Tracy Lawrence’s Lawrence Music Group Celebrates 1st Anniversary at Bluebird Café
12 years ago Liv Carter 1
On February 1, 2012, Lawrence Music Group celebrated its 1st anniversary with one of the best Nashville traditions – an in-the-round songwriters night at the legendary Bluebird Café.
Presented by ASCAP, the evening was kicked off by Tracy Lawrence thanking all involved and looking back on the restructuring of his company a year prior. “We all understand that the music business is indeed a business,” he explained. “But we wanted to build a place where there was again plenty of room for fun and real creativity.” Artists and songwriters Lacey Brown, Jonny Houlihan and Rick Huckaby spent the evening proving the company has succeeded in its mission.
Producer and songwriter Flip Anderson completed the group. He has accompanied some of the writers on previous rounds, but was enticed into the spotlight for this special occasion, and hopefully not for the last time. Jonny Houlihan, of the band Calico Trail, is now preparing a solo project and showcased his talent with a wide variety of songs from the statement in ‘Get Your City Out of My Country’ to the delicate ‘Brick by Brick’ about love gone right.
Lawrence, with two decades of material to choose from, picked mainly newer songs to celebrate the still-new company. His set included cuts from his 2011 album, The Singer, like ‘Roswell and Marilyn Monroe’ and new single ‘Pills.’ The power of great songwriting was demonstrated with ‘Jealousy.’ After a very personal story had introduced the emotional song, many in the audience, including Lacey Brown, had to blink away tears.
For Brown, the evening was a true milestone; it marked her very first appearance at this historic venue. “It was awesome!” she beamed after the show. “I played some new songs for the first time and got to do it for an audience who really love songwriting and listen to the lyrics. This was a perfect environment for that and I can’t wait to come back!” Among the new songs was the moving ‘Soldier On,’ a tribute to the men and women in the military; the cute ‘I Love You Too,’ and the relationship advice in ‘He Ain’t You.’
Rick Huckaby spent five years on the road with Lawrence and was soon signed to the new company. “Having this evening end our first year was incredibly special,” he said. “When I was in Tracy’s tour band, we didn’t get to play shows like this, so now, being able to do this with a future member of the Country Music Hall of Fame is just very inspiring.” His third album is on its way and some of the new songs were introduced, including title track ‘Pistols and Diamonds,’ blues song ‘Last One to Leave,’ and ballad ‘Like a James Taylor Song.’
Following the performances, Alex Torrez, VP of Business Relations at Lawrence Music Group, was pleased with the occasion. “It was fantastic rounding off our first year here, everyone did great!” he said. “Lacey did a great job on her first appearance here. It was nice not to just hear the hits and let everyone have fun. That’s what we want!”
Keep up with UCN for more on the 2012 releases from Lawrence Music Group artists.
Liv Carter
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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