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Nashville’s Tin Pan South attendees had plenty of options for the 6 p.m. show last night (March 27). Phil Barton, Cameron Bedell, Seth Ennis, Alyssa Micaela and Liz Rose occupied Analog at the Hutton Hotel; and Gary Burr, Sarah Buxton, Charles Esten and Georgia Middleman were across town at the TRUE Music Room and Bar at the Cambria Hotel.
ASCAP songwriters Chris DeStefano, Ashley Gorley and Chase Rice came together at 3rd & Lindsley to share some of their many hits between them. Hit-maker Gorley kicked the round off with his Jon Pardi hit “Dirt On My Boots” on the keyboard. He went on to play a sampling of his nearly 40 No. 1 hits, including: Thomas Rhett’s “T-Shirt” and “Marry Me,” Luke Bryan’s “Play It Again,” Billy Currington’s “Do I Make You Wanna” and Blake Shelton’s “I Lived It.”
The very talented vocalist and instrumentalist, DeStefano, kept the crowd entertained with his performing chops, playing some of his hits like Morgan Evan’s “Kiss Somebody,” Luke Bryan’s “Kick The Dust Up,” Dan + Shay’s “From The Ground Up” and Carrie Underwood’s “Something In The Water.” DeStefano also performed both Underwood’s part and Ludacris’ rap in the 2018 Superbowl theme, “The Champion,” and did a swankier version of Brett Eldredge’s “Don’t Ya.”
Rice kept up with the A-list songwriters playing his radio hits “Ready Set Roll,” “Gonna Wanna Tonight,” “Eyes On You” as well as his Florida Georgia Line smash “Cruise.” He also displayed his chops as a lyricist in “Three Chords & The Truth” and “Jack Daniels & Jesus.”
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Pictured (L-R): Mark Trussell, Natalie Hemby, Hannah Ellis, Nick Wayne, Josh Kerr. Photo: Instagram / Natalie Hemby
As for the 9 p.m. show, attendees could treat themselves at The Local with some Natalie Hemby, Hannah Ellis, Josh Kerr and Nick Wayne; or they could hear some tunes from Corey Crowder, Ernest K, Jared Mullins, RaeLynn and some special guests—including NEEDTOBREATHE’s Bear Rinehart—at the Listening Room Cafe.
SESAC songwriters Rob Hatch, Cary Barlowe, Craig Campbell, and Josh Hoge performed some originals at the Analog at The Hutton Hotel. Hatch kicked off the night with “Goodnight Kiss” (Randy Houser) and later performed hits like “I Don’t Dance” (Lee Brice) and “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” (Justin Moore). Barlowe performed “American Honey” (Lady Antebellum), “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To” (Billy Currington) and Chris Young’s new single, “Raised on Country.” Campbell performed a new song that has yet to be released, along with “Outskirts of Heaven” and “Fish.” Josh Hoge also performed his Chris Young hits like “I’m Comin’ Over” and “Hangin’ On.”
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Pictured (L-R, front row): SESAC Manager, Creative Services, Lydia Schultz; Craig Campbell; SESAC VP Creative Services Shannan Hatch; Rob Hatch; (L-R, back row): SESAC Manager, Creative Services, ET Brown; Josh Hoge; Cary Barlowe; SESAC SVP Creative Operations Sam Kling
NASH 103.3 occupied 3rd & Lindsley’s 9 p.m. show and featured songs from busbee, Ryan Griffin, Carly Pearce, Emily Shackelton and some special guests. All the songwriters were connected by at least one thing: busbee, and his new development company, Altadena. The man himself played some of his hits and told some stories about them, including: “H.O.L.Y.” (Florida Georgia Line), “My Church” (Maren Morris) and “Try” (P!nk). He later tapped Pearce for Carrie Underwood’s half of the Keith Urban duet “The Fighter.”
Pearce showed off her skilled vocals on her radio hits “Closer To You” and “Hide The Wine,” as well as her co-written hits “Every Little Thing” and “If My Name Was Whiskey.”
Shackelton played her Lauren Alaina testimonial single, “Doin’ Fine,” as well as a flirty new Runaway June cut with the lyric, I know the way to unbreak your heart.
Shackelton also played a song she wrote in 2011, “Dashboard Jesus,” and said that one of her favorite artists had finally decided to cut it this year. Carly Pearce took up the second verse, revealing that she was that artist. She also revealed that she had had the song on hold while in a record deal in 2011, and was thrilled when the song was still available eight years later.
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Pictured (L-R): The Sisterhood Band’s Ruby Stewart and Alyssa Bonagura, Gordon Kennedy, Josh Kear. Photo: Tin Pan South
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Category: Featured, Publishing
About the Author
LB Rogers is Project Manager at MusicRow magazine. She heads up specific, large-scale projects for the company and assists in day-to-day tasks. LB also manages the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart and contributes editorial for both the print and online platforms. She joined MusicRow full time in January of 2019, after interning and working part time for the company for a year. She is from Blairsville, Georgia and graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Music Business degree in 2018.View Author Profile