Each year for the past four, more and more friends circled an October weekend on their calendars – some more than a year in advance. Deadwood has plenty of events for tastes of all kinds, sure, but this one weekend in October is one they’ll never miss. It’s the one and only Wild West Songwriters Festival, held in the one and only Deadwood. And it’s this weekend. And if you’re holding this book, and your plans are made – or if a streak of luck has come your way and you’re in Deadwood this weekend on a whim, simply seeking the finest entertainment around – you won’t be disappointed. This weekend’s Wild West Songwriters Festival will grant you an opportunity to hear – up close and personal – from the songwriter’s who are responsible for the hit songs throughout the music world. If this is your first Songwriters Festival, prepare for an experience. The Songwriters Festival brings top songwriters in the music world together for a weekend of truly VIP access. But it’s more than just the songs; it’s the stories behind the songs, the way the song was meant to be heard, performed by the writer behind it. Take a look through this book and learn a bit about the songwriters here in Deadwood this weekend. Some of the top hits you sing along and play air guitar to are due to the talented musicians on these pages, and these writers will share just how that came to be during this Festival. Whether this is your first time, or your 5th, we welcome you to Deadwood and the Wild West Songwriters Festival. We’re truly glad you’re here. Lee Harstad, Executive Director, Deadwood Chamber of Commerce
ALYSSA BONAGURA A fixture on Nashville’s indie singer/ songwriter scene... Rolling Stone Alyssa Bonagura was only three weeks old when she began touring. Guess you could say she was seriously into the band, or as she called them, Mom and Dad. Growing up on the open roads of America, with her RCA country recording artists parents, Baillie & The Boys, made it impossible for Alyssa to not witness the power and magic of music. By spending most of her childhood touring, never being in the same city longer than a few days, and growing up without siblings, Alyssa transformed herself into a young musical prodigy always pickin’ on a guitar and scribbling phrases into potential tunes. Years of touring and learning from people along the way lead to performing Christmas duets, as a child, with Kenny Rogers, and writing Top Country Billboard songs in her 20s. She has also performed at Glastonbury, Knowsley Hall, Bonnaroo, Sundance, and most recently, the CMC Festival in Australia. Alyssa’s soulful music and powerful lyrics will send you jet-setting into a broad range of human emotions. Her incredibly unique experiences abroad inspired her debut album, The English Diaries, which she wrote while attending Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for thePerforming Arts. She toured Europe playing intimate, acoustic collections of songs she recorded alone in her flat before eventually performing privately for the Queen and rocking out with Ringo Starr. When she left London to return to Nashville, Alyssa released her sophomore album, Love Hard, signed a publishing deal, and landed one of the biggest nationwide commercial placements of 2012 with her song, “I Make My Own Sunshine”. It was featured in a Lowe’s commercial, earning it 50,000 downloads and more than 1 million plays on Spotify. She had no idea at the time that her song would later appear on Steven Tyler’s first-ever solo album, We’re All Somebody From Somewhere and that she would be the only solo writer on the album.
Alyssa’s many other accomplishments in the singer/songwriter community include: writing with Jeffrey Steele, Hunter Hayes, and JD Souther, writing three songs on Jessie James Decker’s album “Comin’ Home” and co-writing her current country single, “Lights Down Low”, winning Canadian songwriter of the year and song of the year for the song “I Only Smoke When I Drink” by the Small Town Pistols, co-writing “Circles” on Jana Kramer’s newest album “Thirty One” and also “This Christmas” with her, her dad, and Matthew and Gunnar Nelson hitting #17 on the Billboard Hot AC chart. She also had three #1 hits in Australia with Morgan Evans and Chelsea Basham. Her music is on a steady climb to the top of charts encouraging all who listen to live boldly and to continue making their own sunshine wherever the road takes them.
