Creator’s Notebook: Justin Trawick

Premieres Tuesday, July 27 at 8pm ET

With traditional storytelling, character vignettes, and heartfelt lyricism that embody past, present, and future, singer-songwriter Justin Trawick explores the inspirations and processes behind his music. From the rustic confines of St. Vincent Wine on Georgia Avenue, Trawick and his band, The Common Good, demonstrate how the power of songwriting can preserve memories, motivate action, and inspire hope.

This video is part of Creator’s Notebook, a series of four short films that profile singer-songwriter Justin Trawick, visual artist Khalid Thompson, musician and storyteller Be Steadwell, and photographer and DJ Violetta Markelou in multi-faceted origin stories spanning their motivations as artists and inspirations for their work, defining what it means to bring original art into the world. Each film in the week-long dive deep into the creative process culminates in a performance or presentation of the work in intimate settings across D.C.

About the Artist

Photo by Violetta Markelou

Justin Trawick has been performing in the Washington, D.C. area and along the east coast since 2006, citing musical influences like Bob Schneider, Greensky Bluegrass, The Tallest Man on Earth, G. Love, Old Crow Medicine Show, and David Gray. In February 2014, Trawick won “Song of the Year” at the Washington Area Music Awards for his solo recording of “All the Places That I’ve Been,” which can be downloaded on iTunes as a single along with his five other solo records and EPs. In June 2015, Trawick released his first single under the band name “Justin Trawick and The Common Good,” titled “Goodbye,” which was written about the search for direction and belonging in a world that always feels one step ahead of you. In January 2018, Justin Trawick and The Common Good released their first EP, The Riverwash EP, which features Norah Jones’s guitarist Adam Levy. In 2020, during the coronavirus quarantine, the band released the single, “Back of the Line,” and was featured in Reuters, CNN, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine, Parade Magazine, American Songwriter Magazine, Voice of America, and Virginia Living Magazine coverage for Trawick’s livestream series and secret backyard concert series created during the pandemic.

Trawick and the band have performed for the Kingman Island Bluegrass Festival, Appaloosa Roots Music Festival, Floyd Yoga Jam, TedxEast in NYC at City Winery, and TedxPennsylvaniaAvenue in D.C. at the Newseum. Additionally, Trawick has opened for over 30 national acts, including Suzanne Vega, Wyclef Jean, Brett Dennen, Blues Traveler, Enter The Haggis, Bob Schneider, and Edwin McCain, and shared bills with Dr. Dogg and The Avett Brothers. As the founder of the nationally touring show “The 9 Songwriter Series” and co-founder of “The Circus Life Podcast” with guests such as Kevin Eubanks, Chris Thomas King, Ernie Halter, Yarn, and Snuffy Walden, Trawick has built a brand that extends far beyond his home base in D.C. For more information, please visit justintrawick.com.

About the Business

Located on Georgia Avenue in Northwest D.C., St. Vincent Wine is “your friendly neighborhood wine bar” with a large outdoor garden, upstairs cocktail lounge, and live music. Inspired by Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits (New Orleans), St. Vincent comes from D.C. nightlife vets Peyton Sherwood, a partner at the Midlands Beer Garden, and Frederick Uku, a former bartender at the Red Hen. For more information, please visit stvincentwine.com.

Creator’s Notebook is made possible through the generous support of Gary and Silvia Yacoubian and SVS Home Audio.

Mars Arts D.C. is a partnership of Mars, Incorporated and Washington Performing Arts, with support from Jacqueline Badger Mars.

Thank you to the following lead supporters of Washington Performing Arts’s mission-driven work in 2020/21: Jacqueline Badger Mars and Mars, Incorporated; D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities; Betsy and Robert Feinberg; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts; Tom Gallagher; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts.