Our annual Community Day (held Saturday June 24) brought songwriters from Frederick to Fredericksburg together for a fabulous day of, about, and for song. Many songs were sung, instruments were played (including the saw!), techniques and critiques were shared, old friends reconnected, new relationships began, and much fun was had. See the SAW facebook page for many more photos (thanks to Jay Keating).

For anyone that missed Saturday and may be curious about how Community Day's critique sessionswork, Jim Thorne provides a recap:

First Impressions:  A group of six panelists from various parts of the music business listened to the first 60 seconds of all the original songs submitted by the attendees. There was quite a diverse range of music styles and arrangements, and the panelists reacted by offering helpful suggestions. After the feedback, the song creators identified themselves and offered their own explanations of the recordings.

Performance Critiques: Three music reviewers from SAW filled out detailed score sheets as they listened to several live performances. The performance categories included things like stage presence, microphone technique and instrument tuning. The audience got to enjoy a showcase of many songs, and the performers collected their score sheets afterward for reference.