The Capitol hosted a Singer-Songwriter Night on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. featuring Ellie Sandlin, Gonzo Eldritch, Jonah Pennington and Dusty Whytis. Each artist performed a set lasting around 30 or 45 minutes.
The event was sponsored by the Warren County Public Library, according to the Capitol’s website. All proceeds from the event went to supporting the performers and the local music scene of downtown Bowling Green.
The manager of the Capitol, Magnolia Gramling, said she grew up in Bowling Green.
“This event is a collaborative project between the Capitol and local musicians in the area,” Gramling said. “Ellie Sandlin is the primary organizer of the event. The goal of the event is to showcase local talent in Bowling Green.”
Sandlin, a previous Talisman staff member, is a singer, songwriter, poet, and current resident of Bowling Green. She said she reached out to the Capitol and the other artists to put on the event.
“I don’t know what the others said about the music scene in Bowling Green, but it’s there,” Sandlin said.
Gramling said she wants the Capitol to be a space for artists to be able to perform and have creative expression. A lot of people think they have to move to Nashville to become successful, but that is not the case, Gramling said.
“I grew up here, and I know the music that comes out of Bowling Green is very special,” Gramling said.
Nate McClendon, who goes by the stage name Gonzo Eldritch, said it was the first time the Capitol was having this kind of event. However, he said that they have been hosting other musician-based rock shows.
Though he has been writing songs for the past 10 years, McClendon said this show was his third time performing for a big crowd.
“I’m excited, this is a cool thing,” McClendon said. “Stuff like this didn’t happen in Bowling Green when I was in school.”
Jonah Pennington moved to Bowling Green a year ago from Austin, Texas. He said he was excited for the event because when he first moved to Bowling Green, he wished there was a bigger music scene.
“My family has always played music,” Pennington said. “My dad was a songwriter. Everyone in my family writes songs and plays music, so I guess I was born into it.”
Pennington said that his dad, Colby Pennington, was his biggest inspiration and that a lot of his songwriting is modeled after him.
“We love each other a lot,” Pennington said.“We have a family band, and that’s just what we do all the time is play music.”
Many of the songs Pennington performed were based on his own experiences. He said he likes to play a little bit of everything, but his main genres are folk, rock and country.
“What’s my favorite song I’ve written? Probably a song I wrote for my two kids called ‘Sweet Little Cowboy.’ It reminds me of them,” Pennington said.
Sandlin said she has also used her own life experiences to write her music and poetry. She said she has wanted to write music for as long as she could remember, and that she had to write a lot of bad songs to get to where she is now.
“In middle school, I wrote my first actual song,” Sandlin said. “In high school, I wrote songs that I still play now and in college, I wrote songs that I’m really proud of.”
Sandlin performed a mix of original songs and covers during her set. She said she covered two of her biggest inspirations, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
“They’re both just really great singer-songwriters from a time when that was really valued,” Sandlin said. “They are both great poets, and I value myself as a poet over a musician.”
Renee King, an artist from Bowling Green, said that she and Sandlin met when they both worked at Spencer’s in downtown Bowling Green and eventually became best friends.
“She’s kind of famous for having a little black book she carries around with her everywhere,” King said.
King said that the book is an inside joke between her and Sandlin’s friends. Eventually it became an inspiration for her as a fellow female artist. She said this is because she and Sandlin are the ones to encourage and push each other in their art.
“You don’t always know what she is writing, but then you see her ideas solidified in her poetry and her music,” King said. “I’m just really proud of her and the potential she has.”
Sandlin said she got her start in the punk and grunge scene, which is really big at Molotov Skate Shop. Additionally, she said that when she used to be in a punk band named Despite, she played at many of the bars in Bowling Green.
She said she wanted to put on this event at the Capitol because while she loves the bar and punk scene, she felt that it was an opportunity to be more vulnerable with her music.
“I think that there are more people like me out there in Bowling Green who are like me, Sandlin said. “Just waiting for the flyer or the event asking them to play something like this.”