By Nacogdoches Miller

Sun Intern

The Heartstrings Songwriters Circle, a project created by Trish Torline, is looking to bring a little “Nashville standard,” to Winchester, continuing the cultivation of the local artist scene.

“I wanted something for the singer/songwriters where they could showcase their original material,” Torline said.

She said it could be hard for an artist to perform new material when fans often want to hear the songs with which they’re more familiar.

Torline, inspired by her involvement in songwriter circles, created The Heartstrings Songwriters Circle to give local artists the same opportunity to share and learn.

The first music showcase is set for Friday, and will continue the first Friday of every month from 7 to 9 p.m at the Cairn.

Four artists will share their songs and tell the stories behind them.

“Every showcase will include a “Student Spotlight” in which we will give one young singer/songwriter an opportunity to perform their songs in a professional setting and receive constructive feedback on their songs and performance from our featured singer/songwriters,” according to a press release. “At the showcase, all the featured songwriters will talk a little about the inspiration behind the songs they are performing and then play it live.”

For the first show’s lineup, Dylan McCarty, an incoming senior from George Rogers Clark High School, will perform for the first student spotlight.

Winchester native Chris Carpenter, a regular in Nashville, will be the Winchester Spotlight.

Regional singer/songwriter Mathew Simpson and then Torline will finish out the night.

Anyone interested in signing up for future events can message Torline on the group’s Facebook page “Heartstrings Songwriters Circle” or her page “Trish Torline.”