From Justin Trawick Arlington-based artist Justin Trawick leads a group of local talent in "The 9" Songwriter series Friday at Strathmore.

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Just like popping in a mixtape, the audience is treated to a variety of local talent as nine solo artists take the stage to perform a shuffle of original songs in “The 9” Songwriter Series.

Originated by Arlington-based singer-songwriter Justin Trawick in 2008, the series has since grown into a national act, highlighting talent in cities such as Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Richmond.

On Friday, “The 9” will take over The Mansion at Strathmore for Friday Night Eclectic, featuring performances by Trawick, Becky Warren, Gideon Grove, Jonny Grave, Amanda Lee, Victoria Vox, Max Kuzmyak, Mary Alouette and Nita Chawla.

As both a soloist and band frontman, Trawick has been playing music full-time in the Washington D.C.-area for the past four years, and has shared the stage with artists such as Bob Schneider and The Avett Brothers. Trawick was inspired to create “The 9” by successful singer-songwriter group shows such as the Hotel Café tour and Ten out of Tenn, which not only give emerging artists an opportunity to perform large venues, but encourage collaborations amongst the talent.

As he prepares for a series of four shows leading up to Friday’s gig at Strathmore, Trawick speaks about what keeps “The 9” thriving and jiving.

Cody Calamaio: How did “The 9” Songwriter Series come about?

Justin Trawick: “The 9” was created for a couple of reasons; one was that it’s always hard for musicians, especially local musicians, to get into really good venues. When you’re starting out, or when you’re not even just starting out but you want to play a 200-capactiy club, sometimes you don’t have 200 people who want to come see you. Clubs want that big crowd there.

I started this as a large group to be able to capitalize on everybody’s draw together, so that we could now get out of playing a small bars where nobody was listening and playing at a real good club or venue in the area. For example, Strathmore. The Strathmore Mansion is a really great place to play. A lot of people on the bill could never play there on their own, but together we can combine our drawing ability and make them happy and put on a good show in front of a lot of people.

The idea is if you played there on your own the drawing responsibility would be all your own. For Strathmore, everybody is bringing 15 people, which is very easy for all of us to do. And the nice thing is each artist gets the ability to not only play in front of a full crowd, but to play in front of eight other people’s audience who may not have seen them before. So you’re really branching out in terms of your exposure.

CC: How many songs does each person get to play?

JT: We go through the group twice. The first set each person plays two songs, in the second set each person plays one more song which is the encore set. From 2008 to today I’ve been establishing this on-going set of rules, what works and what doesn’t and how to make the show better — more of like a theatrical event. I never wanted it to be like a string of nine shows. I wanted it to be one kind of theatrical event that people came to see in its entirety.

The problem with the average quote-unquote “showcase” that local musicians are used to doing is that so many times people bring their friends and their friends come listen to the person they came to hear, and then they leave. I didn’t want that to happen this time. I wanted to create an environment where people that came to the show stayed for the entire show. So that’s why I split it up into two sets, as opposed to everyone playing three songs and then they’re done.

And the other rule is: this is a solo performance, meaning that if you have a band you can’t bring your band. But, you can ask other people in the line up to sit in. … For the show coming up, Victoria Vox is one of the performers. She plays ukulele and sings and she also does kind of a mouth trumpet. ... I can guarantee you she’s going to sit in with somebody. Sitting in with other people ties it together and pulls and makes for a better show. And it also gets each artist a little bit more stage time.

CC: So then do you practice at all together?

JT: In all honesty, we really don’t. A lot of the people who play these “9” shows have played together before. So sometimes they have things that have been worked out before. … But a lot of times with the “9” shows, people are in the back before the show or during the sound check or even during the show behind stage working out, like, things to do together, learning their songs, learning their chords, learning the lyrics. … You’re watching music being kind of made for the first time when you’re watching all these people sit in.

CC: Is there a theme throughout the night or is it a true hodgepodge where people bring whatever songs they want?

JT: For Christmas we did a Christmas-themed one where one of the songs was a holiday song. I’ve done all-female ones before. Inevitably there is always more men than women because there always seems to be more men singer-songwriters out there than women. I always try really hard to make sure there is as much as there is an equal representation. I’ve had at least one all-female “9” show. And I’m branching out and doing an all hip hop “9” show in D.C. in February, which I think is going to be really great. It’s going to be nine rappers. D.C. has a really thriving hip hop scene that I think could really use something like this.

CC: How do you find these artists?

JT: It’s just knowing people. In the city that I live in, the D.C. metro area, I just know a lot of people. And then a lot of times I’ll ask my friends. ... For example, this week, Strathmore will be day four of a four day “9” run. I will be doing it in IOTA Club & Cafe in (Arlington) on Tuesday, I’ll be in Baltimore on Wednesday at The Metro Gallery, the Philadelphia-area in Ardmore, Pa. on Thursday at MilkBoy Coffee, and then the Strathmore. The cities that I don’t live in, the artists that I do know, I’ll say, “Hey, can you send me an email with five or 10 singer-songwriters in that area and their websites?” And I’ll go to their websites and check out their music and I’ll invite them to play.

ccalamaio@gazette.net

Nine local artists will perform as part of “The 9” Songwriter Series at Friday Night Eclectic at The Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Visit www.strathmore.org or call 301- 581-5100. For more on Justin Trawick and “The 9” visit www.justintrawick.com.