Back in 2009, around the time that DIY space Fort Useless was opening in Brooklyn, Mr. Jared Friedman told Jeremiah McVay about his idea for what he called a “curated open mic.” The idea was to invite a bunch of people to play a few songs each, with a suggested format: 1 new song + 1 old song + 1 cover, with discussion encouraged among the musicians.

In December of that year, the very first Songwriters Salon was held at Fort Useless with 11 musicians sharing their music and talking amongst themselves. The event became one of the mainstays of Fort Useless’ programming and community over the next 5 years

After Fort Useless closed in 2014, the Salon went on a hiatus before returning first at Bessie’s, then at Cavebird — both also in Brooklyn.

Now, we keep going… for now, the best place to follow along is on Facebook.