Musicians performing at Heartland Song Network’s Songwriter’s Sanctuary (Heartland Song Network)
The third Sunday of every month PH Coffee, 2200 Lexington Ave., presents Heartland Song Network’s Songwriter’s Sanctuary. The open-mic event, free to attend and to perform, is a welcoming, listening-room event open to all levels of music experience and featuring original songs, solos and duets. For newbies and seasoned veterans alike, it’s a space to be heard and appreciated. (The Sanctuary replaces Heartland Song Network’s Thursday night Happy Hours at the Uptown Lounge, which started during the pandemic to offer performers and fans a way to connect.)
The Sanctuary is one way that HSN, created in 2020 at the Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans, is nurturing music here. Its mission: “to empower the creation of song through education, collaboration and mentorship.”
An Artist of the Month is chosen for each session. In May, saxophonist Ernest Melton was the highlighted performer; past choices have included Kemet Dumas Coleman, Jessica Paige, Kadesh Flow, Mikala Petillo, Ezgi Karakus, Stephonne Singleton, Brandon Draper, Melinda Hedgecorth, the Nace Brothers, Coleen Dieker, Julia Othmer, Isaac Cates and Chris Hudson. Each performer is promoted and supported in the media and on social platforms, and the artist’s work is made available on HSN’s YouTube channel, on SoundCloud and Spotify.
Similarly, HSN’s “Industry Spotlight” offers a monthly salute to the talent behind the scenes, including engineers, venue owners, record executives, promoters and archivists. In May it celebrated Harris Wilder, entertainment lawyer, and Shaun Crowley, entrepreneur who launched Manor Records in 2017.
There is also a Youth Recording Grant Program. Recipients, 21 and younger, receive a professional recording, mixing and mastering session for their songs and a chance to perform at Folkfest.
HSN has staged Manor Records Takeovers in which HSN artists, including Bad Alaskan and Malek Azrael, are presented at the store. The plan is for the two organizations to collaborate beyond the store into new spaces, “bringing it right to where people gather.”
The Heartsmiths program, which debuted in 2023, pairs two writers. They have a few months to create a song, which the Network then showcases online in a playlist titled The Heartland Songlist. In 2025 the partnership was between HSN and Calgary Songsmiths.
HSN also offers workshops and webinars. At a recent Lunch-N-Learn, Jeff Freling and Amos Cochran discussed how to compose for TV and film. The HSN website provides history lessons, industry profiles, tribute videos (for example, Carole King) and loads of new songs and livestream concerts to explore.
HSN has joined up with Midwest Music Foundation for a Musicians Healthcare Clinic, free and open to the public, with priority given to Midwest musicians. Hopes are high for another clinic in the coming year.
In May it had its own showcase of artists at Folkfest. HSN-sponsored talent has also performed at Folk Alliance and Manor Fest, and its members have performed at Art in the Loop, Greenwood Social Hall and many other venues.
Debbie Vilchis Ornelas became president in December 2024. She describes herself as a first-generation Mexican woman with a background in nonprofit work and community organizing. “I am so looking forward to continuing the remarkable work laid upon by past leadership in HSN,” she said. “I believe KC has some of the brightest, kindest and most talented musicians in the world, so to be able to support them through HSN is an honor.”
She is supported by a team of musical heavy hitters — Danny Powell, Beau Bledsoe, Julie Bennett Hume, Nick Carswell, Rick Frydman and Lisa Harris-Frydman. Together they work hard to promote and support indie acts all over the Midwest — all at no cost to the artists.
All of it helps. “There are so many parts of being a musician that are so difficult, and the changing landscape and politics are only a small slice of that challenge,” said singer/musician Jackie Myers.
“We invest directly in the future of local music,” Heartland Song Network proclaims. Ornelas emphasizes, “It’s all about making music accessible, visible and woven into daily community life.” To that end she’s calling out to the community — for ideas about new venues, new partnerships and collaborations, fundraising and new opportunities.
