The Same Thing Project is a “community songwriting” workshop for people from all walks of life. Musicians, artists, students, teachers, retired folks, neurodiverse, differently-abled, blue and white-collar workers participate every week in writing a song. The Same Thing Project provides a place where you don’t have to be skilled at a musical instrument in order to be musical. It’s a space where you can be part of a creative community that is open, nonjudgmental and encouraging. Connection is created and isolation is reduced.

The Same Thing Project, founded in 2016 by Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame inductee Mark Cutler takes place at schools, adult care facilities, and community centers and now is taking its innovative community songwriting workshops to college campuses for a tour titled Community Songwriting for Mental Health. This first-of-its-kind college tour has been developed with support from the National Museum of Mental Health Project (NMMHP) as a means of addressing the mental health challenges being faced by today’s college students.

The Same Thing Project is one of the first organizations in the United States dedicated to community songwriting, which it defines as “discovering one’s voice, alongside others, to create words and music for shared experiences and emotions—everyone becomes a songwriter. No music experience required.”