Welcome to Deadwood, and the 3rd annual Wild West Songwriter’s Festival! If this is your first time at this event, you’re in for a treat. Those of you festival veterans can attest. It’s hard to explain, exactly, what the Wild West Songwriter’s Festival is. It’s more than just songs. It’s an experience. You’ll be hearing from the top songwriters in the business, up close and personal. You’ll hear hit songs performed by the people who wrote them, the way they wrote them. Plus, you’re in Historic Deadwood, where legends were made; and now you are in for a legendary experience. Enjoy your time in Deadwood and at the Wild West Songwriter’s Festival. We’re glad you’re here. Lee Harstad Executive Director, Deadwood Chamber of Commerce
A.J. MASTERS
A.J. Masters was raised in Southern California and currently lives on a small farm just outside Nashville, TN. At age 14 he learned to play bass guitar in his older brother’s band. Over the next twenty years, he wrote songs and performed in various bands, duos, and as a soloist. Being both a singer and a songwriter was a very important part of his musical development. AJ signed with an independent record label, Bermuda Dunes Records. Within three years he had 10 charted singles, was voted Independent Male Vocalist of the Year, and was nominated by the Academy of Country Music for New Male Vocalist. He also performed on the New Faces Show with Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakum, Keith Whitley and Sweet Hearts of the Rodeo. Some of AJ’s songwriting honors include BMI Millionaire Award for “Change My Mind”, multi platinum award for “Love Ain’t Like That”, and ”An Old Pair Of Shoes” and independent song of the year for “We’re Here to Stay”. During the early 90’s, AJ played accoustic guitar for the great Charlie Rich. These days AJ can be found playing songwriter shows, festivals, and house concerts throughout the country. AJ is a lifetime member of NSAI and has written songs recorded by Faith Hill, The Oak Ridge Boys, Randy Travis, Diamond Rio, John Berry, Charlie Rich Jr., Ronna Reeves, Gene Watson, Ray Scott, Zona Jones, Steve Azar, Jo-El Sonnier, Frazier River Band, Jennifer Hanson, and Georgia Middleman. Along with performing live singer songwriter shows, AJ is also currently producing several new up and coming artist.
ALYSSA BONAGURA
One listen and it becomes crystal clear that Alyssa Bonagura was born to make music. With a voice that touches somewhere deep inside, her melodies and lyrics are as haunting as they are beautiful. From the youthful, bouncing ukulele sing along you may have heard on the nation wide 2012 Lowe’s commercial, “I Make My Own Sunshine” to her rockin’, power-pop influenced “Warrior,” and everything in between, Alyssa has polished her own unique musical style. In a world where most artists tend to sound the same, Alyssa sounds fresh; new yet familiar; provocative yet reassuring. Born into a musical family, her mom and dad were RCA country music stars “Baillie And The Boys,” her cradle was the gentle rocking of a tour bus. Her play ground encompassed sound checks and back stage catering. Her “extended” family consisted of managers, promoters, drummers, pedal steel players, keyboards, guitars and the like. At the age of 3 Alyssa performed on the Ralph Emory television show, Nashville Now. Ralph wanted to be able to say, “She performed on my show first” where her version of the Leslie Gore classic; “It’s My Party” brought the house down in front of millions of national viewers. At age 10 one of those major acts, Kenny Rogers decided Alyssa was the perfect “child singer” to record a duet with him on his Christmas CD, “Christmas From The Heart”. Then, when she was 13, Alyssa started her own 50 city tour opening for up Marty Stuart. Playing guitar and singing songs she wrote about “Fitting In” and “Boys”. It became obvious she was the real deal both as a musician and a singer but as a songwriter as well. After spending time in LA and New York writing with the top songwriters across America, Alyssa has come back to Nashville and has signed a publishing deal with Jeffrey Steele’s 3 Ring Circus Music and is currently working on her upcoming release.
