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Craig Blackhardt will be conducting a song-writing workshop this Saturday at Buddy Roe's.

Here is a reminder of something I wrote in an earlier column. I want to make sure you remember this one, as it is really something special. Nashville songwriter Craig Bickhardt will be conducting one-on-one mentoring sessions from his hotel on the Isle of Palms throughout the day. Songwriters can sign up for 30-minute sessions at http://one-on-onewithcraigbickhardt.eventbrite.com/ ($30 per session).

Get personal attention from a successful professional singer-songwriter with over three decades of experience to answer your questions about songwriting mechanics, writer's block, pitching, demoing, performing, promoting, collaborating, publishing business, licensing and royalty issues. Bring a song or a lyric for evaluation if you want to (not essential). Book your session now before available slots are taken.

Bickhardt will be conducting a songwriting workshop at Buddy Roe's Shrimp Shack in Mount Pleasant this Saturday from 12-4 p.m.Cost is $30 for NSAI members, $35 for non-members. Whether you write songs to market to your own audience as a performing songwriter, or songs to pitch to other artists, "Selling" the song means maximizing its potential for broad-based appeal.

In this information packed seminar, you'll learn specific tools for improving your lyrics, melodies and chord structures, and giving your songs more impact. Gleaned from over three decades of songwriting and live performing, Craig's tips guarantee practical and useful information for every songwriter attempting to improve his or her craft. Checks can be made out to SongGallery and mailed to 419 Weadley Rd., King of Prussia, PA 19406 or you can pay via PayPal (see workshop website for PayPal links -- http://www.beccabessinger.com/CraigBickhardtWorkshop.html )

Bickhardt's songs have been recorded by over 150 artists worldwide, including Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Alison Krauss, Martina McBride, and Kathy Mattea. His songs appear in three films, Academy Award winner Tender Mercies, Switchback, and At Close Range, as well as several TV shows. He has received nine ASCAP Awards and four R.I.A.A. Platinum Album Awards for his songs, which include four No. 1 hits. As an artist and performer, Craig has recorded for Warner Brothers and Capitol Records, appeared on Austin City Limits and Mountain Stage, and shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen, Hank Williams Jr., Judy Collins, Stephen Stills, and Kathy Mattea. He also took first place in the 2006 International Acoustic Music Awards. He has been a judge in the Mountain Stage Newsong Contest, and The Great Lakes Song Contest, and has presented seminars for the NSAI, The Song Guild, The Philadelphia Folk Festival, Mountain Stage Newsong Academy, and SongU.com. Visit www.CraigBickhardt.com for more about this great songwriter.

For those of you who just want to see this great songwriter in action, Bickhardt will be performing at Buddy Roe's Shrimp Shack in Mount Pleasant on Thursday, Feb. 10. In fact, as always, Buddy Roe's has a great line up of music for you all week long. On Wednesdays, Feb. 9 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. , John Brannen will be there. John's song "Somebody"appeared on the most recent Eagles record, Long Road Out of Eden. Brannen is heralded as an "underground legend," and has been active as a songwriter and performer since the early '80's. I have had a few occasions to hang out with Brannen. I have loaded and unloaded truck loads of furniture for him in the past few years as he moved for various stages of his career. His songwriting is genuine and comes from his heart. And he's just a cool guy to hang out with.

Always a great show to see, Buddy Roe's owner Ronnie Johnson and expert guitar slinger Chris Clifton will be appearing there on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11 and 12. On Sundays it's the inimitable Carroll Brown. Budd Roe's is a place set up for seeing good live music. Kung Fu and I stop by there often, as it is a stones throw from our rehearsal studio.

Tuesday, Feb. 15, North Carolina native Kevin Church will be hitting the Buddy Roe's stage. I got a chance to have a cup of coffee with this great singer/songwriter last Friday afternoon. We compared notes on songwiting, perfoming and the maturation process of the music inside us. It was a cool conversation and the gist is that the best songs come from the place inside everyone where they are most honest with themselves. This is evident in Church's performances. But don't take my word for it; check it out for yourself.

As for me, you can check out my music this Friday night, 6-9 p.m. at Wine Awhile. Located in The Station 41 plaza at the corner of highways 17N and US 41. Known as Allnightkungfu, my best friend Jerry Beale and I play folk rock music with country and psychedelic influences. A mixture of our original songs and some of our favorite tunes by songwriters such as Tom Waits, John Hiatt, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, well you get the picture. So come on out and say hey, have a glass of wine and maybe a snack. If you bring your ears with you, we'll be glad to fill them with music for free!

Until next time, support live music and be nice to each other.

(Stu Johnson is a local musician. To read and comment on past columns, go to www.moultrienews.com.

To get your establishment listed in the East Cooper Music Scene, email Stu at allnightjohnson@gmail).