Set for this weekend at Cherry Hill campground in Darien, Folkfaces Fest features dozens of bands, plenty of activities and a Songwriters Showcase.
"It's a group effort where everyone shares songs and works together to bring out our best stuff," explained Tyler Westcott, festival promoter and lead singer for Folkfaces. He'll be one of the songwriters performing during Sunday's Showcase.
"One person sings a song and tells a story and then the next person, hopefully, is affected by that song or story."
Mikey Strongmen will also appear in the Songwriters Showcase. He's appeared in similar events in Kansas City and Nebraska.
"Songwriting for me is deeply personal yet I'm trying to appeal to everyone and make a connection," Strongmen said.
"I feel like once you write a song, it's yours. But once you play it out, it's no longer yours and it is there in the ether. It can change. It can morph into something else."
Strongmen wears the signs of experience, with his long beard and weathered face. He stands in contrast with two other songwriters in our discussion, Courtney Ann and Sara Elizabeth. They connected during Zoom events during the pandemic. Now, they're writing together and performing as tuesday nite.
"It's a conversation with yourself," Courtney Ann said about songwriting.
"It's therapeutic, in a way, sorting out things that from your past or dealing with in your present."
Sara Elizabeth says she's been writing since she was 12, playing classical guitar and working with poetry.
"It's really cool," she said about writing songs together. Their work is "introspective" and "purposeful" and is boosted by their stage performances.
"Being able to experiment with our communication is really fun. Not just with our band mates, but with each other and getting to know the way each other works on stage," Sara Elizabeth shared.
"It keep you on your toes."
