in age from children to seniors.
The series is unique in that it is run completely through the work of volunteers. Many of the volunteers and audience members are musicians themselves and enjoy hearing new songwriters.
"We are lucky to be allowed to use a room above Picker's Supply that has lots of atmosphere, old stone and brick walls, creaky stairway and actually very good acoustics," Mary Lou Gramann said.
"We add to the atmosphere by providing self-serve coffee, soft drinks and homemade cookies. So I guess we are a throwback to the coffeehouse days of folk music."
And the nonsmoking, nonalcoholic location is a change from some of the noisy, smoky bars and restaurants where the musicians are usually booked.
"Doing bars can be exhausting, said Frank Coleman, a songwriter, performer and recording artist from Richmond, who performed in Friday's show. "It's much more fulfilling here because people come to listen. That's really cool."
The shows typically feature four musicians, who perform in an "in-the-round" format, which means they take turns playing one song at a time. Gramann tries to book musicians who have different styles--ranging from bluegrass to classical guitar--so that there will be something to suit everyone's taste.
"This is especially fun because we get to meet other artists and trade songs," said Eleni Kelakos, a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, who performed her original music about issues such as sexism and ageism in Friday's concert.
And last week's concert was a first--the musicians performed the second half unplugged--which has been a dream of Gramann's since the get-go.
"It creates a much more intimate setting," Gramann explained.
Tom Grant, a singer-songwriter from Philadelphia who creates blues, reggae, folk, soul and bluegrass music, was the first to perform with no microphones. Since Grant lived in Fredericksburg in 1980 and 1983, his music was familiar to some of the locals.
The Fredericksburg Songwriters' Showcase is held the last Friday of the month, September through May, except December, at 8 p.m. There is a requested donation of $8, most of which goes directly to the performers.
Most of the musicians have compact discs available, but it's mainly their passion for music that keeps them coming.
"I just love doing it," said Mary Dailey, a musician from West Virginia, who performed her folk music Friday. "I just try to touch people. If I can touch one person, I've been successful."