Little Rebellion Music

This week in Nashville it is, understandably, all eyes on the CMA Awards. But last night, Nov 8, the spotlight was turned on the people who create what this whole thing starts with – the songwriters. The very successful CMA Songwriters Series returned to Nashville and featured Deana Carter, Kelley Lovelace, Eric Paslay, and Rivers Rutherford.

You could not get further from the glamor and glitz of the CMA Awards. Songwriters rounds always have an air of organized chaos about them and this evening was no different. “We don’t rehearse,” admitted Rutherford, “so if it seems like amateur hour, well, welcome to our world!” But it is exactly this atmosphere which makes these evenings so special and so extraordinarily fun.

Eric Paslay, who will release his debut album on EMI Nashville early next year, recently scored a #1 hit through Jake Owen’s ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night.’ (video below) He impressed the room with the depth of his  material but also got people moving to his debut single, ‘Never Really Wanted.’ The song is steadily climbing the charts and I hope to see it turned into a big hit. Just a few short months ago, I watched him play this song at the Blue Bird Cafe and it’s amazing and wonderful how his career has progressed in this time. Paslay’s song choice also included the stunning ‘Deep as it Is Wide’.  Watching him hold his own in this company, he may only have one #1 hit to his name, but, believe me, there will be more!

Deana Carter showcased mostly newer material. She played an absolutely beautiful rendition of ‘You and Tequila’ (the Matraca Berg co-write which picked up a Song of the Year nomination at the CMA Awards), but of course ended with ‘Strawberry Wine.’ For those who haven’t yet been to a writers’ round, each musician plays one song in turn and then this gets repeated. In between, the writers will tell stories of how the songs came about, or just recount tales from a songwriter’s life. The boys were good at getting the laughs, and Carter impressed with her honesty.

If you have listened to even just a little bit of country music in the last few years, you have heard many (many!) hits written by Rivers Rutherford or Kelley Lovelace. Rutherford started off with ‘These Are My People’ (recorded by Rodney Atkins) and also included ‘Real Good Man’ (Tim McGraw), ‘A Man Don’t Have to Die’ (Brad Paisley), and newer song ‘Old School Country Song’ ( on Dierks Bentley‘s new album). Lovelace played some of his Brad Paisley hits (‘American Saturday Night,’ ‘Water’, and ‘I’m Still a Guy’) but arguably got the biggest cheer of the night for being very, very brave. He co-wrote ‘All-American Girl‘, with Ashley Gorley and Carrie Underwood, and sang the song apologizing in advance essentially for not having Carrie’s vocal chops. He pulled it off and, as the saying goes, the crowd went wild!

Songwriters rounds are my favorite nights. I cannot recommend them enough. When you visit Nashville, or you are here already, take in at least one of these evenings and chances are you will become hooked on them too!

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Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.

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