The Acoustic Guitar Project

The Acoustic Guitar Project is a global music platform—and concert series—that inspires musicians to write and record a song in one week on the same guitar.

The project originated in New York City and has spread around the world. Projects are underway in more than 50 cities, from Amsterdam to Asheville, Havana to Hanoi, Minneapolis to Moscow, and São Paulo to...Syracuse.

Syracuse has one of the longest-running projects in the world, curated by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers. In 2024 the Syracuse project reached 60 songs written on the project guitar, donated by Maryland’s Minor Bird Musical Instruments.

➢ Listen to all the songs on the Acoustic Guitar Project website or in the playlist below.

➢ Listen to a sampling of project songs (some in their original project recordings, some in new versions) on Spotify.

Syracuse project songwriters

This playlist includes all the project songs to date, in the order they were written.

2024

Joey Arcuri ~ Mira Grimm ~ Joanne Perry ~ Ted Williams ~ Isreal Hagan

2023

Loren Barrigar ~ Alison Mullan-Stout ~ Ryan Burdick ~ Tiesha McNeal ~ Chris Merkley

2022

Amanda Rogers ~ J. Schnitt ~ Mark Allnatt ~ Susan Coleman and Mike Gridley ~ Chuck Schiele

2021

Austin MacRae ~ Zoë Mullan Stout ~ William James Nicholson ~ Corey Paige ~ Lauren Wallace and Taylor Ricks

2020

Emalee Herrington ~ Grace Krichbaum ~ Kyle Micho ~ Nate Glyn ~ Ella Drotar

The 2020 project showcased next-generation songwriters—all in their teens to early 20s.

Watch the closing concert above, streamed live from Subcat Studios. Thanks to concert sponsor Ish Guitars. Project photos of Ella Drotar, Emalee Herrington, and Nate Glyn are by Tom Honan.

2019

Leo Crandall ~ Jess Novak ~ Mark Wahl ~ Catherine Cadley ~ Phil Grajko

2018

Todd Hobin ~ Liam Alone ~ Steve Winston ~ Peg Newell ~ Andrew VanNorstrand

2017

Mark Hoffmann ~ Andrew Ruddy and Monique Ritter ~ Jane Zell ~ John McConnell ~ Stephen Douglas Wolfe

2016

Bob Halligan Jr. ~ Donna Colton and Sam Patterelli ~ Mike Powell ~ Jon Peterson ~ Gina Holsopple

2015

Donna Dennihy ~ Kim Monroe and Chris Eves ~ Joe Driscoll ~ Jeff Jones ~ Eddie Zacholl

2014

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers ~ Wendy Ramsay ~ Tim Burns ~ Colleen Kattau ~ Colin Aberdeen

Dana “Short Order” Cooke ~ Ashley Cox ~ John Cadley ~ Arty Lenin ~ Gary Frenay

In memory of Jack O. Bocchino

Jack O. Bocchino, the legendary supporter of the Central New York music scene who passed away in March 2020, was a major contributor to the Acoustic Guitar Project in Syracuse (learn more about Jack here). Jack photographed all the songwriters for the first six years of the project, as collected in this video. The soundtrack is “Twenty One Rounds” by Mike Powell, written for the project in 2016.

Till I’m Alone with You

I released my project song as a single in 2020. More about the song.

Only One

I wrote this song in 2022 when the Syracuse project reached the milestone of 50 songs, and I perform it here on the project guitar.