Tin Pan South: Wednesday, March 28

(L-R): Jeff Black, Sam Bush, Jon Randall & Dierks Bentley at the Hard Rock

Reporting for night two of the 20^th Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival took MusicRow back on the town to Hard Rock Cafe early in the evening and then over to Hillsboro Village’s Belcourt Taps & Tapas for the 9 pm show.

The evening’s 6 pm round on Lower Broadway showcased material from Jeff Black, Sam Bush, Jon Randall with Dierks Bentley. Bush, originator of the Newgrass picking style, even featured a fully instrumental title for a turn.

Black kicked off the round with a song Blackhawk made famous, “That’s Just About Right,” and Bentley offered his vocals on “Gold Heart Locket.”

Randall’s soft vocals on “Whiskey Lullaby,” coaxed the audience to offer theirs by humming along. His wife, Jessi Alexander, was invited to take a turn playing her current Blake Shelton cut, “Drink On It.”

Bentley kept his feel-good song selections rolling with the title track from his album On The Ridge, which Randall produced. Bush joined in the song, as he appeared on the album cut playing a slide mandolin, “You should see my live band trying to replicate that sound every night, it’s pretty funny,” praised Bentley. Closing out the round, Bentley played his staple song, “What Was I Thinkin’.”

Across town for the 9 pm show, Scooter Carusoe, Mindy Smith, Will Hoge, and Ashley Monroe packed the small house at Belcourt Taps & Tapas. The show was hosted by the Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) social network.

Carusoe began with his first No. 1 song, Kenny Chesney’s “Better as a Memory,” and confessed he was unable to recall exactly when he wrote “Anything But Mine,” another big Chesney cut. Carusoe said as a disclaimer, “I can’t remember, but not for the wrong reasons.” He closed his set with his first public performance of the David Nail track, “Sound of a Million Dreams.”

Smith, who has a new album on the horizon, flashed her Allison Krauss cut “If I Didn’t Know Any Better,” as well as her own single “Come To Jesus.” Hoge featured his Eli Young Band single, “Even if it Breaks Your Heart,” and also “No Man’s Land.”

Ashley Monroe serenaded the crowd with “Heart Like Mine,” which she wrote with Miranda Lambert in East Tennessee and hit No. 1 on Lambert’s wedding day. The audience was also treated to Monroe’s first No. 1, the Jason Aldean cut “The Truth.”

Afterward, Sony/ATV writers Heather Morgan and Joey Hyde were joined by newcomer Ryan Hurd on the same stage for an unofficial after-hours round. The up-and-comers sung a variety of tunes, including a cut that is slated to appear on Deana Carter’s next album.