DAMIEN HORNE
The last place a young Damien Horne expected to end up was a country band. But his willingness to explore new ideas, new vocations and new places to live has had a profound effect on his quality of life. And that openness is also a major asset for The Farm. Horne was raised in the projects in Hickory, North Carolina, one of 12 kids in a blended family where he rarely saw his dad and his mother was constantly working just to keep food on the table. Two of his brothers died – one in a drug-related killing, the other from a car accident – and two other brothers ended up in prison. Trouble “was just all I kept seeing,” he says. “I tried to figure out something else to do.” Music, Horne figured, was the answer. So he got a summer job and socked away $500 before moving to Los Angeles, where he hoped to emulate such influences as Bill Withers, Sam Cooke and Stevie Wonder. Horne vastly understimated the costs. He spent the better part of two years homeless, scraping together just enough money to eventually move back to North Carolina, where he went to a community college in Greensboro. A songwriting class at that institution inspired him, and a neighbor then enlisted him to become a member of Stellar Tree, an alternative-rock band patterned after such acts as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Counting Crows. The sound was foreign to him, but he embraced it. And it became an important musical step, opening Horne up to music that was not part of his original community experience. The band moved in 2002 to Nashville, and Stellar Tree set up on a downtown sidewalk to play for tips. They eventually broke up, but Horne kept on playing for strangers on the sidewalk. Among the passers-by one night was a group of people that included John Rich and producer Paul Worley. They encouraged Horne to join the Muzik Mafia, a group of musical comrades who included the likes of Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson and James Otto. It was the start of Horne’s next musical evolution. “I’m a songwriter at heart,” he explains. “I love great lyrics, I love great melodies and I don’t think anybody embodies that better than country music.
But really my first experience with country music was moving to Nashville.” Horne took to it quickly, and he joined the Muzik Mafia on the road with Hank Williams Jr. one summer, though he soon realized that a larger calling was gnawing at his psyche. He left mid-tour to enroll in a religious school and became an ordained minister, a vocation in which he has performed marriages for the likes of Big Kenny, Warner Music Nashville chief John Esposito and The Farm’s Krista Marie. Horne of course returned to music, and he hit the road as an opening act for John Legend. But he also found a way to mix his musical and philosophical aspirations when he visited Africa with Big Kenny to help establish a school for girls in a war-torn region of Sudan. The trip was captured in the documentary Bearing Light: A Journey To Sudan. And it underscores Horne’s larger intent to use The Farm to make a difference even beyond music. “Music is definitely a priority to me,” he says, “but it’s not my main priority. My main priority is people I can affect in life, and music is my tool. Music is great, and I know from all that stuff that happened to me, if you use it right it can really change somebody’s life.”
DANNY MYRICK
A little bit country, a little bit Mississippi preacher’s kid, Danny recorded his first album at the age of 7 with his family band in Pascagoula, MS with whom he released seven albums before graduating High School. He celebrated his first #1 Gospel song as a writer at the age of 17. After moving to Nashville and enjoying a few more hit Gospel songs, Danny spent the 90’s as lead singer and principal songwriter for country band Western Flyer. Danny later began lending background vocals to artists such as Montgomery Gentry, Keith Anderson, Blake Shelton and others before returning his focus to songwriting and eventually signing with Jeffrey Steele’s 3 Ring Circus Music/Windswept Publishing where he wrote his first Top 10 song, “International Harvester” for Craig Morgan. Danny went on to have numerous cuts on such diverse artists as Gloriana, Big and Rich, Montgomery Gentry and Joe Cocker before signing with Root 49 Music in 2008 and continuing to write a number of hits including Tim McGraw’s “Truck Yeah” and 2009’s most played country song of the year, “She’s Country” by Jason Aldean. Danny has also enjoyed success as a producer working with various artists such as celebrated Indie artist Alice Peacock, with whom he also recorded a duo project called Myrick/ Peacock and Warner Brothers Nashville’s The Farm, who’s project Danny not only produced but co-wrote 9 songs for. Danny recently completed projects for up and coming artists Annie Bosko and Jesse Lee and is currently working in the studio on the first Nashville release by Old Southern Moonshine Revival. 2014 looks to be Danny’s biggest year yet, with multiple cuts on upcoming releases by Gloriana, Dean Alexander and many other artists. When not working, Danny is busy being an obsessive sports fan, doing anything outdoors and spending time with his two sons.
DALLAS SMITH
Hailing from British Columbia, Dallas brings a healthy dose of rock and roll power to his brand of lively country music. Producer Joey Moi captured his unique energy and unmistakable vocals on his breakout Canadian country debut, JUMPED RIGHT IN, which netted five 2013 CCMA award nominations. The CMW Radio Awards winner has once again teamed up with Joey Moi for his U.S. country debut on Big Loud Mountain. With energetic live shows and compelling tunes, it’s no surprise that Dallas, who fronted the wildly successful international rock band Default, has been tapped to open for music legend Bob Seger and is currently touring with Florida Georgia Line’s HERE’S TO THE GOOD TIMES TOUR. Produced by Joey Moi (Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen) and written by Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard along with Jaren Johnston, “Tippin Point” is an infectious party anthem that serves as the perfect prelude for what is to come from Dallas. “‘Tippin Point’ is that blend of what I love about country and rock,” shares Dallas Smith. “The song sums me up as an artist and is a great representation of where I’m going.” The song is now available at iTunes and will be featured on his forthcoming full-length album. The elastic-voiced singer brings a fresh slant to country, a wall-of-sound approach that combines the vocals of country with the crunch of rock.
