{"id":215590,"date":"2026-04-02T04:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T04:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/215590\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T04:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T04:51:15","slug":"song-story-performers-explanations-of-how-their-songs-came-about-were-as-impactful-as-their-heartfelt-lyrics-wgcu-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/215590\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Song & Story’ performers’ explanations of how their songs came about were as impactful as their heartfelt lyrics | WGCU News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four rising country-folk singer-songwriters gave a two-hour acoustic concert last week at the Alliance for the Arts. The 16 songs they performed covered a range of universal emotions experienced from a distinctive female perspective. Their unvarnished explanations of the circumstances that gave rise to each song were as impactful as their heartfelt lyrics.<\/p>\n

\"Singer-songwriter<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter Clair Liparulo performs during ‘Song & Story’ concert.<\/p>\n

Southwest Florida favorite Claire Liparulo delivered soulful, dynamic songwriting infused with sharp wit and fearless authenticity. She sang of a friend who lost his battle with addiction. An engaging storyteller with undeniable charisma, Liparulo\u2019s songs explore love found and lost, the absurdity of modern dating, and the journey toward self-acceptance\u2014always with heart and honesty. She sang about the pain of being forgotten. And she tackled the estrangement from family and friends in our politically polarized and fractured society.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about how we\u2019re always looking at cell phones constantly, and everything is rage bait and everything gets more clicks and hits if there\u2019s a controversy,\u201d she mused. \u201cSo, nobody\u2019s winning if everybody finds common ground, things that we all agree on. So, with all of that in mind, I started writing this song called \u2018Blue in the Face.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Singer-songwriter<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter April Cushman performs during ‘Song & Story’ concert at the Alliance for the Arts. <\/p>\n

April Cushman was recently recognized as a Top 10 Emerging Artist in a national contest judged by country star Lainey Wilson. A rising force in the Nashville music scene, she has shared stages with Scotty McCreery, Darius Rucker and Kip Moore.<\/p>\n

\"April<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

April Cushman’s ‘Just a Dog’ has been optioned by Grammy-nominated country-pop star Kelsea Ballerini. <\/p>\n

She wrote a song that\u2019s been optioned by Grammy-nominated country-pop singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many of you have ever lost a dog?\u201d she asked, prompting Kelly Neff to retrieve a box of tissues from backstage and pass them through the audience. As the tissue box made its way around the theater, she told the audience that she\u2019d recently lost her own best friend, Olaf.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout two weeks after we lost Olaf, I was in the shower and I just remember putting my hands overhead and I was, \u2018God, April, get it together, he was just a dog.\u2019 And, of course, I\u2019m a songwriter and my brain is always going and I was like, \u2018No, wait, that\u2019s a great song title.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

And so, she called two collaborators and together they wrote \u201cJust a Dog,\u201d which left nary a dry eye in the audience.<\/p>\n

\"Singer-songwriter<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter Shelly Fairchild performs during ‘Song & Story’ concert March 26 at the Alliance for the Arts.<\/p>\n

Billboard-charting recording artist Shelly Fairchild is a pioneering Janis Joplin-esque voice for the LGBTQIA+ community in Nashville, with songs recorded by Little Big Town, Tanya Tucker, and Ty Herndon. Among the four songs she performed was one addressing mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people know what it\u2019s like to either need to make the call to get help, or to be the person that somebody calls for some help,\u201d said Fairchild from the stage. \u201cMaybe just a word of encouragement or something. Sometimes you have to stay on the phone for a really long time to talk somebody down out of a tree. So that\u2019s what \u2018End Up in Austin\u2019 is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Singer-songwriter<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter Kelly Neff performs during ‘Song & Story’ concert at the Alliance for the Arts. <\/p>\n

A two-time Songwriter of the Year honoree from the Songwriters Showcase of America, Kelly Neff has opened for Melissa Etheridge, Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019, and The Wallflowers.<\/p>\n

She also wrote about loss. In particular, the loss of her father, and the right we each have to experience grief in our own way and according to our own timetable.<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Kelly Neff paired with Shelly Fairchild on several numbers during ‘Song & Story’ concert.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we just need to have our feelings and we need to be angry, and when Sister Mary Sunshine is telling me to feel better when she still can call her dad and tell him bad jokes, like, that kind of makes me want to punch her in the face a little bit,\u201d Neff said by way of introduction to her song, \u201cWhat If I Don\u2019t Like Lemonade?\u201d<\/p>\n

This \u201cIntimate Evening of Song & Story For the Love of Music\u201d was an ode to female empowerment and claiming the room needed to work through the emotions we all feel from time to time.<\/p>\n

\"Singer-songwriter<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter April Cushman rocked the house with her original ode to female empowerment, ‘I Make My Own Damn Money.’ <\/p>\n

One song, in particular, encapsulated this sentiment, sung without introduction by April Cushman. It\u2019s titled, \u201cI Make My Own Damn Money.\u201d<\/p>\n

This fearless foursome is due to return with \u201cFor the Love of Music\u201d in the fall.<\/p>\n

\"Cushman<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Cushman and company ended their performance with a selfie that included the ‘Song & Story’ audience. <\/p>\n

MORE INFORMATION:<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the Love of Music Vol III, An Intimate Evening of Song & Story\u201d took place in the Foulds Theatre at the Alliance for the Arts on Thursday, March 26.<\/p>\n

With performances spanning the Grand Ole Opry to major television placements, Shelly Fairchild\u2019s music crosses genres while remaining deeply personal and boldly inclusive. Her fifth studio album arrives in spring 2026.<\/p>\n

Neff\u2019s latest album, \u201cAbout Face,\u201d reflects themes of transformation and resilience that resonate powerfully in her live performances.<\/p>\n

\"Shelly<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Shelly Fairchild\u2019s fifth studio album arrives in spring 2026. <\/p>\n

About the Alliance for the Arts<\/p>\n

The Alliance for the Arts is a nonprofit community visual and performing arts center located in the heart of Fort Myers, Florida. Since 1975, the Alliance has been committed to transforming lives and improving community through the arts.<\/p>\n

The Alliance campus and galleries are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. It is located at 10091 McGregor Boulevard just south of Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.<\/p>\n

For more information, call 239-939-2787, visit us at www.ArtInLee.org<\/a>, or follow the Alliance on Meetup<\/a>, Facebook andInstagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Support for WGCU\u2019s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.<\/p>\n