Highlights from the 2025 Singer-Songwriter Conference

By Cassidy Jones April 4, 2025

John Harris, founder and organizer, on the left from Saturday night Producer Panel. Photograph by Frank Scott.

The Cape May Singer-Songwriter conference was reawakened this past weekend after its discontinuation in 2020 due to Covid. The first SS conference was held in Cape May in 2008 centered out of Congress Hall, and took place annually until five years ago. During the event’s peak it has featured more than 80 music industry professionals and exceeded 130 acts performing throughout Cape May.

The weekend of March 28-29 of 2025 marked a successful return of SS Cape May, designed to help up and coming artists network and showcase their talent. The weekend benefited musicians through exposure and interactions with professionals and experienced artists alike that shared advice and insights about the industry. There were mentorship opportunities, demo circulation, panels, and workshops that served to promote individual music careers.

Laura Stevenson to the left, Adam Wiener to the right, photos by Frank Scott

This year’s keynote speakers and featured musical artists that headlined the event were Laura Stevenson on Friday and Adam Wiener on Saturday. On their respective nights they spoke in seminars and gave performances in the Congress Hall Ballroom.

Aside from the headliners, there were active performances each night across fifteen different venues in town, all free and open to the public. From ensembles to solo acts, with a variety of genres and instruments, this was a special weekend to shake up Cape May after a quiet winter.

Camile K, a Philadelphia based singer songwriter, opened for Friday night’s headliner and spoke with us about the event. “My experience at Singer Songwriter Cape May was amazing! The conference was filled with live music happening all around Congress Hall and other venues throughout Cape May. I was able to perform in the Ballroom at Congress Hall on Friday night, playing my original music, as well as performing my brand new single, “Good Fight” (dropping 4/4), for the first time. Then, on Saturday, I spoke on the ‘Maximizing Your Potential As A Musician’ panel alongside some amazing music industry executives.

“Singer Songwriter Cape May is a great event that highlights original music and songwriters. All throughout the weekend, you can catch live performances, network with fellow creatives and professionals, and learn valuable insights to benefit your career,” says Camille. You find her music on all streaming platforms under Camille K, and check out her recent release “Good Fight.”

Jimm Ross, local musician and seven-time SS Cape May performer, spoke with us about hosting the rounds at the Mad Batter through the weekend’s musical festivities. “I opted to only host this year because I felt that the folks that had traveled quite far for this event were more entitled to the exposure they would receive here in Cape May,” Jimm told us.“Hosting this year brought me up close with the players at the Mad Batter. Getting to meet and accommodate them as their host and sound man truly gave me a special insight to what new songwriters go through to create and express.”

Gordon Vincent, Alexander Uskuraitis of The Collective, and The Coyote Jack Band. Photographed by Becca Bergen.

He continued, “As a writer and performer, I know that playing in new places can bring a fair amount of excitement to musicians. Cape May has an artist charm all its own. Besides painters, photographers, jewelry makers and any other artist one could think of, there’s an incredible variety of singer songwriters here. I think the SS Cape May conference has a fantastic city, with a unique atmosphere, to entice musicians to come and play their music.”

You can explore the collection of various artists that took part in the Cape May Singer-Songwriter conference on our Spotify playlist: