MANSFIELD — Old Soul Vintage Attire and Records has thousands of records one can buy, but on weekends, it sheds light on local musicians.
“We just wanted it to be an outlet for local musicians to showcase their abilities of how they can put songs together and write music in a smaller setting,” said Katy McClenathan, co-owner of Old Soul. “We wanted to do something different. Have a different venue for the area and that was the whole drive behind it.
“It’s different than what we have. It broadens the scope.”
McClenathan said while the Signer-Songwriter Saturdays may not happen every Saturday, events will be posted on the store’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
On Saturday, three members of the band Pale Criminal played.
“We can’t thank them enough. We finally have a place to play. No one really gave us a chance other than them,” said bass guitarist, Mikey Brenkus. “That was really nice to be able to practice for something. To be able to play for real people.”
One of the draws for McClenathan to hosting events was the ability to house a diversity of musicians in a safe space and perhaps draw outsiders to Mansfield for the Saturday evening show.
“I think I just wanted this to be a place we could have different music and even draw people to Mansfield,” McClenathan said. “They could see Mansfield is a great place to be.”
Conner Darsee, Pale Criminals’ lead guitarist said he appreciated the invitation to play for Old Soul and enjoyed performing in front of new people.
“It’s just nice to be able to play for people,” guitarist Conner Darsee said. “It legitimizes all the time spent alone in the basement playing guitar.”
