On Thursday, October 20th Noah Smith's Crooner Circus is having their 2nd Anniversary party at Big Ash Brewing!
We sat down with Noah Smith to find out more about Noah Smith's Crooner Circus and find out what is next!
CincyMusic: What was your thought process when you started the Crooner Circus?
Noah Smith: My honest goal behind starting Crooner Circus in Cincinnati was that someday (and I think we are there now), I wouldn't have to drive 4 hours to Nashville to co-write all the time. I am still making those trips because Nashville is the song capital of the world but I think Cincinnati is waking up in a brilliant fashion.
I think Crooner has shown us all that yes, there is some insane talent in this city but maybe more importantly it forced the songwriters to show up for each other in a new way. I always say if you're the best songwriter in the room, you're in the wrong room. If that is a formula to live by then Crooner Circus usually is the right room for you to be in. You're going to get pushed and grow and open your eyes and listen differently to the people making music around you. It's broken down the walls of so many genres and "scenes" and artists that would have never been at each others shows or maybe even connected in the past.
We are now starting to see the community around crooner start creating and making music together and that is a very good place to be. People are getting co-writes and putting records out with each others songs on it. It's crazy to think that Crooner Circus is what has brought these folks together but we all are finally starting to understand we show up for different reasons but we can help chase the same dream. That's community.
THAT is a game changer for us all.
CM: MOTR, Big Ash, Nashville - where is Crooner headed next?
NS: I made a rule for myself when things first kicked off at MOTR Pub in 2018 that I wasn't going to take it too seriously. All I planned to do was book the rounds and show up and serve the rooms and the people involved. We don't worry about who isn't there, we just go all in on who is. The fact that we now have t-shirts, theres been over 200 songwriters perform, and I am doing an interview about it means I think I broke that rule. I hope we still don't take things too seriously but it's hard to ignore that this thing has a life of its own now.
We have something very special cooking right now and if anyone that is making music in the city of Cincinnati hasn't made it to the shows yet they are missing out on being a part of something truly pivotal for our city. I'd say the waters will start getting rough in the years to come because we are stirring up some real good stuff in the world. From my experience thats just how it goes. Music fans can change it all though. The fans that show up every month are just as special and really part of the community as much as we are. I think thats part of the magic.
If I could say one thing about Crooner Circus it is this....it's different.