ACMA Songwriters Showcase at The Collaboratory
The ACMA is excited to present these FREE public concerts in a beautiful setting at The Collaboratory in downtown Fort Myers!
The Collaboratory has partnered with the ACMA to bring you a special songwriter showcase featuring all-original music by talented local musicians. Each concert features three artists sharing their songs, the stories behind them, and the experiences that inspired them—much like the Island Hopper Songwriter Fest or Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Café.
Expect a fun evening of professional-quality Americana music, blending blues, roots, folk, bluegrass, and country.
Bring a chair or blanket and enjoy an evening under the stars. Shows will move indoors if needed.
The ACMA, a Fort Myers-based nonprofit, is dedicated to supporting and promoting original music.
🎶 Live music: 6:30–8:00 PM
🪑 Bring a chair or blanket
🅿️ Plenty of free parking
📍 The Collaboratory — Downtown Fort Myers
🎟️ FREE and open to the public
Meet the three featured songwriters below!
Dhruva’s folksy, homestyle renditions will touch your heart and make you smile and hum along. A seasonal resident of Fort Myers hailing from the hills of Appalachia, she is a lifelong educator-musician who loves to make music with others. Over the years, she has performed with folk, bluegrass, Celtic, acoustic rock and Southern rock groups and sung in choirs with which she toured China and Italy. She has released nine solo albums including her latest, “Romping in the Swamplands,” as well as providing flute, percussion and harmony vocals in studio sessions for other musicians. Her YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@sallydhruva features many videos of nature songs written for children of all ages. For more information, visit https://dhruasongs.wixsite.com/music
Bob Williams has just released his fifth studio album, The Long Road Home, a fitting title for a songwriter who has been following the thread of music since he first learned three chords on a guitar. Influenced by the folk-rock and country-rock sounds of the ’60s and ’70s, his musical foundation was shaped by iconic folk artists and the golden era of the American singer-songwriter. Over time, that foundation naturally evolved into what is now known as Americana — a rich blend of roots, folk, country, blues, and everything in between.
Known for sharing the stories behind his songs, Bob doesn’t simply perform music — he invites audiences into it. His writing is personal, heartfelt, irreverent, funny, and sometimes achingly sad. Each song has a backstory, and his ability to tell it draws listeners in long before the first chorus arrives.
His performances have been described as “a mix of Neil Young and Crazy Horse with solo acoustic Bruce Springsteen.” While Bob might humbly call that a stretch, there’s no denying the raw passion and authenticity that define his live shows. One moment he delivers a soulful ballad that quiets the room; the next, he has the audience laughing with a clever lyric or unexpected turn of phrase.
Comfortable in intimate listening rooms, theaters, community concert series, and special benefit events, Bob is most at home on a stage where the music matters and the audience leans in. He is a favorite for charity fundraisers and house concerts, bringing connection, humor, and heart to every performance. Whether in front of a packed audience or a small, attentive crowd, he creates an experience that feels personal and memorable. www.reverbnation.com/bobwilliams2
Bill Veach was a drummer in a rock band in college, but guitars are easier to move and make for better neighbors so he spent $100 of his precious college beer money on a flame red acoustic guitar. Moving was a part of his life for years, with a love of travel that is expressed in many of his songs. His songs are often autobiographical, about his experiences, travel, love, loss, hurricanes, and some characters he has met on his journey. Bill is a Western boy, raised in Colorado and lived in Utah and Wyoming before becoming a full time resident of Fort Myers Beach. He became active writing songs as part of the Cheyenne Guitar Society in Wyoming and finds inspiration in the camaraderie of the ACMA Singer Songwriter Circle on Sundays. Bill has never met a genre he didn’t like, and his style varies from slow finger picking to channeling that college drummer through a guitar pick.
Bill’s music can be found on billveach.com.