Something is happening at Buckland Farm Market. It continues to grow month after month, into each new season.
In addition to the farm-fresh produce and home-baked goodies the market has long been known for, the venue now includes a brewery and winery — and it has become a place for live, local music. Buckland hosts performances frequently and holds open mic nights every Thursday. But visitors attending the monthly VA Songwriter Rounds can see so much more taking shape: chords being crafted, lyrics being cultivated and homegrown talents growing tall under the spotlights.
Modeled on Nashville’s songwriter rounds — a tradition famous for fostering budding talent — the VA Songwriter Rounds is a monthly event where artists, usually two to three sharing the stage, perform original songs in a round-robin style and share stories about their music and lyrics. The events alternate between Buckland Farm Market in Fauquier County and Contemporary Music Center (known as @4410) in Haymarket.
Mirroring art, the foundation of the VA Songwriter Rounds was the coming together of a few passionate souls with a shared vision and complementary skill sets.
“Curt Davis [and I] talked about [creating VA Songwriter Rounds] for months since I play writers rounds when I go to Nashville and he’s played The Bluebird [Cafe, a legendary songwriter rounds venue in Nashville],” said group co-founder Derek Morris. “We just thought we should bring Nashville to Virginia and give local artists who may never get a shot to play in Nashville [the opportunity] to showcase their originals from all genres of music.”
Local musician Drew Fleming, better known by the name “Uncle Drew” due to his band, Uncle Drew and the Scoundrels, was on board immediately.
“I offered up hosting with them the first one this year at Contemporary Music Center’s venue @4410 in Haymarket,” Fleming said. “The response was incredible — packed house.”
Alexander Hendrix, an elementary school teacher in Prince William County and father of two from Bristow, played at the first VA Songwriter Rounds event in Haymarket this spring.
“It was an amazing experience … To be able to share what you wrote, why you wrote it, and then have engaged listeners is not a common opportunity for booking musicians,” he said. “You typically are under pressure to play the hits or familiar tunes or a certain type of music, so being encouraged to share your own music is truly special.”
Comprising about 50 artists, participants in the VA Songwriter Rounds range from first-time songwriters and performers to those making their rise in the music industry.
Haymarket native Bella McDonald, 20, wants to one day open for Zach Top, an up-and-coming American country music artist. A fan of the “angry girl country” music style, at the July event McDonald performed her original song “Not Your Woman,” about a guy in high school who “wouldn’t take the hint.”
Another young artist, 18-year-old Braden Hudgins, is a graduate of Gainesville High School. Braden and his father, Jay, discovered VA Songwriter Rounds through Contemporary Music Center, where Braden takes voice lessons. Both have performed at the event.
A musician for over 20 years, Eli Fiorello is working to build his solo career after taking a hiatus to raise a family and concentrate on his professional pursuits. Having played open mic nights since he began working at Old Bust Head Brewing Company in Vint Hill in 2019, Fiorello said these round robin events are on a different level.
“Playing open mics in the area at local bars and breweries, you're often just background noise … [but] my experience with the VA Songwriter Rounds has been very different,” he said. “You're on stage and everyone is watching … It makes you feel important. Like what you've done matters and these people really care about what you have to say.”
For those not chasing stardom, the events offer a way to express — and challenge — themselves without pressure.
“I'm no spring chicken — so I'm not chasing the dream of trying to be a rock star — but I will continue playing as long as people continue to enjoy my music,” said Joel Olgren, a retired U.S. Marine and international telecom business owner who lives on a horse farm in Midland. “I've been challenging myself to write [songs] much more frequently and try my hand at some new styles of music, as well as learn lead guitar.”
As varied as the backgrounds and aspirations of the artists are, so too are the songs that can be heard on any given night at an event.
Joshua Dixon, co-owner of Ever After Alpaca Farm in Broad Run and a master musician, recently performed “When My Rooster Crows,” a song he wrote in reference to his neighbor’s disapproval of his rooster’s level of crowing while they were trying to sell their home.
Honing a more retrospective tone, Dixon’s song “Quiver” speaks about how the composition of arrows inside a quiver may change over time — a metaphor for the evolution of different interpersonal relationships during one’s lifetime.
Jay Hudgins, father of Braden and a singer, songwriter, producer and ex-traveling musician, recently performed “Mr. Sunset,” a song that contemplates what life may look like for him and his wife after their twin boys, Braden and Jordan, go off to college.
Poetically, Braden too has turned the upcoming milestone into a song called “One Thing That I Wish,” about missing the ones he is leaving behind as he embarks on this new educational journey. Braden and Jordan will both attend Pennsylvania State University this fall.
The personal stories and songs, though varied in topic and tempo, share the common theme of community, mirroring the close-knit relationships forming between the songwriters.
“Losing my father, uncle, father-in-law and partner in music all in just a few short months of each other,” Davis recalled. “This music family at Buckland has really helped me get through it.”
Kris Gilbert, who bought the Buckland farm in 2020 and the farm market in 2021, said hosting Thursday open mic nights and the VA Songwriter Rounds were an easy “yes” because of its focus on the community.
“I love music … [and] the kids need somewhere, adults need somewhere [to perform],” he said. “It’s a family-friendly place and we do it for the community to try to give back.”
As the group picks up the tempo, organizers hope the movement will crescendo into Virginia’s own take on the famous Nashville tradition.
VA Songwriter Rounds can be found on Facebook.
Whitney Pandil-Eaton is a journalism and communications professional with experience covering government, business and everyday life on the local and national level.
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