DAVE BERG
Dave Berg is a singer/songwriter originally from Portland, Oregon; now making his home in Nashville TN. His songs have been recorded by a wide array of artists including Keith Urban, Bake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Jewel, Jimmy Buffett, Reba McEntire, Joe Nichols, Sara Evans, and Meatloaf to name a few. He’s had four number one’s to his credit including the most played country song of 2008, “If You’re Going Through Hell” recorded by Rodney Atkins. Berg’s credits also include “Stupid Boy” by Keith Urban, “These Are My People” by Rodney Atkins, and “Moments” by Emerson Drive. In 2008 Berg was named Billboard’s Country Songwriter of the Year, as well as ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Country Songwriter of the Year. Berg has also released three independent singer/ songwriter records of his own, “Three Perfect Days” “Surface” and “Not Quite So Alone”. For more information please visit daveberg.com
EMERSON HART
It’s a good album title, Beauty in Disrepair. A telling one, too. There’s a yin and a yang there. It’s a thread that Emerson Hart, frontman for the multiplatinum band Tonic, comes back to time and again on his new record, his first solo release in over six years. “Early in my life I learned to appreciate the beauty in things as they grew older,” says Hart. “Houses, furniture, churches, whatever. I think it started after my dad was killed: I lived with my grandfather on his farm, this 19th century mansion. Everything in it was constantly broken, but there was such a beauty to it as well.” On his new record, Hart touches on loss, but also the beauty of rebirth, newfound love, family and starting a clean slate. Beauty in Disrepair marks a remarkably polished and honest follow-up to his 2007 solo debut Cigarettes & Gasoline, a critically-acclaimed album that spawned two Top 20 singles. You may very well know Hart from that record. Most likely, you recognize him as the frontman and songwriter for Tonic, the alt-rock band that hit it big with their debut record Lemon Parade, which featured the smash hits “Open Up Your Eyes” and “If You Could Only See.” A string of massively successful albums followed, including the Grammynominated Head on Straight and 2010’s self-titled release. And Hart is more than happy to talk about his band. But Beauty is a different beast altogether. “This album, and my solo work, is just born out of stuff I don’t want anyone else to say,” says the singer, laughing. For Beauty in Disrepair, Hart found a willing collaborator in David Hodges, who had found his own success working with the incredibly diverse likes of Kelly Clarkson, Christina Perri and Carrie Underwood. Hart also landed additional support from some trusted friends in LA, as well as his adopted hometown of Nashville (where he, naturally, often writes and records in his 200-year-old farmhouse). “This record was interesting because I didn’t start out with a template,” says Hart. “My first solo record, I think I wanted to emulate [the Peter Gabriel
classic] So. With this one, I wanted a songwriter record, not a Tonic record, but I was having a hard time getting started. I think the people I worked with ended up helping me find my way.” Collaborators and new sounds aside, Beauty is immediately recognizable as an Emerson Hart record: warm, inviting, accessible. And possessing some killer hooks. “It’s still me,” says Hart. “I could sit here and tell you how much I love bands like Beach House or old Irish music, but I can’t write like that. I have to write songs in my way.” Lyrically, it’s an intensely reflective album, exposing a lot of personal pain and joy. “Divorce is painful,” admits Hart. “But falling in love again and getting remarried is amazing. And having a young daughter changes your viewpoint. What I learned making this record is that you need to lose the baggage of your last hurt, and focus on the present, making sure you take the steps to make things better in the future.” That’s an apt description of “Hurricane,” a pop song full of real world wisdom and a killer chorus. For Hart, the single is about “washing away the damage of your youth and having a real awakening.” It’s also a rich record, wonderfully diverse musically and emotionally. Pianos and acoustic guitars abound. “Mostly Grey,” a favorite of Hart’s, hits the somber notes, while “All is Well” is a pretty, contemplative ballad; and harmonies abound, big and bright on “Best That I Can Give” and “The Lines.” It’s an album any music fan would love to embrace, including both “Cigarettes and Gasoline” and Tonic fans alike. [Speaking of... “Tonic will absolutely put out a record next spring or summer. I love my band. They’re caregivers, a pain in the ass, the fuel that keeps me running. All those things.”] For now, Hart will be hitting the road to support Beauty, playing a mix of intimate venues and (perhaps) a larger tour. “It’s a nice cross-section of fans,” he says. “Fans of my first record. Die-hard Tonic fans. And I’ll play those songs. I wrote ‘em! And then you’ll see those guys who don’t know me, who hear me play ‘If You Could Only See” and their eyes light up and they connect the dots. They’re like, oh, it’s that guy.” So while recognizing his past, Hart thinks Beauty marks a turning point in his career. “The whole spark of this record was finding the beauty in healing,” he says. “Learning from the hurt and moving forward. I’ve done that.”
