Cheatham Street Music Foundation

Photo by Caitlin Clark

While battling a life threatening illness eight years ago, Kent Finlay realized he needed to put a plan in place to preserve the music of his Cheatham Street Warehouse should he lose his battle.

The idea behind the Cheatham Street Music Foundation was then born, and was established in 2008. The foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing, promoting, preserving and perpetuating the Texas music. Finlay said its is the responsibility of the foundation to restore and preserve the Cheatham Street Warehouse for future generations.

“If something happens to one of the members of the board of directors, there will still always be someone there to carry on the art of songwriting thanks to the foundation,” Finlay said.

According to the foundation’s website, is goal is also to promote the advancement of education in songwriting by conducting songwriting classes, workshops, seminars, public forums, panels, lectures, concerts and similar programs.

Sage Allen, Cheatham Street Warehouse manager, said another goal of starting the foundation was to offer programming to help local songwriters develop their craft.

Diane Osborne, grant secretary in the department of curriculum and instruction, said Texas State and the foundation have teamed up to offer the Young Songwriters’ Camp at the Warehouse this summer. The Songwriting and Guitar Workshop for Armed Forces Veterans and Kent Finlay’s Songwriters Circle are among the other programs offered by the foundation.

Money donated to and raised by the foundation goes toward funding these programs and restoring the deteriorating warehouse that Cheatham Street is housed in.

“We’re not going to change the look (of the building),” Finlay said. “That’s what gives this place its’ charm. That 101-year-old wood is just magic when it comes to sound quality, but it would burn like cinder if it were to catch on fire.”

Replacing rotten wood, putting in a new foundation, re-leveling the floors, installing a sprinkler system and making the restrooms handicap accessible are all on Finlay’s list to make the building “good and sturdy to last for another 300 years.”