November 2025 VOCAL Songwriters Showcase

The November showcase was a doubleheader event with Carol (Torch) Torricelli and Matt Manion teaming up to present songs as a duet and as a single.

Matt Manion

First up: Matt opened with
"I Ain't Old" a song rejecting the notion that getting old is a retirement sentence, the singer just wasn’t old, only "being well used". Next, “Blue Springs Gap Highway” pictured views from the mountain top, looking down at the valley below and breathing in the beautiful vistas. “Song For Speculators” featured feelings of love by the singer such as “rocket burning inside me”. “Necessary Trouble, Good Trouble” was a tribute to the late civil rights leader John Lewis exhorted the listeners to stand up for your rights and we all similar in content and body. “If That’s What It Takes” offered the suggestion that we are all connected in life and we should be thinking of us rather than me. Feeling good about one’s self was the subject of “Vanity” and “Don’t Need To Be Perfect” continued in that vein suggesting one doesn’t have to be perfect just be themselves. Joining Matt for his next two songs, Torch added her harmony to ”Don’t Start My Heart” and “Down On The Pamunkey”.

Carol "Torch" Torricelli

Reversing the roles, Matt added his harmony to The first two songs of Torch’s set. “We Are Virginia” an homage to the state and asking people to “Come and join the show” of this beautiful state. “Highway To Your Heart” related the journey of a truck driver as he travels the road back to a loved one. Now performing as a single, “Come To Virginia” echoed many of the features of her first song, extolling the virtues of the state. “Whenever I’m Thinking Of You” the singer ponders whether the listener is also wondering if he/she is thinking of her. “Roads In Between Us” was followed by “Major Dad”, a song honoring the military and especially the person in her personal life who influenced her life. “Sea Spray” was a beautiful picture of shore life and sea vistas. “Sunday Morning With My Flowers” extolled the virtues of enjoying the view from one’s porch, with coffee in hand. of the flowers and natural attractions of life that one absorbs by observation and contemplation. Switching from guitar to ganjo (banjo/guitar instrument) “I Know That You Know” was succeeded by “Give Me The Simple Life” a song similar to “Flowers” except the singer found contentment viewing life simply from from the front porch of her double wide trailer, looking down the dusty road at the fishing lake and enjoying it all from her rocking chair. “Ode To Thanksgiving” as the title suggests, was a filled with pictures of holiday accoutrements and treats for the body and soul we all enjoy on that special day.

Coming back to sing the last song, Matt and Carol showed their appreciation to the audience with the co-written song “Thank You For Coming Out, Tonight”. Which is self explanatory and was well received for a great night of music.

Showcase Photos

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Photo Credits: Matthew Costello, John Ellis, Norman Roscher