JILLIAN ARCIERO
Born and raised in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania and spending most of her teen years in New York City, Jillian began singing at local coffee shops at the age of 7. Inspired by Patsy Cline and box sets of Elvis, Bobby Goldsboro, Trisha Yearwood, The Dixie Chicks, James Taylor, Carole King, Martina McBride, and Patty Loveless, she wrote and recorded her first album in her guitar player’s basement at age the age of 8. At the age of 9, Jillian took a trip to New York City to audition for a Christmas show starring legendary country/pop singer & entertainer Kenny Rogers and got the part, leading her to co-star alongside Rogers in the Broadway production “Christmas from the Heart” at the Beacon Theater in New York City for three months. Following the show, Jillian performed on tour with Rogers from 1999-2005. In 2001 Dreamcatcher Entertainment released a duet with Billy Dean, Suzy Bogguss, and Jillian titled “Please Keep Mom and Dad in Love” which debuted on the Top 50 Billboard Country Music Charts. Jillian formed a band with her three sisters during this time called The Little Women Band and began touring and playing all over the U.S, including a residency at The Bitter End in New York and state fairs all over the country. Jillian moved to Nashville, TN in 2010 after graduating from college and spent the past few years writing and recording new material. In 2013 she wrote and recorded a 6 song project with pop singer/songwriter and record producer Richard Marx. She signed with Downtown Music Publishing in August 2014.
JOHN NORTHRUP
No stranger to the music industry and writing hit songs, John Northrup has penned or copenned songs by some of country music’s biggest stars including: Vern Gosdin, Tim McGraw, George Strait, and Lee Ann Womack. A renaissance man of the music industry, Northrup also functions actively as an artist manager for new and emerging talent, using his expertise to develop and hone their talent.
KRISTA MARIE
The overlap between country music and NASCAR is well documented, but rarely is the racing bug – and its inherent danger – as in sync with country as it is for singer-songwriter Krista Marie, one-third of The Farm. She grew up on a real-life farm, the daughter of an opera singer and a world-class pianist near Batavia, New York, outside of Buffalo. Her keyboard-playing father was also the owner of a slaughterhouse, and she became quite familiar with the country lifestyle on their 200-acre plot. Krista Marie spent much of her teens in 4-H, at horse shows and barrel racing, and she pursued music and sports in a sort of dual mode. Her first musical job came at age 15 when she performed in a theme-park show at Six Flags in Damien Lake, a production that provided her first substantial grounding in country. She saved enough money from that summer gig to buy a motorcycle, even though she wasn’t yet old enough to ride it. “Horsepower,” she laughs, “has always been a big part of my life.” The following year, she auditioned for the Rockettes in New York City. She didn’t get the gig – she was too young – so she went back home and picked up a job at a transmission shop. When one of her fellow employees was unable to drive in a mini-stock car race, she took his spot and finished in the Top 10. It was the start of a long-running racing career that eventually segued into motocross. Aiming to break into the recording business, Krista Marie soon moved to California, where she accidentally landed a job with L.A. Stunts Inc. She spent two of her three years in Los Angeles in that dangerous profession, but as much as she enjoyed it, she also recognized the job was leading her off the path from her real goal. Encouraged by a songwriter to try Nashville instead, she packed up her belongings and relocated, quickly establishing a groove in the music community. “I really fell in love with Nashville because of how musically driven it was,” she says. “There’s amazing talent on every street corner, in every little bar. Everywhere you go, there’s great music.”
Not that Krista Marie gave up her horsepower penchant. Numerous friends had warned that her obsession with motorbikes might threaten her future as a musician, and they proved correct. A severe accident during a June 2008 ATV race in Blountville, Tennessee, left her with a lacerated liver and four spinal fractures. To this date, her body is partially wired with a titanium rod and plates. Demonstrating her determination, though, Krista Marie never allowed the wreck to be more than a temporary setback. She was performing again by the end of that summer and signed to a solo deal with Broken Bow Records in 2009. That association lasted only a few scant months, but it provided a first-hand education she could not have received any other way. “I learned so much from that entire experience,” she notes. “I went in kind of like a deer in the headlights. You can be a musician, you can be a singer, you can do all that, but I learned it’s a whole other ball game with the work that’s involved at that level behind the scenes.” Krista Marie now puts that experience and her gutsy background to work in The Farm, where she lends a rowdy female voice to a group that’s throwing out the rulebook about what’s permissible in country. “Everything I have done and all the mistakes and the ups and downs and the hills and valleys that I’ve gone through have really led to this,” she says. “We’re singing about whatever we want, we’re kind of going wherever we want. We don’t know exactly what it is. We just do it.”
