Saturday, March 21, 2026

QCMS Presents: Joe Newberry Songwriting Workshop & Listening Room Concert

QCMS Presents: Joe Newberry Songwriting Workshop & Listening Room Concert
Join us in person for an awesome afternoon and evening with Joe Newberry! Dive into songwriting techniques and gain inspiration during the interactive workshop, go grab some dinner, then join us in The Shop for an intimate listening room concert with a solo performance from the legend himself.

About the Songwriting Workshop 1-5pm:
Award-winning songwriter Joe Newberry will help you focus on making your good songs even better, or get you started if you only have a trunk full of ideas. The workshop will use examples of different types of songs—narrative, chorus/verse, free-form—with an eye and ear toward simplifying the words to uncover the heart of the song. Through word play and writing, writing, and more writing, the song in your head can become the song on your lips!

Joe will share stories from the road, his successes and challenges, examples of writings in progress, and he’ll talk about his songwriting and performing process. Then it is time to get down to the business of writing and working on songs. Students will be encouraged to share works in progress, wherever they are in the process, even if their journey is just beginning.

Dinner Break 5-6:30pm
There are many fabulous restaurants within walking distance to our downtown Studios, and we’d be happy to make some recommendations.

About The Concert 7-9pm:

6:30pm: Doors Open
7-9pm: Listening Room Concert in the 1st Floor Storefront at Queen City Music Studios
There may or may not be an intermission, so feel free to move around, get up and stretch, or use the restroom as needed.
100% of merch goes to the performer, so be sure to visit their merch table before or after the concert.
Workshop & Concert Tickets get you BOTH experiences, or you can purchase tickets for one or the other.

About Joe’s Music

Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. A longtime and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, he sang on the Transatlantic Sessions tour of the U.K., and at the Transatlantic Session’s U.S. debut at Merlefest. The Gibson Brothers’ version of his song “Singing As We Rise” won an IBMA “Gospel Recorded Performance” Award, and with Eric Gibson, he shared the IBMA “Song of the Year” Award for “They Called It Music.”

“His lyrics read like a cross between Longfellow and Johnny Cash. The muse is sometimes gentle and other times rough. But she never strays too far from Joe Newberry’s side.” — Independent Weekly

“Most contemporary old-time artists get their inspiration from recordings either commercial or field made. Most of the time the artists spend their energy trying to copy the sound of their source. Joe Newberry goes one step further… He takes the music and makes it his own, and always respectfully.” — SingOut!

Transatlantic Sessions review… “Appalachian veteran Joe Newberry allied his trenchant, raw-boned holler with lickety-split banjo picking.” — The Scotsman Newspaper

About Queen City Music Studios: School, Shop, Special Events

Music Store, Community Music Gatherings, Workshops, Rehearsal Space, House Concerts & Music School offering lessons and group classes for all ages, styles, and levels of music.

Queen City Music Studios was founded by Molly Rose Murphy in 2015 and began as an alternative school of music for learning by ear. Over a decade later, they provide booking, event management & production services, employing over twenty professional musicians & instructors. The shop staff operate a full-service music store providing quality new & used instruments, accessories & repairs. Molly’s Musikgarten is a licensed & certified Musikgarten program offering early development Family Music classes. Visit their website for more info: www.queencitymusicstudios.com

We are stoked to learn from, connect with, and soak up some of Joe Newberry’s fantastic music and energy! Don’t miss out on this unique experience with Queen City Music Studios: School, Shop, Special Events!!