ABOUT
Founded in 2012, the Bergen County Songwriters Group is a consortium of songwriters, artists, producers, and music business professionals who are dedicated to the art and craft of creating musical works. Our members’ compositions encompass a wide variety of musical genres and styles – including pop, rock, country, alternative, and other types of music. Simply put, it is the love of music that brings us together.
We welcome everyone to join us, at every stage of their musical journey. Maybe you’ve just started exploring musical expression, or maybe you want to hone your songwriting skills, or maybe you’d like to get feedback on your song or track from fellow musicians. Or maybe you’re looking for a collaborator or co-writing partner – whatever your musical interest, we’re here for you!
All are welcome – our current members range in age from 16 to 70 and have a wide range of musical interests, all of which we celebrate – we’re supportive, collaborative, and a lot of fun!
A NOTE FROM MARK RYAN, CURRENT COORDINATOR:
The Bergen County Songwriters Group works to foster and share creativity, to build a strong community of like-minded artists, and to provide the opportunity for our members to explore their musical interests and goals. ~ Mark Ryan
HELGA KAEFER, FOUNDING PRESIDENT
Helga Kaefer is currently a Professional Songwriter, Ketone Songs (a division of Sunset Gallery Music). She created our incredible community of songwriters out of the deep love and passion we all share for music.
FEATURED VIDEO
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Songwriter Peter Sawyer, performing his original song, Scars. Scars was the 3rd Place Winner in the 2021 Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey's high school music competition, "Your Song! Your Voice! Shout Down Drugs NJ". See https://shoutdowndrugs.com/assets/content/files/WebWinnerImage2021.pdf for details.
EVENTS
Monthly Group Meetings
Our group meets once a month to present works in progress for feedback.
You can play your songs or tracks in live or recorded form (see below for details) and receive feedback from your fellow attendees in a nurturing and supportive setting. We actively focus on creating a positive experience for all and seek to enrich each participant’s songwriting process.
If you don't have a song to present, you're always welcome to join us to listen to and respond to your fellow musicians’ works. We value your thoughts.
And, if you're not yet a member but would like to attend a session, you're welcome to join us as well!
WHERE: We meet once a month - sign up for our newsletter below for more information!
WHAT TO BRING: If you're bringing a song to play for us, please bring several printed lyric sheets to hand out, and let us know if you’d like written comments on the returned sheets from our members in addition to our discussion feedback. We do not provide musical instruments for group use at our meetings, but you are welcome to bring your own guitar or keyboard if you wish to perform your music live. If you're bringing a recorded song or track, you can play it on your own laptop or phone.
Special Events
Details on upcoming special events will be posted here.
Songwriting Sessions
Periodically, our members meet in small groups to collaborate or co-write by request. We try to schedule these small group sessions at dates and times that are most convenient for all the participants.
Performances
For information and updates on our current performance schedule, please go to our SHOWS page for details.
SHOWS
Upcoming performance information will be posted here.
CONTACT US
LINKS
LION'S DEN COFFEEHOUSE & OPEN MIC
http://www.stmarksteaneck.org/wordpress/?page_id=97
MUSIC AT MIDVALE