With their guitar cases and microphone stands cluttering the sidewalk outside Masonicare at Newtown on a recent Saturday, Mike Lynch and Eddie Fredericks began hauling equipment indoors.

In a loose, story-telling fashion, Mr Fredericks talked about his musician's background, starting with his nephew, Sawyer Fredericks, 16, a singer-songwriter best known for winning the eighth season of the television competition The Voice in 2015. He takes some credit for the young man's talent.

"I taught Sawyer to play guitar," he said. "My dad taught me and instilled it in me and I passed it to Sawyer." When his nephew won The Voice, Mr Fredericks, who was living in Maine at the time, found himself talking frequently with the media. The conversations got him thinking about home - Sandy Hook, where both he and Mr Lynch grew up together. Now back in town, he said, "You never leave. Towns leave a mark on you, so, I wrote a song."

Together again, the life-long friends recently began work on a CD to include the new song "Coming Home," which is about Sandy Hook. In a recent letter when he first contacted The Bee, Mr Lynch wrote: "Anyone who grew up in Sandy Hook will be able to relate to this song." The lyrics mention landmarks such as the Fabric Firehose Company, where Mr Lynch's father and Mr Fredericks's grandmother had worked. The song also talks about fishing, lunch breaks, Lorenzo's Pizza.

"It is a song about us growing up [in Sandy Hook] as kids and holds a special place in our hearts," he said. Listening to a recording of the song reveals the familiar places and names woven into a folk song, and its story about coming home to Sandy Hook.

The performance at Masonicare, where they played songs by artists including Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, also included "Coming Home." In his letter, Mr Lynch said he hoped their music would bring residents "as much joy listening to it as" he felt in creating it. Joining Mr Fredericks and Mr Lynch for the March 5 performance at Masonicare were friends and musicians Mike Dest, Tony Don and Anthony Raiani.

Mr Lynch wrote, "They are happy to come along and help out in any way possible or just talking and spending time with the residents."

Mr Lynch and Mr Fredericks aim to have a CD out by next year.

"All songs are direct from the heart. Along with our originals, we sing traditional country music," he wrote.

Music And Friendship

A few days after the show, both men talked about their music and friendship.

Mike Lynch and Eddie Fredericks "have been life long friends and we had written music early on," since they were 20 years old, Mr Lynch said. "I grabbed a guitar - and Eddie is awesome at lyrics - and I put music to it." Life soon took them in different directions, however, and the men went their separate ways.

In the last year, Mr Fredericks returned to the area, "and now we're together and writing music and we think it's better than ever," Mr Lynch said.

"We write about real life, true experiences, not 'bubble gum' like today's country," he said. He considered "Coming Home," which is about Sandy Hook done in the traditional country music fashion, which "is all we heard as kids and we sprouted from the music we heard from our parents." In the last year, the two have "a lot written and just need to put them on a CD."

There are 10 or 12 songs in progress "that we want to iron out, then get into a studio and get it professionally done," said Mr Lynch. Then the two will "pitch them, and maybe someone big can sing one of our songs," he added.

Other songs include "When the Legends are gone," about the loss of country traditionalists; and "Just Close My Eyes," about Mr Fredericks's nephew Sawyer.

The two friends "give each other credit" for the songwriting and "write like a team," Mr Lynch said. Other songs that will be on the CD include "Run Away," "I Just Close My Eyes," "If The World Were Mine," "Gypsy Fire," "Ol John," "Born To Boogie," "Wings In The Wind," "Cross For Ever Fly," and "You Talkin Country."

The pair plays live "once in a while; locally we'll pop up somewhere." They also tend to "space it out," when they play.

"We like to bring new songs, that's why we wait a few months in between, to give us time to have something new," said Mr Lynch.

But because both men work full time they get together at night and practice, and write when they can, Mr Lynch said.

"Eddie, literally, can write a song in ten minutes, he is unbelievably creative," Mr Lynch said, admiring his friend. For Mr Fredericks, "Lyrics are like second nature. I have to slow him down."

Mr Lynch's process is different.

"For me, I'll be driving and it hits me, and I grab a pad," he said. In one case he was heading toward a store. "By the time I got to Home Depot in Danbury I had a song written, it pops into my head and you know it's right," he shared.

Many of their songs are about real life and real country music and growing up.

"We're the real deal and are keeping it country, and it touches people. We want to turn heads and have people interested in listening, not just keep drinking their beer," Mr Lynch said.

"We have been playing music a long time," Mr Fredericks said, but "it seems like yesterday," when they began.

When a song comes into his mind, he said, "I hear the words," which can often come from "things that inspire me, music and life … I am trying to capture that." The song "Coming Home" came from Sandy Hook, the town where he grew up.

After writing a song, he said "you maybe don't know if it's good, so you play it and guage reactions - something you think is good, might not be," so Mr Fredericks relies on people's reactions.

Commenting on whether he considers his music traditional, Mr Fredericks said the music he and his friend create is "a little different," he said. Since he and Mr Lych grew up in the north, they are "country-ish but New England-ish."

The two were apart for 13 years while Mr Fredericks lived in Maine, "so the things we are doing now are new beginnings," he said.

Find out more about the two musician, including when and where they will be performing, on their Facebook page (search for Lynch & Fredericks).