Songwriter Sanctuary Dec 2025 - Holiday Edition!

Doors 6:30pm | Music 7pm

Don your gay apparel and join us for the last show of the season! A (mostly) monthly concert series featuring San Diego's finest songwriters. Three acts perform in a Nashville-style round sharing the stories and inspirations behind their beautiful songs. Hosted by Jeff Berkley in partnership with Normal Heights United.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

flings lyrical spaghetti into the universe to keep herself sane, help people laugh, and create a more just and compassionate society. Drawing from her rural Kansas Mennonite upbringing, Cara uses her love of folk and Americana styles to craft cheeky, heartfelt story-songs using acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, and spoons. From hysterical dating accounts to mischievous protest songs to tender confessionals, Cara writes the songs you never expected to hear.

started their collaboration as unlikely music partners. While David spent years performing with various bands, honing his rock and blues guitar playing, Peggy was rooted in contemporary folk traditions with occasional detours into jazz and pop. But when they joined forces, they discovered that writing songs together was a fun challenge that they couldn’t resist. The result has been a collection of melodic, thoughtful, funny, and emotional songs that appeal to a wide range of listeners. Their styles span everything from folk to jazz to blues to show tunes.

is a dynamic entertainer known for incisive songs/stories and audience engagement. He performs solo on guitar or banjo, and in collaboration with a collection of San Diego County’s top musicians. 2024 was a year of recording, performances with Storytellers of San Diego (where they let me sing as long as I tell a story to go with it!), house concerts, backyard parties, Adams Avenue Unplugged, and recording and releasing a new album LINES. Get on the email list for notifications. 2025 has seen a lot of new songs and lots of performances, many of them with Richie Strell (harmonicas and other noisemakers), and Terry Wardell (bass).

EVENT DETAILS:

Location: Normal Heights United Church

4650 Mansfield St, San Diego, CA 92116. Thank you to our generous venue partner for sharing this beautiful space with the local music community!

Time: Doors 6:30pm, Show 7-9pm ish.

Suggested Donation: $10 (all ages) but please be generous in your support of these top tier talents whose creative work is their livelihood. 100% donations go to artists. No one turned away for lack of funds.

All Ages: Bear in mind we do not censor our artists so please make sure to check out the lineup and make the best decision for your family.

Parking: Street parking

Food/Drink: Beverages for small purchase, thanks to our sponsors Babe Beverages and Duck Foot Brewing Company. Guests are welcome to bring their own food into the venue (please eat and dispose of waste respectfully). There are so many delicious restaurants within walking distance - feel free to grab something take-out and bring it in!

Accessibility: Normal Heights United is a 120+ year-old building with a non-traditional seating arrangement, but we want every guest to feel safe and supported. Please send any accommodation requests to Molly at mollyrose(at)nhunited(dot)org at least five (5) business days prior to the event.

• Entrances & Seating: The venue has an ADA ramp entrance and two rows of reserved seating for guests who use wheelchairs and/or need additional space. Balcony seating (stair access only) is available for those who prefer less noise or stimulation. Our online RSVP form also includes a space to share accessibility preferences.
• Sensory & Safety: A sensory/safety station in the foyer offers single-use masks, ear plugs, and hand sanitizer. Two Corsi-Rosenthal box fan filters run during the event. Notepads are available at entry and concession for anyone who prefers to communicate in writing. If you’re feeling unwell, please plan to join us another time to help keep our community healthy.
• Event Enhancements: Whenever possible, we post a QR code with lyrics to featured artists’ songs for enhanced accessibility.
• Future Goals: We are actively seeking funding partners to provide ASL services for the 2026 season and have long-term goals of offering a livestream ticketing option. Please stay tuned and continue supporting us as we work toward these and other accessibility goals.

Photo/Video Consent: Unless artist provide blanket consent during performance, please ask for consent before posting the faces and/or prominent features of folks online. While we've previously operated under the assumption that public events imply consent, a thoughtful call-in reminded us that consent must always come first—especially in a time when people’s images can be weaponized. Songwriter Sanctuary is committed to prioritizing consent and will continue to model and encourage this practice in our community.

Community Care: Normal Heights United has a big community fridge and pantry just steps from the venue. Please consider bringing unopened/unexpired items for underresourced neighbors! If our Songwriter Sanctuary audience can stock it once a month, that would be an incredible gift to the community and support for our venue partners at NHU who actually church like churches should church!(No frozen items please. Here's an article on items that work well for community fridge contributions)

[Banner image description: Songwriter Sanctuary flyer features photos of performers and logos of sponsors. Full text in eventbrite description. Image description: A packed audience fills Normal Heights United Church as Songwriter Sanctuary artists perform.]

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Host or Publisher Lindsay White