Nashville Writers – Kelly Shea Cunningham

Tin Pan South Night Two: busbee, Ryan Griffin, Emily Shackelton, and Carly Pearce

Ryan Griffin, busbee, Emily Shackelton, and Carly Pearce took the stage Wednesday night at Third and Lindsley to start off the second night of Tin Pan South.

busbee is based in LA, but Nashville has adopted him over the years. If you don’t know busbee, he’s a songwriter, producer, and musician who has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Lady Antebellum, Pink, Lennon Stella, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Kelly Clarkson, and many more. He also has worked/is working with everyone in this round. He’s basically a musical genius. He started off the round with introducing “My Church” cut by Maren Morris. Morris walked into the co-write saying “I was just driving up the PCH and I was in my car listening to music and I just felt like that was my church.” He picked up a guitar and sang the chorus right to her and started singing the rest of the melody. In addition, busbee sang his co-write of the smash single “H.O.L.Y.” by Florida Georgia Line, which quickly reached #1 on the Billboard country chart. He brought up sixteen-year-old Lindsey Lomis who shocked the crowd with her strong, bright voice. She sang her songs “Quit On Us” and “Simple Love.” He also brought up Cameron Jaymes, a part of Altadena, to sing his tracks “You Should See Her” and “Summer Forever.”

Newly signed to Warner Music Nashville and Altadena, Ryan Griffin’s talent recognition is long overdue. His voice is a mix of country, soul, and a touch of R&B that’s ready for the world to hear. He performed his songs “Best Cold Beer,” “Nothing Looks Good On You,” and of course his #1 song, “Dibs” performed by Kelsea Ballerini. In addition, he sang his new track “If You Were My Girl” dedicated to his wife. “It was the moment that I met my wife, I told busbee and Emily Shackelton about it; everything I wish I could have said to my wife when she was with somebody else,” Griffin says. “I went home and I was thinking about her, If I could tell her everything that was on my heart, this would be it.” Because of Griffin’s pure talent and refreshing tracks, his album he’s recording with busbee is going to be something special.

Emily Shackelton played her track “Doing Fine” cut by Lauren Alaina and performed a Runaway’s June cut called “Unbreak Your Heart.” Shackelton performed her next song “Dashboard Jesus” and said she wrote it in 2011 and it came back to life this year thanks to Carly Pearce. Pearce cut the song for her new record and man is it the perfect track for her. Shackelton and Pearce performed it together to give us a little tease to Pearce’s next album. The song’s about how hard it is following your dreams and being crazy for believing in them. Pearce jumped into the second chorus, taking over with her powerful vocals.

Pearce gave us another hint of a track on her next record called “It Won’t Always Be Like This.” “I thought since we’re all friends maybe I can share a new baby with you,” Pearce says. “I wrote this song with Sam Ellis and Natalie Hemby. I think so many things in 2018 have taught me that pain takes you somewhere, heartache takes you somewhere, struggles take you somewhere, where you come from, the people in your life that built you and made you who you are; don’t take those for granted. I thought about that sweet sixteen-year-old artist up here and I remember being her. If I could go back and explain to her the things that’s she’s going to experience are all on the path to be where she should be and that it’s all going to be ok.”

“I had big wings / But didn’t have a sky / Just a front row view of everybody flying high / Waiting for my time”
“It Won’t Always Be Like This” – Carly Pearce

Night two of Tin Pan South was full of unexpected song teasers and smash hits. You can find out more about Tin Pan South and when you can catch a show here.

Tin Pan South Night One: Jordan Walker, Tyler Rich, John Gurney, and Adam Doleac

Concert Review, Writers round

To kick off Tin Pan South on a Tuesday night, I attended my first round including Tyler Rich, Jordan Walker, John Gurney, and a special guest Adam Doleac.

Jordan Walker, who was previously a part of Walker Mcguire, sang his smash hit “When It Rains It Pours” that changed his life for the better. “This was my first ever hit and it got me a wife and a house. I wrote this song with one of my best friends in the world, Ray Fulcher and a guy named Luke Combs,” Walker says. “The day we wrote this song Luke I had known for about 2 hours and he said he wanted to write a song about his ex-girlfriend and I go yeah I can write a breakup song. Then he says I really wanna write it about her mom though. And I said alright, now I’m very interested. I say let’s write a song about your ex-future mother-in-law” and the rest is history. Walker also performed his Walker Mcguire track “Mysteries Of The World” along with a song he penned with Mitchell Tenpenny called “Mixed Drinks” that’s currently on Tenpenny’s EP.

