How to Play The Bluebird Cafe—Nashville, TN

Dressed in unassuming decor (actually down right modest), the Bluebird is the home of great songwriting and great small-room acoustic music shows.

It's natural that the Bluebird is small, intimate (and non-smoking!) and unpretentious: The Bluebird is all about the music.

Says club owner Amy Kurland on the Bluebird's website, "Opened in 1982 as a casual gourmet restaurant with some live music, the Bluebird Cafe has become a music club first and a restaurant second. In 1985 Sunday writer's nights were added as a chance for new writers to audition and perform before a special guest writer. This became an immediate success. In 1987 dinner shows were added. The concept was to have the audience come earlier than 9:30, eat dinner and watch some lesser known musicians play.

"Although it took a while for the idea to catch on, these shows have also become very popular. The Bluebird has been featured in many newspapers, on TV, and is also the setting for the movie The Thing Called Love, starring River Phoenix, K.T. Oslin, Samantha Mathis & Sandra Bullock. Kathy Mattea was the first star to be identified with The Bluebird, she is still a friend and a regular guest today. Garth Brooks played on our Open Mic and Sunday Songwriters Shows before he was discovered. You may be able to see some of our shows on the web, or our television show Live From the Bluebird Cafe, on Turner South. We take shows to other venues around the world including festivals in the Southeast and Robert Redford's Sundance Resort."

How to Play The Bluebird

"Open Mic Night: For writers who haven't played at the Bluebird and writers from out of town, Open Mic is the place to start. It gives songwriters a chance to play 2 of their own original songs, solo, or accompanied by no more than 2 others on stage. Drums and backing tracks are not allowed. Open Mic is a great place to try out new material, meet other writers, become a part of the songwriting community, and practice your performing skills. We recommend that all new writers play Open Mic here at the Bluebird as well as at the many other writers clubs in Nashville, on a regular basis.

"Often we have more writers come to Open Mic than we have time and space for. In this case, we offer writers a "play next time" ticket, so that if the writer doesn't get to play the first time he or she tries, the writer will definitely get to play the next time he/she tries. Sign up Monday nights at 5:30. You must be signed up by 5:45. The line-up is announced at 6:00, show runs 6:00-9:00."