ADAM CRAIG Adam Craig is one of the good guys, and it’s about time he showed up. It started in a car in Tenino, Washington, just south of Seattle. The windows were down, Martina McBride and Heart were blaring on the radio and his mother was wondering what had just possessed her young son to match those mercurial vocalists note for note. “She was like ‘Holy crap kid, you can sing!’” he says with an infectious, disarming chuckle. From that moment forward, Adam knew he had a special gift – a vocal presence that transcends the typical bounds of a male country singer to touch the stratosphere, and an ability to pull listeners inside a story. Standing out early in life as a Tim McGraw and Travis Tritt lover in a sea of flannel-clad grunge rockers, Adam is no stranger to going against the grain. He honed his vocal chops in soggy bars and talent shows all over Washington State, then made the cross-country drive to Nashville and discovered another gift – a knack for writing modern country songs with sensitive, meaningful lyrics, a touch of good humor and breathtaking hooks in a time when machismo and bluster were the order of the day. Working as an in-demand Music Row songwriter, Adam has co-penned hits like Parmalee’s “Close Your Eyes” and scored cuts by Jason Aldean (“Church Pew or Bar Stool”), Dustin Lynch (“World to Me”), Love & Theft (“Whiskey on My Breath”) and more, but his own style is something different – it’s the next step in country’s continuing evolution, and the antidote for the bro-country hangover. Now signed to BBR Music Group’s Stoney Creek Records, Adam has made the leap from songwriter to artist with a style that’s rooted in the ‘90s yet sounds just ahead of the curve. It combines the down-home themes of artists like McGraw and Tritt, the soul-bearing honesty and pure-intentioned romance of Keith Urban with otherworldly vocals that land somewhere between Vince Gill and Keith Urban.
But the defining trait of his music is more than an intriguing sound and passionate writing: it’s an appreciation for just how complicated the real world truly is. Some country singers would have you believe there are two speeds to life – happy and sad – but nothing is that black and white. The toughest, most successful among us are sometimes plagued by doubt and regret, and even when we hurt those we love, a second chance will often come – if we can just rise to the challenge. “Somebody said something to me the other day and it made me feel really good,” he explains. “He said ‘Man, I don’t know how you do it, but you write a heartbreaker like a man would really have his heart broke.’ That’s what I want.” Songs like “Why Can’t She” live in that gray area of real life, the one where guilt collides with grace and ultimately, leads to a transformation. Sung in the form of a quiet prayer, artists all over Nashville have had the song on hold, but it’s never been released – a testament to the need for a country star who’s not afraid of his sensitive side. “My heart’s full of regret, that’s why I’m down here on my knees / So if you can forgive me … why can’t she?” goes the unforgettable chorus. “When you can hear the air go out of people when you get to the hook, that’s the hammer hook,” he says. Meanwhile, the young artist is no stranger to dirt-road anthems and the fluttering flush of new romance, but his party tunes are full of refreshing, nice-guy generosity. He’s not the guy who treats his girlfriend as a trophy in cut-off jeans, he’s the guy who says “I’m On It” when she asks to crank up the radio, and tells her “It’s All Good” no matter what they end up doing, as long as they get to spend time together. This is the product of a different kind of country artist – one who’s more about substance and shared experience than showing off. One who knows what hard work means and is thankful for what he’s earned. One who’s going to signal another shift in the genre, and bring the good guys back. “My guitar player has it written on his pedal board, and I stare at it every night,” he says. “Five words that mean everything: ‘I Get To Do This.’”
BRANDON RAY “We work all week, in a smokestack town. ‘Til the freakin’ weekend comes rolling around!” Brandon Ray belts out intermixed with infectious handclaps on the chorus of this new track “American Way,” a song that encapsulates the best elements of country and good ole rock n’ roll. The West-Texas native knows a thing or two about the American Way. At a young age his parents instilled the notion to follow his passion while emphasizing the importance of hard work. “In the early days I used to barricade myself in my room for hours and emerge with a horrible excuse for a song and annoy my parents with it. They did nothing but encourage me to keep going. In a way, they were my first publishers,” Ray laughs. Music was ever-present in his childhood home. His father had a deep love for legendary rockers like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Steely Dan, while his two brothers introduced him to the musical greats Metallica, Mellencamp and Nirvana. Ray’s mother kept a prominent force of country music throughout the household with the help of icons such as George Strait and Johnny Cash. Despite the house filled with music, his first love was baseball and he dreamed of pitching for the Texas Rangers, but was benched after two foot surgeries that ultimately shifted his focus to playing guitar and songwriting. By age 13, Ray had saved enough money to buy his first guitar and hasn’t looked back since. Everything from that point on has been a means to an end in an effort to achieve his American Dream. He’s held every job imaginable; lawn care, delivery boy, waiter, construction worker, guitar teacher and even lifeguard - where he once resuscitated a boy who nearly drowned at the city pool. Brandon still gets Christmas cards from the boy’s family. At 18 he was out on the road with his first band and played 750 shows in 3 years including supporting the likes of Fall Out Boy, Switchfoot and grueling summers on Vans Warped Tour.
