20th Anniversary
The Great Canadian Song-Along
March 9 and 10, 2012

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It’s hard to believe but the Great Canadian Song-Along is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Song-Along is Ottawa’s annual songwriting and performance event. The event is organized by Writers’ Bloc and presented by the Spirit of Rasputin’s Arts Society.

Here’s the deal:

  • Write a NEW song on one or more of the topics below, and
  • Sign up to perform that song and one other song of your choice

The event will be held at the funky new Le Michel-Ange Café, located at 35 Laurel. Le Michel-Ange Café is a coffee roasting warehouse / café located in Little Italy. Check it out at www.lemichelange.ca

Performance dates are Friday March 9 and Saturday March 10, starting at 7:00 pm

Now…the topics for 2012

  • (something/someone) that gets you through
  • turning the page
  • out in the rain
  • a campfire or cowboy song

…plus three bonus anniversary topics…

  • a hat (a topic from Year 1)
  • any colour but blue (the most popular of all past Song-Along topics)
  • a number (because this is the 20th Song-Along)

I hope you are inspired. If you would like to participate, write a NEW song on any of these topics, and contact:

  • Tony Turner 613-798-0365 / tony@tonyturner.ca , or
  • Greg Kelly 613-680-6163 / grgr2swtr@yahoo.ca

Make sure you tell us the night you would like to perform. Feel free to collaborate in songwriting / or your performance. If the performer is someone other than the writer, that’s fine. Just let us know closer to the event.

That’s it. We hope you can join in.

Happy writing!

What is Writers’ Bloc?

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Writers’ Bloc is an open group of songwriters based in Ottawa.  We meet once a month to share the songs we’ve written and offer gentle suggestions for their improvement.

Usually people write to one of four topics chosen in the last meeting.

Where:

The meetings are at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, a.k.a. OFC Music, at 1111 Bank Street.

Thanks:

Writers Bloc has been meeting at the Folklore Centre for un-numbered years – huge thanks to the generosity of Arthur MacGregor and all the staff there for the support they have given WB in many many ways.

When:

They run from two o’clock to five o’clock on the second Sunday of each month – except for the summer – in recent years we haven’t met in July and August.

What:

Usually about 6 to 12 people turn up and we can take 10 to 15 minutes per song, which is enough time to get acquainted with it.  Normally, people bring copies of the lyrics to aid the discussion – sometimes people don’t hand them out till after they’ve played the tune. There is no “criticism” but people offer reactions and, if welcome, suggestions.

How:

Most people bring guitars but you can borrow one.