MARC BEESON
This Illinois native and 20 year Nashville veteran has had over 100 cuts including songs recorded by Reba McEntire, Jason Aldean, Kenny Rogers, Martina McBride, Peter Cetera, Diamond Rio, Lonestar, LeAnn Rimes, Collin Raye, and Chicago, among others. He has won 10 ASCAP awards including both Country and Pop Song of the Year for his hit, “When She Cries”... As an artist, he has recorded for Warner Bros., BNA and Curb Records... He serves on the Board of NSAI; has worked as a mentor in the MTSU music business program and is on the NARAS educational committee. He currently writes for Warner Chappell.
MATT SCANNELL
A founding member, lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the alternative rock band Vertical Horizon, Matthew “Matt” Scannell is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and musician. Scannell formed Vertical Horizon with fellow Georgetown University college student Keith Kane in 1991. The duo released their first album, There and Back Again, in 1992 after graduation from Georgetown, where Scannell earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Scannell has since appeared as the lead vocalist of all of Vertical Horizon’s albums. In 2008, singer Richard Marx and Scannell collaborated to release the album, Duo, followed by Duo Live in 2010. In 2011, Scannell appeared at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois, with actor Hugh Jackman. Scannell and Jackman were invited to perform as guests of Marx. Scannell is a native of Worcester, Massachusetts and was given his first guitar when he was seven years old. He attended high school at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Scannell has written songs for the soundtracks of the following movies: Bruce Almighty, Driven, The New Guy, Iron Jawed Angels, Camouflage and Little Manhattan. Studio albums include There and Back Again, Running on Ice, Everything You Want, Go, Burning the Days and Echoes from the Underground. Singles include: “Everything You Want,” “You’re a God,” “Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning), “I’m Still Here,” and “Forever.”
MEGAN LINVILLE
When Megan is not writing songs with some of Nashville’s most talented hit songwriters, she is either performing at one of the city’s landmark venues, hop-scotching across the country on acoustical gigs or traveling with a band and delivering spirited, dynamicallypacked performances while showcasing her strong vocals and captivating audiences with self-penned lyrics that are relatable. Megan Sloane Linville recorded her Freshman album in 2007 at the famed Cash Cabin Studio under the production of Grammy winning John Carter Cash. Megan’s show schedule includes fan concerts, anthems and performances for groups of as few as 30 people to over 17 million televised viewers. Her performances include; The Cincinnati Reds, The Indy 500, Atlanta Braves, Watkins Glen International NASCAR, Daytona Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, The Allstate Brickyard 400 Sprint Cup Series, The Kentucky Derby, The Kansas City Royals, Tioga Downs Resort and Casino, The Chicago White Sox and The Nashville Superspeedway. She has performed main-stage with well-known country artists Jason Aldean, Phil Vassar, Heidi Newfield, Jamie O’Neal, Trent Tomlinson, Travis Tritt, Lorrie Morgan, Mark Chestnutt, Delbert McClinton, The Byrds and many others. She’s performed for live audiences exceeding 180,000 in attendance but is equally at home in a “listening room” experience, or at one of Nashville’s famed honkytonks such as The Bluebird, The Listening Room, Puckett’s, Tootsie’s, as well as, a host of others. Megan has appeared at several Songwriters’ Festivals across the country, such as Blast on Bay, The Panama City Songwriters’ Festival, The Smoky Mountain Songwriters’ Festival, The Endless Summer Music Series in Destin, Florida, and most notably, The Key West Songwriters’ Festival. Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas aired the movie Snow Bride in November and December of 2013. The movie, held the distinction of being Hallmark’s all time most-watched made for television movie and featured Megan’s rendition of her song “Wrapped Up in Love”.
MICHELLE BRANCH
Michelle Branch was all of 18 years old when her debut album, 2001’s The Spirit Room, became a platinum seller, spawned three hit singles (“Everywhere,” “All You Wanted,” and “Goodbye to You”), and sold four million copies worldwide. The album, as well as 2002’s “The Game of Love,” Branch’s Grammy Awardwinning smash single with Carlos Santana, established the Sedona, AZ, native as a young musical artist with a very grown-up talent. Following the release of her darker, more ambitious 2003 platinum album Hotel Paper — which featured the hits “Are You Happy Now?” and “Breathe” — and the birth of her daughter in 2005, Branch found herself at a crossroads. She put her solo career on hold to team up with Nashville singer/songwriter Jessica Harp to form the country music duo The Wreckers, an inspired vocal and songwriting collaboration that was nominated for both a CMA Award and a Grammy Award. The Wreckers released their debut album, the platinum Stand Still Look Pretty, in 2006 and their popularity helped establish Branch as a fixture on country radio, thanks to such winning tracks as the No. 1 “Leave The Pieces” and the Top Ten hit “My, Oh My.” But the pair decided to part ways just as their music was rising on the charts — an emotionally difficult time that Branch documents on her deeply personal six-song EP, Everything Comes and Goes, which was released in August 2010 as a gift to fans as she focuses on recording the follow-up to Hotel Paper.
