Song City Troy founder Scott Womer discusses monthly event
TROY – “Songs deserve a place to live.”
As stated on Song City Troy’s website, a songwriter’s song, or songs, deserve a place to live, breathe, and be performed in front of a live audience by a musician, whether it be at a coffee shop, a concert hall, or in this case, at the Troy bar and restaurant, The Ruck.
Song City Troy founder Scott Womer moved to Nashville, T.N. from Albany in 1995 in hopes of finding more music opportunities. The most important thing that Womer brought back to his current hometown of Troy years after staying in Nashville was the importance of songwriting and how a song can change lives.
Womer spent time at The Bluebird Cafe, a music staple in Nashville which featured weekly showcases of four local songwriters playing original songs in front of a live audience. The Bluebird Cafe is where country artist Keith Urban and country-turned-pop artist Taylor Swift were discovered.
Upon returning to Troy, he was energized by the talent and variety of the local music scene and he felt compelled to do whatever he could to help it grow and build community, thus founding Song City Troy, which is currently in its second season of showings.
On the second Tuesday of the month, at 7:30 p.m. located on the second floor of The Ruck, the room is filled with an audience excited to listen to four local songwriters, curated by Womer himself, for the evening.
During the 90 minute session, the musicians sit in a circle in the center of the room, facing each other, and rotate playing original songs three times. Before each song, each musician speaks
about their songwriting process and specific things that went into that particular song.
“The wonderful thing about a format like Song City is that it’s always changing, so you want to come back each month to see who’s performing.” Womer said. “Because we are multi-genre, you never know what you’re going to get and with all the amazing writers we have in the 518, the artist list keeps on growing.”
Song City Troy’s mission, according to its website, is to introduce music lovers to great local artists, create experiences that build relationships between artists and listeners, redefine what it means to be considered a “songwriter”, including all genres and styles both lyrical and instrumental, give musicians a chance to grow through collaboration and education while providing resources to local artists.
The last Song City Troy session, held Tuesday, Feb.13, featured local musicians Girl Blue (Arielle O’Keefe), Joseph Beaty and Alicia Macier Vascoy, Dylan Perrillo, and Sara Milonovich with her guitarist. The musicians entertained their audience with their melodic sounds and also performed new songs that they are composing.
Songwriting for several musicians serves as a healing tool for those who were undergoing a significant life experience, such as Beaty’s wife surviving breast cancer and how she went through cancer treatment, the need to meditate and heal in external places for Girl Blue (and her song, “Sage”), or Perrillo’s upright bass instrumental “Deer Run”, composed about his oppression to development.
Songwriting, for both Beaty and Perrillo, serves as a tool for them to play through their feelings of anxiety, and everyone enjoyed playing their songs with good company. And for Girl Blue, music has been a means of communicating her thoughts on becoming a mother to her first child, a daughter, through her song, “To Build A Home”.
After thoughts on Song City Troy
“Some of our greatest writers are hip hop artists, jazz artists, alternative and avant-garde artists and they deserve a place at the
table.” Womer said. “This not only creates respect for all styles of songwriting, but also expands the audiences’ experience and musical taste.”
Although Womer wouldn’t reveal the artists who are slated to perform at the next Song City Troy event on Tuesday, March 12, fans can anticipate seeing the music lineup soon online on Instagram at @songcitytroy, on the website www.songcitytroy.com. Fans can also listen to past Song City Troy performances on its YouTube channel.
Musicians interested in participating in, or attending any of the events can contact Scott Womer and check out Song City Troy on its social media platforms.
