Tether Songwriting Showcase

Every two weeks in Brooklyn, a small group of artists gets handed a prompt and a deadline- "four chords and the truth," a painting called "Too Many Animals," or once, simply: go through someone's phone camera roll and write a song about what you find. Founded by Brooklyn indie folk artist Hallie Spoor, Tether started as a handful of songwriters trading prompts instead of small talk, just looking for a reason to finish what they started. It didn't stay just songwriters — poets joined, and so did people building tracks out of electronic percussion, turning the same four-word phrase into a rhythm instead of a lyric. What began as a low-stakes accountability group has grown into something closer to a working artistic community, where the feedback gets sharper as the trust gets deeper. The rule is still the one it started with: bring something, even if it's rough.