Music legends Bill Henderson and Roy Forbes and several aspiring songwriters will perform at the Songwriters’ Showcase Concert at Centre Stage later this month.
The concert, on Friday, April 20 at 8 p.m., will feature several of the participants in the weekend’s songwriting workshop.
Along with the concert, the 17th annual songwriters' workshop will be held at the George Ryga Centre on April 21 and 22.
Tanya Graham and Julie Blagborne of Summerland will attend the workshop. Two other Okanagan songwriters, David Federici of Kelowna and Carolyn Anele of Vernon, will also take part.
Henderson said songwriting is the least visible element of music, often overlooked as audiences notice showmanship, the skill of the musicians and the production quality.
“You’re not always aware of what the songwriter is doing,” he said.
“Musicians develop skills with the instrument, sometimes to a very high degree, but they don’t always understand what a song is.”
He added that a good song will remain with the listener long after the performance.
He urges songwriters to play their songs for those who are not musicians, to see how the songs are received.
Hearing another perspective on a song can help the songwriter to create a stronger piece of music.
Occasionally, the song will emerge exactly as the songwriter had initially imagined it, but more often, hearing feedback from others will enhance the piece, Henderson said.
“Often, it’s the blending that brings the energy.”
This is the 17th year Henderson and Forbes have held the songwriting workshop and while they have seen songwriters hone their skills, they have not seen their participants break onto the national or international music scene.
“My interest is not in creating stars,” Henderson said. “My interest is in helping people plumb the depths of songwriting. We’re focussing on the craft of songwriting.”
In the end, he said the best songwriters are those who learn the craft and then continue to write songs every day.
Tickets for the Songwriters’ Showcase Concert are available at Martin’s Flowers in Summerland, 250-494-5432 and at The Dragon’s Den in Penticton.