SEATED SHOW

SONGWRITERS ROLLER DERBY SHOWCASE
The Songwriters Roller Derby Showcase, presented by the Asheville Songwriters Association, is a quarterly music show with no roller skates included – just four performers “rollin’ out the songs, elbows-n-all.” Curated and hosted by Thomas Kozak and Jodi John Pippin, each “Derby Night” at The Grey Eagle will showcase the craft of songwriting in an intimate and welcoming setting. As an added element of the Songwriters Roller Derby Showcase, a surprise guest will join the performers on stage for interactive, on-the-spot commentary ~ a “look under the hood of the songwriting process” of sorts. The audience will have a chance to share comments as well, if they are inspired to do so. For most of the evening, the songwriters will perform finished songs, but they will also each share a brand new song that has not yet been performed on stage. Come support the songwriters as they show their vulnerable side and help nurture the art and craft of songwriting in the region and beyond.
The performers for this first Derby will be:

Old Sap:
Old Sap. Poet from Chicago, rambled out to Montana, cut a banjo from a tamarack, strings across the country, foot like a freight train, voice rushing down over lush Appalachia, sings a thrush tune through the rush hour and into your long-forgotten prairie dreams. Folk. Folk Rock. Americana.

Silk and Stone:
Silk and Stone is an Ohio-grown duo writing honest songs about life
and the emotions that come with it. With acoustic guitar, close
harmonies, and a shared love of storytelling, their music is rooted in
connection and authenticity.
At the heart of their songwriting is love, in all its forms. From
falling in love and heartbreak to friendship, family, and
self-discovery, they believe love is the thread that ties together the
human experience. Their songs explore the moments that shape us.

Lillie Syracuse:
Pulling from a well of folk-rock, soul, and jazz inspiration, Lillie Syracuse has formed a genre bending artistry and writing style deeply and uniquely her own. With a voice often likened to Norah Jones, Bonnie Raitt and Brandi Carlile, Lillie sings to the fullness that is being alive with a razor sharp focus on the heart of each person in the room with her. Lillie has just released her self produced sophomore album Big New Heart and lives in Blue Ridge mountains of Asheville, NC.

Ryan Furstenberg:
Ryan Furstenberg has been an active member of the Asheville music scene for almost two decades. His main project The Moon and You, a chamber-folk duo with his wife Melissa Hyman, has spent the last decade touring the US and Europe. Ryan also performs his songs under his own name and with his roots rock group Phantom Clutch.
In addition to his role as a bandleader, Ryan enjoys collaborating and performing as a sideman with the long-time Asheville groups Tina and Her Pony, the Dulci Ellenberger band, and The Dark Turn of Mind band, a spooky October collaboration between The Moon and You and local songwriter Hannah Kaminer.