The Songwriter's Beat is an acoustic night for performing songwriters, where all are encouraged to perform new material in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere. At the Songwriter's Beat each songwriter has 25 minutes to perform; there are four songwriters per night, making it a treat for anyone in the audience, as well as an opportunity for interaction with other songwriters. For more information on how to submit your music and join the ever-growing Songwriter's Beat community,
click here.

Hosted by singer-songwriter Valerie Ghent, The Songwriter's Beat meets every third Wednesday of the month at the Cornelia Street Cafe, doors at 8:30pm.

In the fall of 2004, The Songwriter's Beat started the The Songwriter's Beat Showcase, a focused showcase night for songwriters who have already performed at The Songwriter's Beat. Watch the calendar for announcements on upcoming shows.

In July 2005 we started the annual Songwriter's Beat Festival, a week-long festival celebrating songwriters and original songs. This event features 25-30 songwriters over 6 days, and was the catalyst for the entire summer Festival series at the Cafe, which now takes place during July and August each year. Yes, the Songwriter's Beat Festival was the first!

In 2003 we held The Songwriter's Beat NewSongs Workshop which met every first Tuesday of the month. The focus of this NewSongs workshop was on - not surprisingly - new songs, which allowed songwriters to present ideas as they were taking shape.

We are delighted to announce that thanks to support from the ASCAP Foundation in 2008, we are in the process of planning fall songwriting workshops, so please bookmark this page for updates!

If you are interested in participating in a songwriters workshop please visit the "music submission" page and let us know! Thank you!