John Gurney is an artist you need to keep an eye on. He currently has singles you can stream and buy. “Home With Her” has over 11 million streams and his new track just released in January “That’s How You Got It” has 700,000 streams and counting. Gurney also performed his track that’s released called “Fairytale Dress.” “I was fortunate to win the 2018 NSAI Song Contest, presented by CMT with this one,” Gurney says. “It did a lot for me in the last year. It’s all about holding onto the look of innocence that we hold onto when we’re young and trying to bring that into adulthood.” He also played a clever track I hope he releases soon called “Drink I Think.” The chorus says “I could use a drink I think / but every time I drink I think of you” and he explained that it was inspired by a late-night conversation on Broadway.

“Drink I Think” – John Gurney

California native Tyler Rich started off his turn by introducing “Made For A Small Town” that he comes from a little town north of Sacramento; where the only thing it’s famous for is the feral chickens that run around on the highway. Rich also brought out an old song he has never played before called “Lost Time.” He played his potential single that he just recorded and it’s a fan favorite, “Leave Her Wild.” It’s about Rich being in a controlling relationship and him realizing she was turning him into something he’s not. “I’ve realized this thing about relationships, I see friends that meet someone and they like them and they spend an entire relationship trying to change them into their vision rather than just letting a person be themselves,” Rich says. “My buddy in the writer’s room said if you’re going to make a woman do something, make her smile. I said to write that down and then the whole chorus poured out. As they say, happy wife happy life.” Lastly, Adam Doleac was a surprise addition to this round. He first played his track cut by Darius Rucker called “Don’t” along with his songs released “Famous,” “Whiskey’s Fine,” and “Mom and Daddy’s Money.”

It was the perfect round mixed of talent and humor to keep the audience entertained. You can find out more about Tin Pan South and when you can catch a show here.

Up & Coming Artist: Dalton Mauldin

Interviews

Growing up in Lake City, Florida, Dalton Mauldin grew up hunting and fishing on his farm, while also his life has always revolved around baseball practices and tournaments. Ever since he was a kid, singing was always something he loved to do. Luckily enough in high school, one of his friends showed him an electric guitar, which led to borrowing his acoustic guitar, to ending up immediately looking up youtube videos learning how to play. Little did he know baseball and music would lead to double life in college. With a cover he posted of Dan + Shay’s smash hit “Tequila” that went viral, Mauldin’s music career is off to a promising start.

Mauldin transferred from playing baseball at Bethune Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL, a Division I school, to Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee, which is Division II. When asked what sparked this decision, he explained “I loved my last school back in Florida but I knew Nashville was where I wanted to be ultimately. After I got my release from my old school, I was looking for a place to continue my education as well as baseball career somewhere around the Nashville area and I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to play in right here in Nashville. It was a big decision, but after talking to the coaches at Trevecca, it was a no-brainer that this was the place I wanted to be.” Continuing to seek out music opportunities in Nashville as he plays baseball, every day he plans to get better at least one thing. Whether it’s practicing guitar, keyboard, or writing new lyrics, he always dedicates time daily towards his music.

“You’ll make time for the things that you really care about.”
Dalton Mauldin

The writing process from Mauldin usually comes from hearing something that someone says or when he gets a thought in his head. Going through relationships, experiences, and seeing his friends go through relationships will inspire him on the spot. You can hear his catchy, romantic writing in his first single “Nights Without You” that was released in the summer and currently has over 700,000 spins and counting. “I think it’s absolutely crazy that a song that I put out has reached so many people. I always knew being a musician/artist would be a dream for me. I never thought I actually would be able to do it though,” he says. “After putting this song out its made me realize that I really can do this now. I have the support from so many people and every day it reminds me how blessed I am to have an opportunity to be an artist. It’s so surreal to me to have all of these people who support me and have made a dream that I’ve had start to develop like this.”

With baseball being in the mix of his music career, feeling limited to the music scene isn’t a worry on his mind.”I know that time is an issue but I always look at the bigger picture. How lucky I am to even be able to play baseball, go to school, and be in Nashville,” he says. “I’m surrounded by such a great team and coaches it’s crazy to me. I don’t have any complaints about anything at all so to complain about time limitations isn’t even an option. I’m just happy to be here.” With that attitude and the advice he has received, trusting his gut and staying true to who he is will be the most important part of navigating through the industry.

Mauldin plans to work on and release new music in the upcoming year and he can’t wait for everyone to hear it. If you want a little taste of what he’s all about, make sure to stream “Nights Without You” on all digital platforms and follow him on social media to see what’s coming next.

