Queen City Songwriters Invitational Returns to Spearfish
Free songwriter rounds move through downtown Spearfish Friday and Saturday, followed by a Friday night showcase and Jeffrey Foucault at The Matthews.
At 11 a.m. Friday, Craig Winquist, Devon Sants and Johnny Hastings will start the Queen City Songwriters Invitational at Spearfish Creek Wine Bar. An hour later, the next group moves to False Bottom Bar. At 1 p.m., another three writers sit down at Spearfish Public House.
That rotation continues through 5 p.m., and then starts again Saturday.
The third annual Queen City Songwriters Invitational, running September 25 and 26 in downtown Spearfish, is built around a simple format: three writers, one hour and one room at a time. Every daytime round is free, and because none of them overlap, someone who wants to hear the entire schedule can follow it from venue to venue.
That part is intentional.
“Last year we spread across more rooms,” Queen City Songwriters co-founder Heath Johnson said. “This year the daytime rounds rotate one venue at a time across three downtown spots. You can follow the whole day without picking a room against another room in the same hour.”
The three participating venues are Spearfish Creek Wine Bar, False Bottom Bar and Spearfish Public House.
Johnson said the change is part of what QCSI has learned since launching the Invitational in 2024.
“Year one was big and a little scattered,” he said. “Now it’s tighter: curated rounds where people actually listen, a free Friday night where every invited writer gets the Matthews stage, and a headliner who fits that same listening-room idea.”
Friday: Six Rounds, Then Everybody Meets at The Matthews
Friday’s daytime schedule begins at 11 a.m. and runs through the 4 p.m. round.
Friday, September 25
- 11:00 AM — Spearfish Creek Wine Bar
Craig Winquist • Devon Sants • Johnny Hastings - 12:00 PM — False Bottom Bar
Daron Lacina • Ian Gall • Lacy Hotchkiss - 1:00 PM — Spearfish Public House
Jackson Holte • Laura Mills • Quinlan Valdez - 2:00 PM — Spearfish Creek Wine Bar
Brad McKim • Cody Neeb • Wayne P. Baye - 3:00 PM — False Bottom Bar
Abbey Leach • Clint Hahn • Sarah Carper - 4:00 PM — Spearfish Public House
Chris Graves • Janice Gilbert • Lawren Erickson
At 7:30 p.m., the Invitational moves to The Matthews Opera House for the free Songwriters Showcase.
Instead of dividing the writers into small rounds, Friday night puts the invited roster together on the same stage.
“The rounds are intimate and scattered, and Friday night is the opposite on purpose,” Johnson said. “One room, every invited writer, playing with each other in a laid-back atmosphere.”
For Johnson, it also gives listeners another chance to hear someone they may have missed during the afternoon.
The Friday showcase is free, though advance RSVP is recommended.
What QCSI Looks for in a Songwriter
The Invitational is curated rather than competitive.
Johnson said original songs come first, but choosing the roster is also about how someone participates in a round with other writers.
“I’m looking for original songs with a real story in them, and for writers who will show up for each other in a round,” he said. “Skill matters, but so does whether they’ll make the room better for the other two people on the bill.”
That fits the broader problem Queen City Songwriters was created to address.
For Johnson, one of the biggest obstacles facing people who write original music in this region isn’t a shortage of musicians.
It’s a shortage of places designed for people to actually listen.
“Most of the time you’re background in a busy bar, three songs deep in a long night, with no context for the story behind the song,” he said. “Writers work alone a lot. What’s scarce isn’t talent. It’s places built to listen, and a community around the craft.”
Paying the participating artists was also a goal from the beginning. Johnson said community support has allowed QCSI to fully reach that goal this year, sooner than organizers expected.
“We thought it would take five years and we got there in three,” he said.
Saturday: Another Day of Rounds
Saturday reshuffles the writers into six new groups.
Saturday, September 26
- 11:00 AM — Spearfish Public House
Clint Hahn • Daron Lacina • Wayne P. Baye - 12:00 PM — False Bottom Bar
Jackson Holte • Janice Gilbert • Johnny Hastings - 1:00 PM — Spearfish Creek Wine Bar
Chris Graves • Ian Gall • Quinlan Valdez - 2:00 PM — Spearfish Public House
Abbey Leach • Brad McKim • Devon Sants - 3:00 PM — False Bottom Bar
Cody Neeb • Craig Winquist • Laura Mills - 4:00 PM — Spearfish Creek Wine Bar
Lacy Hotchkiss • Lawren Erickson • Sarah Carper
Johnson had originally appeared in some early versions of the schedule but stepped out of performing this year.
Johnny Hastings is the confirmed replacement for the Friday 11 a.m. and Saturday noon rounds.
Jeffrey Foucault Closes the Weekend
Saturday night shifts to a single featured performance at The Matthews with Jeffrey Foucault.
Foucault has spent more than two decades writing and recording folk and Americana music, and arrives in Spearfish in the middle of a current run through the region. His latest work includes the 2026 release The Universal Fire: Solo Acoustic Recordings, a stripped-down companion to his 2024 album The Universal Fire.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with doors opening at 7. Tickets are $25.
Know before you Go:
The daytime songwriter rounds on both Friday and Saturday are free, and because only one round happens at a time, you don’t have to pick between competing performances. The three daytime venues are all in downtown Spearfish, making it possible to follow the schedule from room to room.
Friday night’s Songwriters Showcase is free, with advance RSVP recommended.
Saturday night’s Jeffrey Foucault concert is ticketed at $25.
More information, Friday RSVPs and Saturday tickets are available through qcsongwriters.com.