Liza Mitchell
The 5th Annual Roscolusa Songwriters Festival – April 23
The 5th Annual Roscolusa songwriters festival celebrates the creative world of songwriting with a unique event April 23 at Nocatee. A collection of singer/songwriters from Nashville and beyond, including Kim Paige, Whitney Duncan, Applegate Nace, Casee Allen, Christine Jamra, Rick Ferrell, Casey Black and Jesse Rice will create a cozy, intimate atmosphere for a night of original music.
This year’s talent lineup will also feature songwriter Caitlyn Smith, who co-wrote the Meghan Trainor and John Legend single ‘Like I’m Going to Lose You.’
The event is free for general admission and features some of the city’s finest craft vendors, a variety of foods provided by BONO’s, and a raffle with some amazing prizes. Benefactor tickets are available for $20 and include food, two drink tickets, VIP parking, seating and other amenities at www.roscolusa.com.
“We have a benefactor tent set up, and the songwriters will hang out in there, so it’s kind of a meet-and-greet,” says Roscolusa coordinator Kathy Sullivan. “They’re all really approachable. You can go up and shake their hands and chat with them. People are very curious about how music is made, and what it takes, and these people are rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in Nashville. It’s cool to get the inside scoop.”
Performers will also share the stories that inspired the songs. Roscolusa was created to shine a light on some of the best singer/songwriters in Nashville. Sullivan says the event was originally developed as way for young songwriters to come together through the shared creative process and raise funds to benefit the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund. Her daughter, Kim, is a songwriter in Nashville and participated in a concert series at the Vanderbilt Observatory.
“We went, and we just fell in love with it. She said ‘mom, we’ve got to bring something like this to Jacksonville. It’s awesome to be able to celebrate where music begins.’ That’s kind of our slogan, ‘there’s always a story behind a song’,” she says. “It’s a pretty common thing for songwriters to go on songwriter retreats, so they all came down to our house in Ponte Vedra. They’re all starving artists even though they all have publishing deals, so we had a house concert to help raise money for them and have everyone just have a good time.”
The inaugural event drew a crowd of over 150 people. Since then, Roscolusa continues to grow at Nocatee, raising money for the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, whose mission is to help families tackle childhood cancer by providing comprehensive financial, emotional and practical support.
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