MORGAN FRAZIER
Blessed with girl-next-door good looks—tall, slender with long, blonde locks and emotive doe-eyes—you’ll want to hug her immediately, and she’ll want to hug you, too. Yes, she’s that girl. After a brief chat with her, you realize the incredible work ethic that not only carried her on this long and complex journey, but continues to drive her to grow better with each song she writes. Yes, she writes her own songs. And you haven’t yet heard her sing. Success, even the drive to succeed, wasn’t immediate though. Her first public appearance came at the tender age of five and it was, to put it mildly, a disaster. She explains, “I sang ‘When You Say Nothing At All,’ at a local talent show, but I grew up Church of Christ, which was no music. It’s all a cappella singing. So that’s where I learned to sing. But at this talent show I had to sing to tracks, which I had never done before. I got up there and I got off the beat of the music, because I didn’t know how to sing with tracks, so I performed with my head down the whole time. When I got off stage, I told my mom, ‘I’m never, ever singing again.’” The tot still managed to score a People’s Choice award, and that alone was enough to ignite a fire in her to continue performing. And her parents, recognizing their daughter’s talent and supportive of her dream, were delighted to chauffeur Morgan to those Texas jamborees where she eventually met the man she fondly refers to as her grandpa. Grandpa Art saw the immense talent in the aspiring country star and not only taught her to play guitar, making tracks a thing of the past, he also instilled in her a love of traditional country music. In the process of performing at jamborees, talent shows and rodeos, the aspiring artist wasn’t just honing her performing skills, she was also becoming a burgeoning entrepreneur. On the advice of concert go-ers who heard her sing and wanted to take that voice home, the nine-year-old’s parents paid $2,000 for their daughter to make a CD to sell at shows. But that wasn’t quite enough for the go-getter. “I was doing the rodeo queen circuit around the same time and you had to go door-to-door and sell rodeo tickets. That’s how you get into that whole thing. Whoever sells the most tickets wins,” she explains. “So, I thought, ‘I can get rid of these CDs by
selling them and instead of going house-to-house, I’ll go store-to-store.” It worked. Whether the business-owners were taken by the young executive’s initiative or blown away by her impromptu by-request live performance, she sold a whopping 30,000 CDs at $10 a pop. The success came as a surprise to the entire Frazier family. “There was no plan,” Morgan says. “We didn’t know what we were doing.” But they packed up the entire clan in a travel trailer and began taking Morgan and her music across the country, eventually and inevitably landing in Nashville. And that’s when the whirlwind began. She says, “We had been in Nashville six months selling CDs and my mom found a contest in the paper at the Preston Hotel here in Nashville. So we went and I just happened to get in front of the right people.” Morgan ended up winning the contest, beating out older, more seasoned writers. The prize was to have one of her original songs recorded by a Category Five Records artist, but instead of following through with that promise, they instead offered the then 13-year-old her own record deal. That was a little too fast for the Fraziers though, and young Morgan ultimately passed on the offer from the now shuttered indie label. However she did meet with the person who would become her manager, but not before returning to Texas to reconsider her dreams of making music. Eventually the desire to share her passion was too great and, with the encouragement of her manager, Morgan came back to Nashville with hopes of refining her songwriting chops and giving it another go. This time, it stuck. When Morgan’s manager, John Northrup, encouraged her to return to Music City, he also offered to pair her with a songwriting friend of his, but it wasn’t just any Nashville songwriter. The man who has written most of George Strait’s biggest hits—Dean Dillon—was her first co-write. She’s come a long way from that first performance at five-years-old, to writing her first song at seven-years-old, to writing and signing with Curb Records’ sister label, Sidewalk Records, at 16. And the evolution has been gradual and subtle because the talent was always there—the innate talent of a natural born performer whose destiny was inevitably under the spotlight. Effortless, pure, rich, sweet without being saccharin and even owning a little feminine swagger, Morgan is poised to be a voice on the radio that is easily and instantly identifiable. From the sweet waltz of “Part Of My Show,” to the edgy push of “Cowboys Ride,” to her the insanely infectious “Yellow Brick Road,” you’ll know it’s undoubtedly Morgan. And it’s undeniably good.
