Bob Kingsley Connects Radio and Songwriters

Pictured (L-R): Bob Kingsley, Lee Thomas Miller, Jeff Stevens, Brandy Clark, and Tom Douglas.

For the second consecutive year, Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley hosted a lineup of hit songwriters for in-the-round performances for the Country Radio Seminar. Presented by Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40 and co-sponsored by SunTrust Bank, Thursday’s (Feb. 28) event offered a chance for lyricists to candidly share thoughts, perceptions and insights with radio gatekeepers.

Each No. 1 hit was humanized and personalized by the songwriters that crafted it, which help to deepen the very relationship discussed during the Ethnographic presentation at the broadcasting conference.

Naturally, most songwriters offered praise for Kingsley during their round. The musical poets shared memories of the various times the legendary broadcaster announced their penned songs had climbed to the summit of the charts, including “One of Those Nights” from Luke Laird, “Tornado” from Natalie Hemby, and “Alone With You” from Shane McAnally––and that was just from the first round.

The second round of performers compelled the audience to their feet while listening to Tom Douglas’ “House That Built Me,” Lee Thomas Miller’s “In Color,” Jeff Stevens’ “Carrying Your Love With Me,” and Brandy Clark’s “Better Dig Two.”

Marv Green, Wendell Mobley, Jason Sellers and Ashley Gorley were included in an additional round, performing renditions of their respective hits, including “Creepin’,” “Tattoos on This Town,” “Strange,” and “Why Ya Wanna.”

It is always impressive to witness the power of a song, especially when it intersects with another bedrock of our industry, radio. As for Kingsley’s evening, broadcasters from around the U.S. gathered to connect to a song, and walk away finding there’s only one degree of separation between each other.