Songwriters in the Round

Kirk Ridge
Kirk Ridge has had songs featured on NPR’s Car Talk and Belfast’s Celtic Roots Radio and was highlighted on the 2020 NCNPR Tiny Desk show. His lyrics have been published in American Songwriter Magazine. Kirk is performance director for Durham CenterFest and co-hosts the weekly “Pass The Hat” radio show on WHUP that features live original music

Sæl
Sæl creates soundscapes within storytelling, a feeling of place within the song. As a classically-trained musician, she likes to utilize the romantic nature of strings (violin, cello, bass) and incorporate nature sounds into her music, from birds to wind to sea. Her voice appears as a voyager, like a seal jumping over and under waves in the sea

Barry Gray
Barry Gray is a member of the locally successful family band, Graymatter and also plays with The Bennys. Barry was a recipient of the 2017 NC Arts Council grant and was awarded a North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship in Songwriting in 2018 that enabled him to record the album “Footsteps”. His folk style has blues, country, and gospel influences.