After arriving in Nashville, Brandon landed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV, representation at CAA, toured playing guitar for Brett Eldredge and has lent vocals to numerous demos for various publishers and songwriters…all while developing his own sound. His new batch of songs are smothered in the American richness that Brandon has soaked up crisscrossing the heartland. One part country, one part rock n’ roll, but all heart, the new songs sew together his wide variety of influences, like a patchwork quilt. On the track “That Could Be Us,” the romantic idealist approaches love with the same hopefulness he applies to his career. Ray paints a vivid picture of potential love when he sings, “That song on the radio, in your head like a movie. You can see it when you close your eyes, that moment when a boy meets girl. Their world ain’t never gonna be the same.” It’s been a long road from Big Spring to selling t-shirts & CDs for gas to opening for Taylor Swift. But it won’t be long before that road is sound tracked by Brandon Ray’s explosive choruses blaring on country radio as he rolls on. A boy can dream.
CARLTON ANDERSON Carlton Anderson is one of the promising young guns in Nashville’s country scene. A Texas native who relocated to Nashville in 2012, Carlton boasts an impressive resume of over 500 live performances. Currently Carlton splits his time playing in the honky tonks of downtown Nashville, various bars in Texas and performing for wounded veterans to benefit the Helping A Hero Organization. He has shared the stage with industry veterans including Charlie Robison, Roger Creager, Wade Bowen, Jason Boland and Wade Battle. Armed with a tireless work ethic, powerfully deep voice, and a unique depth to his songwriting, Anderson is poised to breakout in a big way. Keep an eye on this rising talent, you won’t want to miss what he does next.
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 alternativerock 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.”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.
DANNY MYRICK A little bit muddy water Mississippi, a little bit California beach bum, Danny grew up playing, singing and writing for his family gospel band while being consumed with 70’s FM radio. He achieved his first #1 gospel song as a writer at age 17 before moving to Nashville and spending the 90’s singing lead in country rock band, Western Flyer. After Western Flyer disbanded, Danny’s vocal talent lead to singing 100’s of songwriter demos as well as adding background vocals to numerous albums by the likes of Blake Shelton, Montgomery Gentry and Keith Anderson before focusing on his passion for writing songs. As a writer, Danny’s musical diversity has lead to cuts by artists ranging from Tim McGraw to Joe Cocker and he has celebrated numerous hit songs, including Craig Morgan’s “International Harvester” Tim McGraw’s “Truck Yeah” and 2009’s most played country song, “She’s Country” by Jason Aldean. In addition to Billboard Top 5 song “I Love This Life” with LoCash, Danny is enjoying success on the following current projects: Waste Another Beer - Old Southern Moonshine Revival (Top 5 on SiriusXM The Highway Hot 45), Waiting On A Plane - Maddie & Tae (Opening track on their hit debut album “Start Here”), It’s On Tonight - Gloriana (ESPN’S 2015 College Basketball promo), Brand New Song - Old Southern Moonshine Revival (Top 40 on SiriusXM The Highway Hot 45), Pretty Little Cemetery - Dean Alexander (New single on iTunes and Spotify) When not working, Danny spends his time being an obsessive sports fan and hanging with his 2 sons.
DAVID HODGES David Hodges is a multi-platinum Grammy and BMI award winning, Golden Globe nominated, songwriter & producer. David cut his teeth as one of the founding members of the Little Rock, AR based rock act Evanescence. Their debut album went on to sell over 18 million copies, but in the height of the band’s success, he left to focus on songwriting and production. Over the past decade, David has worked with some of the biggest artist’s in the world from writing their hits to creating successful end titles for film. From the haunting piano melodies of Evanescence’s My Immortal to Christina Perri’s 6 million selling Twilight end title, A Thousand Years… Hodges signature sound starts on the piano and can be heard across many of the song he’s written. David also co-wrote #1 smash singles Kelly Clarkson’s Because of You, Daughtry’s What About Now, and Carrie Underwood’s See You Again, and many others. David has sold over 65 million records to date. Most recently David has the 5 Seconds of Summer single Jet Black Heart, the Ben Rector single Brand New, and is currently working with Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Tim Mcgraw, Lady Antebellum, and others. David is one of the most sought after multi-genre songwriters in the world.
