DONNA BROOKS
Coordinator - Birmingham, AL NSAI Workshop
(205) 823-5715

I was raised in Florence, Alabama - just across the river from Muscle Shoals. On family road trips, my parents only wanted to listen to classical music and my brothers and I only wanted to listen to 70's rock. We reached a compromise by listening to 8-track tapes of bluegrass standards and listening to John Prine, John Denver, Cat Stevens, and the like for many, many miles in our big green station wagon.

I started playing the guitar when I was 12, following in the footsteps of my older brother. I wrote my first song a few months later, and proceeded to write a lot of bad songs after that! In 2001, thankfully, I discovered NSAI and attended Song Camp 201. Truly a watershed event, I can't tell you how much just listening to Hugh Prestwood inspired me to write better songs. Since that time, I have studied the craft, making frequent trips to Nashville and working with several industry songwriting professionals.

In 2004, I hosted "First Monday at the Moonlight" - a monthly writers' showcase at the Moonlight Music Café featuring several of my friends and fellow songwriters from the Nashville area. I still perform frequently at the Moonlight, and have also performed at the Bluebird Café in Nashville.

I continue to look for ways to re-energize the songwriting community in Birmingham. A strong community of songwriters will only help us all to advance our skills and creativity. I have seen how inspirational a musical community like Nashville can be; I want to bring Birmingham songwriters together here so we can learn from and inspire one another.

The Birmingham NSAI Chapter is open to songwriters of all genres so that we can together develop our craft and enjoy each others' company and support.

Email Donna: DonnaBrooks@donnabrooksmusic.com