Mission
Songbirds exists to create the next generation of creative economy employees, according to Songbirds Executive Director John Dooley. “We’re here to empower any student or creative professional to take the next step,” Dooley says. “We recognize that the creative economy is growing at an incredible rate, and Chattanooga deserves to be a part of that.” But what is the creative economy? Dooley gives the example of a band looking to put out an album. It takes a whole team of people to put out that album, including photographers, graphic designers, producers and sound designers, he says. “We’re here to open people’s eyes to what’s actually available in terms of careers in the creative space.”
History
Songbirds began in 2017 as a for-profit guitar museum on Station Street, as part of the Chattanooga Choo Choo complex. Alongside the museum was the Songbirds Foundation, a nonprofit that served in giving guitars to students in underfunded school arts programs. The pandemic, as it did with many organizations, put a financial strain on the museum. As a result, the nonprofit arm took over the operation, putting Songbirds on the trajectory that has carried it forward to today, part of which included moving from Station Street to Main Street in 2023, and its current venue which opened in August 2024.
Scope
The nonprofit’s physical footprint includes the Main Street venue, two studios — one on Market Street and one inside the South Chattanooga Community Center — and several Chattanooga schools where Songbirds offers educational programming. Songbirds has several programs that help students engage with the creative economy. Guitars for Kids, provides free guitars, curriculum and resources for school-aged children across the nation. Write to Rock is a program for elementary school students that teaches songwriting while working with music industry professionals, culminating in a performance of their songs at the Songbirds venue. Songbirds has an in-school presence in Chattanooga, Nashville and Atlanta.
By the Numbers
* 10: Full-time instructors employed to work with students
* 12-16: Shows per month hosted at the venue
* 30-40: Guitars currently on display at Songbirds’ Main Street venue
* 150+: Schools nationwide that Songbirds’ Guitars for Kids program is in
* 1,050: Students directly impacted by in-school programming in Chattanooga per year
* 4,000+: Students directly impacted by in-school programming across Chattanooga, Nashville and Atlanta per year
Drawing Board
In September, Songbirds officially announced its merger with Chattanooga-based, music education nonprofit Dynamo Studios. Moving forward, Dynamo will operate as a brand under Songbirds. Dynamo provides in-school programming that puts youth into professional field experiences within the creative economy to develop and apply new skills. Songbirds’ goal is the optimization of its programming, Dooley says — making the outcomes of the programs more quantifiable, telling the story of a student’s development through data.
Learn more about Songbirds at songbirds.org.