DEAN ALEXANDER Dean Alexander moved to Nashville with a dream and a hundred dollars in his pocket. Finding work landscaping during the day, he started playing Layla’s on lower Broadway at night. He enhanced his live performance playing classic country covers as well as originals and was soon discovered and offered a publishing deal by the late Barbara Orbison, the widow of American musician Roy Orbison. A year later, Dean began working as a touring guitarist for a number of artists. This put the wheels in motion towards a recording contract with Electra/Warner Brothers in 2012. Dean has opened for acts like Little Big Town, Dwight Yoakam, John Fogerty and Blake Shelton to name a few. He’s had a Billboard TOP 40 song called “Live A Little”, “Life Ain’t Fair” hit #13 featuring Sheryl Crow on Sirius XM ‘The Highway’, his song “If Your Heart Can Handle It” was featured on the hit television show Nashville, “Dangerous” on the television series Good Christian Belles, and “Black Crow” has been recorded by Brent Cobb for his upcoming debut record. Currently, as an Independent artist, he is creating a new path with producer and writer Danny Myrick (She’s Country, International Harvester, I Love This Life) for Dean’s new project with an original darker, edgier sound with his band The Voodoo Revival. “I know its pushing the limits of Country but I’m trying to make music without boundaries and keep the voice of my artistry true. No one ever made a true mark on history by being the same as everyone else”.
DEVIN DAWSON Devin Dawson is a Country artist & songwriter that draws on influences from Pop, Rock, & Soul. Raised in Northern California, Devin spent years traveling the country as a touring musician before finally settling down and calling Nashville, Tennessee home. After recently graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Songwriting and Music Business from Belmont University, Devin is now pursing his songwriting and artist career full-time. Devin recently got the coveted Taylor Swift approval after one of his mashup cover videos of her songs - ‘Blank Space & Style’ - was officially endorsed by Taylor when she tweeted that she was “Obsessed” with the video. It has since garnered over 30 million views on YouTube. Devin most recently signed a joint record deal with Warner Nashville & Atlantic New York and is current in the studio recording his debut record with ACM Producer of the year Jay Joyce.
EMERSON HART Beauty in Disrepair. 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 Grammy-nominated 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. 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 crosssection 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.”
JAMES ELLIOT James Isaac Elliott is the Chair of the Songwriting Department at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Also an award-winning songwriter, Elliott’s compositions have sold over 10 million copies and been recorded by Steven Curtis Chapman, The Oak Ridge Boys, Newsong, Shenandoah, Ginny Owens and others. His honors include a Dove Award from the Gospel Music Association, and multiple awards from ASCAP, American Songwriter Magazine and the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
JOHN NORTHRUP John hails originally from Toppenish, WA on the Yakima Indian Reservation. He grew up in a large family with 7 brothers and 4 sisters but was the only one in his family who was musical. He recalls saving up all his lawn mowing money, at just nine years old, to buy Merle Haggard’s first record which he had learned before the record had finished spinning. By his early twenties he was deep into the songwriting craft and was out playing five nights a week at local venues all while running his own fourteen bay auto repair and body shop. He spent two years performing at rodeos in the Northwest and sold over 20,000 copies of his self released album. He knew all he wanted was to be in the music business. He began traveling back and forth to Nashville where he would cowrite with writers such as Buddy Cannon, John Scott Sherrill and Mickey Newbury. MCA took notice of John’s talent and signed him as an artist. John had only been in town a year and a half and already had seven major cuts and one top ten record on Vern Gosdin “Month of Sundays”. Vern went on to record five more of John’s songs, George Strait recorded three, George Jones recorded two, Ken Mellons recorded eight. Others such as Gene Watson, Tim McGraw, The Statler Brother’s, Kenny Chesney, and Sammy Kershaw to name a few, have found success with John’s songs as well. His song “One’s A Couple” earned a spot on Lee Ann Womack’s Album of the Year. Branching out his career, John got into producing and into radio promotion doing all the syndicated radio for David Ball’s single “Riding WIth Private Malone” which took David’s record to number one. His career led him next into artist management where he managed acts such as Sammy Kershaw and Michael Martin Murphy. Along his musical journey he also starting finding acts, developing them and getting them record deals for artists such as, Morgan Frazier. Throughout his time working in the music industry, his songwriting has remained his mainstay. His songwriting spans several country music eras and is going strong with multiple cuts from leading act every year.
JUSTIN WILSON Hailing from Dacula, Georgia, Justin Wilson is one of the hottest up and coming writers in Nashville. In a short two years, since signing his publishing deal with Magic Mustang Music, he has scored over 20 cuts and singles such as “Straight Outta Cold Beer” (Blake Shelton), “Later On” (Swon Brothers), “Tomorrow Tonight” (Craig Campbell), and “Better In Boots” (Tyler Farr). Justin had his first number one with Michael Ray, “Kiss You In The Morning”. His second number one came just a few months later with Randy Houser, “We Went”. Other cuts by artists such as, Joe Nichols, Jackie Lee, Parmalee, John King, and more, are proof that Justin is going to be a force in songwriting for years to come.
