I Just heard a great songwriter round at The Pour House in Nashville featuring SaraBeth Geoghegan and Randy Reed. I love these guys. They are both excellent performers and songwriters that I have been aware of for awhile.
It was a little hard to hear them in this bar/restaurant atmosphere at first but the sound got better and the people's attention was grabbed once Randy and SaraBeth hit their stride. Both performers are great songwriters who deserve more attentive audiences and I've seen them kill it with full bands at other venues. But there was something special about hearing them perform stripped down too. Both artists write poignant songs with a nice touch of humor.
SaraBeth has a certain quirkiness to her songwriting and performance style that really speaks to the person who...as she says is "good at being in bad relationships."
Randy Reed, who is very hip and now and puts on a show that appeals to young rock and roll hipsters, can also write a straight up tune that could be covered by an artist that might have a mainstream hit with it and fund his other aspirations for a long time.
If you get a chance to check out either of these artists do it!