Sit in with Nashville Songwriters at Doak Turner's Monthly Pot-Luck Songfest

Songwriters gather for monthly potluck in West Meade
Doak Turner gets tunesmiths together for Sunday dinner on third week of month

By RICK MOORE
For Davidson A.M.

The house at 701 Brook Hollow Road usually seems no different than any other house in its quiet West Meade neighborhood. But once a month, the house is the gathering place of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of songwriters who are looking to network, make new friends, and, if nothing else, get a decent meal.

The house is the home of Doak Turner, who opens his doors on the third Sunday of each month to songwriters and their friends and families for a potluck-style dinner and a day of camaraderie and music. Turner, a songwriter himself, started the gatherings nearly five years ago.

"I missed having Sunday dinner with my family from when I was growing up back in West Virginia," Turner said. "So I decided to start having dinner with my songwriting family instead."

Turner came to Nashville in 2002 from Charlotte, N.C., where he was a workshop coordinator for the Nashville Songwriters Association International.

"It's great to bring people together who might not have a family here," he said. "I love introducing people to each other, or just meeting writers who are new in town."

To add to the family atmosphere, everyone is asked to bring a dish to pass, ("Chips are not a dish," Turner reminds everyone in the weekly newsletter he sends to more than 10,000 people). After everyone eats, the music commences, with guitars, keyboards, harmonicas and more coming out of their cases.

And it isn't strictly an amateur affair. One never knows when a big-name songwriter will stop by, so all try to be at the top of their games.

Jimmy Borja, originally from the Philippines, is an aspiring singer/songwriter who moved to Nashville four months ago. He is a regular at the third Sunday get-togethers.

"I've been coming here ever since I heard about it," he said. "I'm here to meet other people and to get inspired."

Massachusetts transplant Lauri Merrow and her husband, Steve, are regulars at the Sunday dinners, where she always performs.

"We just love it here," she said. "This is a great place for me to try out new material for my peers. We try to never miss it."

If the weather's nice, many people sit outside and eat and take their turns performing their songs, and the ones who are instrumentally adept play along with each other. When darkness or rain decides to fall, many head inside to sing and socialize in the den or living room.

'It helps you write better'

Trisha Fogle, who has spent the past several months as an intern in the office of multi-platinum songwriting legend Bob DiPiero, thinks that Turner's parties offer a chance to get together in a friendly, no-pressure atmosphere that can't be found anywhere else in town.

"This is great, because I've gotten to see a lot of people I know from songwriting rounds (in clubs)," she said. "And you get a different perspective here. It helps you write better."

Turner, whose Nashville Muse Web site grew out of being a party host, has played host to songwriters and musicians from all over the world since he began the monthly event. It's not unusual to find singers, songwriters, and even entire bands from Sweden, South Africa, Canada or Australia visiting one of Turner's get-togethers.

"I call this the United Nations for songwriters and musicians," he said.

The Third Sunday of the Month
The Sunday dinner for songwriters potluck takes place 3-8 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month at 701 Brook Hollow Road in West Meade. For more information, call 615-354-6400.