NATALIE MURPHY
Charlie Daniels, Roy Acuff, Doug Kershaw... These names conjure images of a singer, front and center, making an audience scream as they sawed away on the most American of instruments: the fiddle. What’s missing from that list? Simple. A woman. Natalie Murphy is a woman characterized by an unconventional, even contradictory nature: She is a city girl from Minneapolis, MN, longing for a home on a farm in the country with her horses. A singer who sings with the soul of Tina Turner yet has the smooth lilt of Emmylou Harris. A classically trained violinist destined to rock out for thousands. Murphy began her musical journey when she began taking violin lessons at age 5. She was a natural. It wasn’t long before she was performing in recitals, and even making a little money. “My neighbor gave me a nickel when I was 6,” Murphy says with a smile, “I guess I technically became a professional then!” She wrote her first original songs as an early teenager and around the same time started to perform in bands. It was in these early shows that she started to develop her unique fiddle style: melodic and passionate with an edge that cuts like an electric guitar. By the time she was 20 this diverse blend of strings and voice had taken her to stages all around the world. She joined a popular Midwest band and averaged 200 shows a year in smokey bars and on festival stages. It was in these shows that she developed a stage presence that is electric yet approachable. It wasn’t long before she set her sights on Nashville. “Nashville was an inevitable evolution for me, though I might not have realized it when I was younger,” Natalie says of her 2011 move. “I had dreams of being my own person, my own artist. I had a vision for the music I wanted to make. Nashville seemed like the place I could develop that vision and bring it to fruition.” Within a year of her move Murphy had graced the Grand Ole Opry stage close to a dozen times. She joined the band of rising star Maggie Rose, and toured with her for almost 2 years before stepping away to write and record her first solo album due out late 2014. Now, Natalie Murphy is stepping out as a woman following in the footsteps of the fiddle-wielding men before her. “I feel like there is a niche to be filled in Nashville. I have just scratched the surface of who I am musically.” It’s about time.
NICK HOFFMAN (THE FARM)
He may serve as the front man for one of country music’s newest modern bands, but Nick Hoffman is a direct stylistic descendent of Roy Acuff, Charlie Daniels and Bob Wills. A native of tiny Nowthen, Minnesota, Hoffman is the lead vocalist and fiddler for The Farm, reconnecting the genre with a forgotten image. “There hasn’t been a fiddle player/front man in country music since Charlie Daniels,” Hoffman accurately observes. It’s a role Hoffman was practically groomed to fill. He played the fiddle for the first time at age four, and it served him well in the first grade when his parents went through a tumultuous divorce. He retreated to his bedroom and played the instrument incessantly, using it as an emotional salve. Not that he kept his talent locked up in the house. His grandparents played bass and piano, and they had an informal weekly community jam session where neighbors would gather to play country music and Scandinavian folk tunes. He soon learned hundreds of fiddle pieces and became steeped in the classic country of George Jones, Gene Watson, Merle Haggard and westernswing pioneer Bob Wills. Hoffman, in fact, was stunned when he discovered that his classmates had no idea who those artists were. The other kids on the school bus listened instead to New Kids On The Block, a band Hoffman had never heard of. “It was like Greek,” he says. “I was the only person who knew any of the music I knew. Then I kind of became ostracized musically. I got beat up once because I played the fiddle.” Still, Hoffman was good at it, and he started playing in Minnesota bar bands even before he was of legal age. Two moments during that era established his long-term goal. First, he saw Roy Acuff on a telecast of the Grand Ole Opry. Acuff was a showman, a vocalist and a fiddler, and Hoffman immediately recognized it was possible to play the fiddle and lead a band. Shortly after, he saw a Garth Brooks concert at the Target Center. Fiddler Jimmy Mattingly completely commanded Hoffman’s attention.
“Here was this rock-country band up there with this fiddle player that was running around, jumping off things, stomping his foot,” Hoffman remembers. “It was The Beatles on Ed Sullivan for me. It blew my mind. I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s me. That guy is me.’ That’s who I wanted to be, and everything else from there was I couldn’t wait to get out of town.” With all of $60 in his pocket, Hoffman took a bus to Branson, Missouri, playing for tips on the street and sleeping on park benches. He eventually made some friends among other musicians in town and landed a gig in a Dolly Parton show. He returned briefly to Minnesota before making a permanent move in January 2000 to Nashville, where he played Lower Broadway and soon got an offer to hit the road with Kenny Chesney. Shortly thereafter, Chesney’s career took off, and Hoffman was playing arenas and stadiums on a regular basis, learning from one of country’s iconic acts about the behind-the-scenes effort that makes the difference between a struggling artist and a real success. Even as a well-paid sideman, Hoffman held on to his artistic dreams, which matched up well with Damien Horne and Krista Marie when the threesome became The Farm. Just as he did with his solo efforts, Hoffman has developed a vision for the band’s future. “We’re already thinking past this record,” he says confidently. “With a few hits under our belt, we’ll really get to have a lot of fun.”
