It’s not too often that you get the chance to get up and personal with some local bands. But every other Friday, Kaffe Mercantile along with Lavender Vinyls present the Songwriter’s Series, which gives you this experience to see local musicians front stage.

“Normally, musicians are the background sound,” said Morgan Thomas, the songwriter who performed his original music on June 17. “Events like this are where you really get to hear the music.”

The atmosphere makes this close-knit feeling possible. The event is hosted in the backyard of the coffee shop, if weather permits, and attendees are treated to a get-together like no other.

“The setting, all these old picture frames on the fence and being outside,” Bob Niederhauser, local musician, said of why someone should come to a future event at Kaffe Marcantile. “It has the look and feel of a neighborhood block party.”

Kaffe Mercantile, a well known coffee shop in the area has a reputation of supporting the neighborhood and teaming up with Lavender Vinyls has given them both the opportunity to support local music.

“Local music is community expression,” said Kylee Hallows, Lavender Vinyls co-owner. “It’s getting to know and appreciate the skill of the people around you. So community and local music is really a good way to bring people together.”

These biweekly events really do bring the community together in ways that aren’t seen too often.

“The old way of being a musician was to share it with your neighbors,” said Niederhauser. “And this kind of a setting is like how music was done at a barn dance on the frontier. Where you cut the money out and just share with the neighbors and that is when I think the music is at it’s best.”

The musicians attempt to give the listeners this feel through their music selections. Often times, there isn’t even a set list to go off of. Instead, the musicians play what their heart desires, creating a more personal set.

“Making a set-list sometimes makes me question whether or not I should’ve played a particular song or not” said Brook Mackintosh, who performed along side Morgan. “It’s something that we all experience in life sometimes as if we read the last chapter of the book before the beginning. It ruins it all.”

On July 1, Josaleigh Pollett will perform at the next Songwriter’s Series’ at Kaffe Mercantile, 1221 26th St. These events will continue throughout the rest of July from 7 to around 9:30 pm. Tickets in advance are $7 and $10 at the door. For more information, visit Kaffe Mercantile’s Facebook page.