In early 2023, Fort Worth songwriter Keegan McInroe was tapped to put together an awards ceremony band for the local American Advertisement Awards at the Southside Preservation Hall. The evening of the gig, McInroe was completely taken with the venue and immediately set up a meeting with Matthew Williams, president of the board of the Southside Preservation Hall, to discuss arranging an album release party there.

After their meeting successfully concluded, McInroe looked at Matthew and said, “You know, the Preservation Hall would be the perfect mothership for a songwriter festival.”

Matthew's eyes lit up, they sat back down, and excitedly began making plans for the fall of 2024. The Fort Worth Songwriter Festival was born.

As discussions progressed, the question of structure had to be decided. McInroe consulted longtime friend Steven Lawrence who suggested, "Why don't you start a non-profit foundation? Something like, the Fort Worth Songwriter Foundation."

As the conversation progressed, McInroe began seeing an opportunity to not simply host a once-a-year party celebrating the talent of Fort Worth, but to create an organization that could be beneficial to the songwriting community year round. And so McInroe, Williams, and Lawrence founded the Fort Worth Songwriter Foundation, just before the inaugural Fort Worth Songwriter Festival kicked off in the fall of 2024.

The rest is a story still very much in the early telling.

We seek to be a resource, spotlight, and service to our beloved Fort Worth songwriting community, and we invite you to come and be a part of our story, whether it be as a songwriter, song lover, venue, sponsor, or volunteer!