PHILLIP (P.T.) HOUSTON
P.T Houston - Songwriter, engineer,and producer, Houston has spent the last 12 years recording songs for the hit songwriters of Nashville. He has also produced various independent album projects for artists throughout the country, including Micheal McDonald and Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers. He is also a musician, as his background includes touring the world as lead guitarist for Randy Meisner of the Eagles and legendary country artist Freddy Fender and the Texas Tornados .
TOM SHINNESS
Tom Shinness earns a living as a composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and singersongwriter. With six CD’s of original instrumental music to his credit, Tom uses a variety of common, and not so common, acoustic instruments to achieve fresh new sonic textures. One of Tom’s instruments is a Gibson harp-guitar, built in 1913. With 16 strings, the instrument is a cross between a harp and a guitar. Tom, an in demand studio cellist, also plays bass, mandolin, ukulele, zither, piano, percussion, and many other instruments. He sometimes uses unusual playing techniques such as playing the cello like a guitar or playing two instruments at once. In a live setting, Tom has over two hours of vocal tunes from the 60’s and 70’s, sometimes giving them fresh new arrangements. Tom has over an hour of original vocal tunes and over three hours of original instrumental music for a live setting. Stylistically, Tom focuses on pop, smooth jazz, classical, and new acoustic music, but one of his specialties is performing music for classical guitar. At times he delves into music from the 20’s and 30’s, Americana, baroque, Celtic music, R&B, funk, fusion, rock, and blues. Tom toured as a multi-instrumentalist for three time Grammy winner Keb’ Mo’ during Keb’s spring tour in 2014, playing the US, Canada, & Russia. Some of Tom’s music is being used in massage therapy studios around the world. His music has also been used on National Public Radio (NPR), National Public Television (NPT), and nationally televised commercials. Tom has performed live for over 40 years in concert halls, house concerts, festivals, fairs, restaurants/ bars, corporate events, art openings, weddings, schools, and churches. Tom is sometimes joined by his beautiful and immensely talented daughter Jasmine, who is also a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
SCHEDULE :: Thursday, October 9
(SATURDAY CONT)
7:00-8:00pm
LOCATION: SALOON #10
WRITERS ROUND 1
SUBJECT TO CHANGE!
4:30-5:30pm
LOCATION: SANTANA’S AT DMG
WRITERS ROUND 11
LOCATION: SANTANA’S AT DMG
LOCATION: SALOON #10 LOCATION: MAIN STAGE, DMG
WRITERS ROUND 2
8:30-10:30pm
DALLAS SMITH
:: FRIDAY, October 10 3:00-4:00pm
LOCATION: BUFFALO BODEGA BAR
WRITERS ROUND 3
LOCATION: FRANKLIN HOTEL BAR
LOCATION: SALOON #10
LOCATION: SALOON #10
WRITERS ROUND 12
6:00-7:00pm
WRITERS ROUND 13
LOCATION: HISTORIC BULLOCK HOTEL
WRITERS ROUND 14
8:00-10:00pm
LOCATION: MAIN STAGE, DMG SONGWRITERS JAM SESSION
WRITERS ROUND 4
ALL SONGWRITERS ROUNDS ARE FREE!
4:30-5:30pm
WRITERS ROUND 5
LOCATION: HISTORIC BULLOCK HOTEL
6:00-7:00pm
WRITERS ROUND 6
Tickets to nightly concerts are $10 each or $25 for all three nights
LOCATION: SANTANA’S AT DMG
LOCATION: BUFFALO BODEGA BAR
WRITERS ROUND 7
WRITERS ROUND 8
8:00-10:00pm
FOR TICKETS or more info: www.wildwestsongwriters.com www.deadwood.com www.deadwoodmountaingrand.com
LOCATION: MAIN STAGE, DMG
THE FARM
:: SATURDAY, October 11 11:00am-12:30pm
LOCATION: MAIN STAGE, DMG
PANEL: BRING YOUR OWN DEMO
3:00-4:00pm
LOCATION: BUFFALO BODEGA BAR
WRITERS ROUND 9
LOCATION: FRANKLIN HOTEL BAR
WRITERS ROUND 10
SCAN FOR THE MOST UP TO DATE SCHEDULE!