Twitter | Instagram | Featured Photo

Patrick Droney Is The Sound Of This Generation

Album Review

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to find an EP & artist that inspires me. Patrick Droney’s debut EP has been the best thing that could have happened to my past weekend. I’ve been excited about music, but never this excited for what’s to come for this artist. Every single track is such a memorizing sound that it’s addicting. You know the phrase “if you see beauty in something, don’t wait for others to agree?” Well damn, this EP is completely flawless.

Especially his track “Brooklyn,” my mouth dropped when I first heard this. This is a monster of a song. He completely nailed the New York vibe and made me feel something I haven’t felt about music in a long time. Droney has a powerhouse of a voice and nobody could pull off this track but him. It has over 60,000 loops on Spotify and will probably have too many to count by the end of this week, (I keep checking because I’m intrigued and a tad obsessed).

His other tracks: “Stand and Deliver,” “Ruined,” “Always Been the End of the World,” and “High Hope” are just as mesmerizing. It’s a mix between old school and new. Seriously, this EP is the real deal. I give it a little time before the world recognizes his talent. It’s refreshing to hear something that you can believe every lyric & melody just by a few listens. Droney is the sound of this generation. A big thank you to him for showing me what I needed to feel when I didn’t even know it myself. Make sure you give his EP a listen, it’ll be an experience you won’t regret.

Association Of Independent Music Publishers: 3rd Annual Songwriter Series Takes The Country

Writers round

I think the title of this is pretty interesting. I mean, Independent Music Publishers, what isn’t eye catching about that? The third-annual AIMP Songwriter Series was held at The Country on Monday, Sept 25. Shout-out to my mom for sending me important writers rounds she knows I wouldn’t want to miss. Yes, I just shouted-out my mom.

The round included Hannah Ellis, Ross Ellis, Michael Hardy, Daniel Ross, and Sarah Turner. It was short, but sweet, and just the right amount you needed to hear in a night. It started out with Ross Ellis, Hannah Ellis, and Daniel Ross in the first round.

I had never heard of Ross Ellis before this night, and for sure I thought Hannah and he were related because what did I know? Long story short, they weren’t even related. Yes, it was bothering me the entire show. I’ll get to the point now.

Ross Ellis was born and raised in Monterey, Louisiana. He got the attention of BMI’s Bradley Collins after playing writers rounds in Nashville. Long story short, Ross signed with Big Deal Music, and now he’s writing and playing shows. His voice reminded me of Kip Moore at the end of the night. Then I went to his Soundcloud and got even more of a Kip Moore meets Brett Young sound, if that’s even possible. Here’s a snip of his song “Neon Church.”

Hannah Ellis is that singer/songwriter you can just relate to every song she comes out with. She has a special voice, and it just makes you never want to stop listening to her. Her single, “Temporary Feeling,” was just released last Friday and already has over 400,000 loops on Spotify. Also, she just came out with “ILYSoWhat” that’s an absolute jam. However, as much as I am in love with “Temporary Feeling” and “ILYSoWhat,” the song that stood out to me the most was the second one she sang, “Never In Love.” She said she wrote it with Josh Kerr and how it basically “spilled out in conversation.” I wish my conversations spilled out like this…

Look out for Hannah Ellis, because she’s going places with her new EP coming out soon. Especially touring with Russel Dickerson this fall, things are just getting started for her.

Daniel Ross, Big Machine Music and Tree Vibez Music signee, moved to Nashville after graduating from Western Carolina University in 2015 and quickly put himself into the songwriting scene. My first time ever seeing him was summer of 2016 here in Nashville, and I remember him saying it was his first time playing a round, being fairly new to him. Even though he says he doesn’t play rounds often, I don’t believe him for one second. I see your Instagram posts; Ross, you can’t hide from me when you post when you’re playing. Here’s one of my favorites he sang, “Break It In.”

Sarah Allison Turner and Michael Hardy played in the next round, and if you haven’t heard “I Should Go To Church Sometime” sung by Tyler Farr, these two geniuses wrote it along with Brinley Addington. Rolling Stone explains the song as “A Christian-specific view of guilt, with Farr figuring the answer to his torment in a Church pew, but it asks bigger questions about how and why we put off our opportunities to heal.” This song puts a different perspective on break-ups, which is why it’s so successful. Here’s a snip of Sarah and Michael’s version of “I Should Go To Church Sometime.”

These five artists are just beginning to leave their mark in the Nashville music scene. Keep your eyes and ears open.

Which of the artists were your favorites after listening to the snips?