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News Winners Winners FORGE GOT TALENT

10/29/2022 Winner 1st Place

Congratulations to THE FORGE GOT TALENT winner, Jim Skiff!

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News Winners Winners FORGE GOT TALENT

10/29/2022 Winner 2nd Place

Congratulations to THE FORGE GOT TALENT winner, Starling My Darling!

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News

October 2022 Updates

Hello, artists! We decided to create this post to share the news that the format of THE FORGE GOT TALENT is changing starting in October 2022. The most significant change is probably the introduction of paper tickets. We will no longer have a money prize. Every songwriter will now be able to earn money from this event by selling paper tickets and keeping 100% of your sales. This means everyone has an equal chance to receive compensation for participation. Previously only the winners received something, but now everyone can earn money. The winners will still receive prizes based on prize availability.

Please read the FAQ for more information.

Please be sure you have submitted the musicians form here.

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News Winners Winners FORGE GOT TALENT

9/24/2022 Winner 1st Place

Congratulations to THE FORGE GOT TALENT winner, Colin A!

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News Winners Winners FORGE GOT TALENT

9/24/2022 Winner 2nd Place

Congratulations to THE FORGE GOT TALENT winner, Jessica Duke!

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Events News

11/26/2022

⭐ Starring ⭐⭐ Starring ⭐
David Ridilla
Jessica Duke
John Peacefire
Brandon Parish
Donna Occhipinti
John Routh
Mylene Sisneros
Symington Reed
Megan Pennington
Blue Metal Machine
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Events News

10/29/2022

⭐ Starring ⭐⭐ Starring ⭐
Jim Skiff
Abby Morgan
Ukulele Mollie
Starling My Darling
Caveman
Sachem Orenda
Tom Schimminger

Jim Skiff is an award winning composer, actor, playwright, and recording artist. He has released three solo albums, Sky and Lake, Rooted and Flower and Sword, and The Stonecutter Sonnets with Pam Verity, and the original soundtrack to Silver Apple of The Moon which was produced at the Penn State Behrend Little Theatre. Flower and Sword was engineered and produced by Grammy winner Dave Moulton for Icarus Records(1979), and was one of the first all digital albums recorded in the world. More recently, Jim released The Skiffs debut ep, Don’t Ask Questions (2019), and The Skiffs lp, Inner City Jitters (2020), in collaboration with his daughter, Erin Skiff.

Abby Morgan is a singer/songwriter with a folk/pop inspired sound. She has been writing poems since she can remember and seeks to use her music as a way to explore both the most euphoric and most heartbreaking parts of the human experience.

Ukulele Mollie is a singer/songwriter from the greater Pittsburgh area. Mollie loves subverting people’s expectations regarding what kind of music can be played on the ukulele. She explores a wide variety of genres, including modern-day folk/pop, 80’s rock, traditional French, and classic country/bluegrass, along with creating medleys full of nostalgic, toe-tapping tunes. She also writes original music about love, anguish, mental illness, joy, travel, and real-life experiences. Her music is available on all streaming services, with a new EP on the way.

Starling my Darling is an American Indie folk pop collaborative duo, consisting of singer songwriters Dawn Sipes and Paul Ferraro, hailing from Pittsburgh, PA.

Sachem Orenda is a solo electronic musician, avant-garde guitarist, and singer from Pittsburgh, PA.

Tom Schimminger is a mysterious artist from somewhere in the Pittsburgh area with an unknown origin.

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Events News

9/24/2022

RSVP on Facebook!

Hailing from the cityscapes of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Soul & Spoken Word songwriter/recording artist, Jay Michaels, began hitting the ground running in music in 2018 and has manifested into a versatile, innovative and multifaceted artist in a very short time, and had no intention of slowing his momentum down anytime soon.

Born into a family of musicians spanning back three generations, Jay’s music sustains a charismatic mix of many diverse components that showcase his musicianship and defining factors, which delivers up a signature sound and stylization that sets him aside from your run-of-the-mill artist. A lot of Jay’s songwriting is inspired by and attributed to his life experiences; from disaster relief to pushing through hard times, he garners a lot of his material by writing music that is not only inspirational, but therapeutic and spiritual as well. And while his artist influences are limitless, some of his notable favorites stem from industry heavyweights such as Dave Matthews Band, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and many others.

Whether it be about life, love, dated pop culture references or even inanimate objects, Tony Pickles occasionally has rhyme and/or reason to his tunes. He’s just a dude with a guitar and some power chords that, at least once, met the approval of a random video clip of Hugh Jackman.

facebook.com/TonyPicklesMusic/

Indigo Rae is a solo singer-songwriter exploring love and loss through a queer lens. Heavily influenced by 90’s alternative and modern pop-punk and folk. Their music transcends the commonplace acoustic sound with unexpected melodies and lyricism that defies codification.

An avid song writer and multi instrumentalist, Colin A writes whatever comes to mind or heart, bending genre and style. He’s played in several bands and has toured the US playing music. He’s currently recording two new albums and just released a concept noise album.

colinandthecrows.bandcamp.com

Jessica Duke uses music as free therapy. She writes and plays country/pop ballads inspired by Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, and The Chicks. When she isn’t writing music, you can find her running, hanging out with her cat and husband, or teaching science here in Pittsburgh!

Jade Eye is currently a solo musician who writes evocative songs with the goal of making the listener feel inspiration, heartbreak and everything in between.

He has previously played in bands and studied guitar and music composition, and his sound is both unique yet familiar, combining rock and pop influences with an emphasis on songwriting.

@jadeeyemusic

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News Winners Winners Songwriters Stage

Jessica Duke

Congratulations to winner of Songwriters Stage, Jessica Duke!

Jessica Duke uses music as free therapy. She writes and plays country/pop ballads inspired by Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, and The Chicks. When she isn’t writing music, you can find her running, hanging out with her cat and husband, or teaching science here in Pittsburgh!

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News Winners Winners Songwriters Stage

Gregg Stone

Congratulations to winner of Songwriters Stage, Gregg Stone!

I grew up in an entertainment-filled, central Pennsylvania home, an only child who spent most of my early years going to carnivals, county fairs and auditorium shows. Mom was a country music singer and radio DJ for 50 years.

After two or three unsuccessful attempts to teach me to play the guitar, I finally surrendered at about the age of 12. I was taught the most basic major chords on Mom’s 1953 D-28 Martin and took it from there (although not nearly as far as I could have). I began writing songs right away, which lasted throughout my first years of college, where I performed for coffee houses, small gatherings of friends and my future wife. I was heavily influenced by songwriters who told vivid stories in their songs: Guy Clark, (solo) Ian Hunter, Mark Knopfler, others.

Then I just kind of walked away from it. At the age of 55, I suddenly decided to start playing and writing again. I can’t even remember what triggered it. Perhaps it was new storytellers like Chris Whitley, Ani DiFranco and Beck who became further influences. Their songs were more interesting to me at this point in my life, and writing became a welcomed refuge from the challenges of my job and personal issues I seemed to deal with.

I’ve been writing and performing since, struck by the difference in my style between those teenage years and as an older adult. And my most prized possession is that guitar of Mom’s on which I learned basic chords and still play. My training is not at all formal, but I love what writing has done for me as a person, and I am thankful for this opportunity to share my stories.