Gainesville’s music legends are coming together to teach songwriting to residents.
UF professors and local musicians will be playing the blues and discussing the process of songwriting in the first Songwriters in the Round today at 6 p.m. at the Matheson History Museum. Admission is $5. The audience will learn to create its own musical pieces and listen to live performances, said Stephanie Pastore, museum technician.
“We really want to have an event like this to be the bridge between culture and history,” Pastore said.
The performers chosen all came from Gainesville and had a large local following. They also play the blues with a twist, Pastore said.
Jeff Sims, one of the performers from the Dixie Desperadoes and a Gainesville native, said he believes his band has stood the test of time in the local scene.
“We were a full-time band about 35 years ago, for four or five years,” Sims said, “and then we reunited after 30 years.”
Sims’ love for music started in sixth grade, when he started his first band. He said it’s personal therapy — he will never stop being an artist.
“It’s part of my DNA,” Sims said. “It’s a way of creative expression. It’s also important because it allows me to interact and collaborate with other musicians and artists.”
Other musicians include Ricky Kendall, a musician in residence at the UF Health Shands Hospital, and the Bridget Kelly Band. Sims said the event is also about reaching a broader audience.
He said he hopes those who attend will use what they learn on their own musical journeys.
“Maybe this will help some of those people be able to feel more comfortable expressing themselves musically and poetically,” Sims said.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 2/19/2015 under the headline “GNV musicians to hold workshop"]