KRISTA MARIE Krista Marie was born into a musical family in the small, country town of Batavia, New York. Her father was a worldrenowned, classical accordionist and concert pianist. Her mother taught voice and piano lessons, while also working side by side with Krista’s father, in their family owned business, Pat’s Meat Market. At a very young age, Krista began performing at school, joined the children’s choir, won statewide vocal and dance competitions and competed in numerous 4-H horse shows. As a teen, her love of music and “horsepower” continued to grow hand in hand. Working summers at the local theme park, Six Flags Darien Lake, as a country singer/dancer, Krista managed to save enough money to buy her first motorcycle at age 15. She also tried her hand at racing mini stock cars, snowmobiles and, eventually, ATV’s. After studying musical theater in NYC, Krista moved west to L.A. where she earned her membership in the Screen Actors Guild appearing in various film, television and commercial productions. Krista went on to become a stunt woman, while continuing to focus on her songwriting. Determined to make music a full time endeavor, Krista relocated to Nashville in 2003. After cowriting, producing and self-funding her own first independent album, on her maxed out credit card, she was signed to a publishing deal at EMI Nashville, in 2007. Not long after, she was releasing her first single on Broken Bow Records and shot the music video to “Tomboy”, featuring Ashley Force-Hood (NHRA Champ). Krista’s musical talents and background in the motorsports world have offered her amazingly unique opportunities. In fact, “Drive It Like I Stole It”, which she co-wrote and performed, was the official ESPN, NHRA Drag Racing theme song for the 2009 season. A pick-up truck kinda gal… Dirt, mud & high speed is where KM feels most at home, when not on stage. In the spring of 2008, Krista had a near fatal crash while racing the ATVA National Motocross Circuit. The incident left her with 11 broken bones, and a lacerated liver,
including 4 spinal fractures, 4 broken ribs, collar bone, wrist & femur. Dr.’s were unsure if she’d walk again. She laughs and says she now has “after market” parts with a titanium rod through her right femur bone, screws & a filter… Still enjoying her throttle time, KM rides her Yamaha 450 ATV, GSXR sports bike & V-Rod Muscle (Harley-Davidson). Fall of 2010, Krista co-wrote what became a Billboard top 20 country hit, “Home Sweet Home,” co-founded & became one third of the group, THE FARM. Signed to Warner Brothers / Elektra Records, the country trio performed hundreds of shows nationally & internationally within the first 3 years of their record deal. Krista says that some of the highlighted & most memorable moments have been playing for the troops in the middle east (Qatar military base), CMC Rocks The Hunter – (Sydney, Australia), Stagecoach Music Festival, multiple performances at The Grand Ole Opry and at the world famous Ryman Auditorium. They have had the honor of singing the national anthem for professional NFL, MLB and NHL games. THE FARM has had numerous television & red carpet appearances on CMT, ACM’s CMA’s, FOX network and were nominated for an ACA award as new artist of the year. In 2014 Krista Marie Oswald co-founded FONTANEL RECORDS, with her husband Marc Oswald. She saw it as an opportunity to give back to the amazingly talented employees at Fontanel. Krista produced their debut album, “Fontanel Family Christmas,” with a second album released this past year, which consists of all original music, written & recorded by the Fontanel staff members. MASTERS MARIE is another one of Krista’s creative passion projects. She & the late AJ Masters released their debut Jazzical Blues album, titled “Live Laugh Love.” After AJ’s unexpected passing last year, Krista decided to continue on with the music the duo team created & ocassionally performs MASTERS MARIE original music as well as standards & classics at The Natchez Hills Winery @ FONTANEL .
KRISTIAN BUSH GRAMMY-winning recording artist Kristian Bush has been leaving his mark on music for more than two decades. The singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist started his career with folk-rock duo Billy Pilgrim in the early ‘90s; in 2004, he exploded onto the country music scene with Sugarland, surpassing sales of over 22 million albums worldwide, achieving five No. 1 singles and winning numerous awards, including GRAMMYs, AMAs, ACMs, CMT Music Awards and CMAs. In 2014, Bush made his solo debut with Top 20 hit “Trailer Hitch,” featured on his criticallyacclaimed album SOUTHERN GRAVITY, which COUNTRY WEEKLY named the “feel-good album of the year” and ROLLING STONE named one of the Top 10 country albums of 2015. He recently wrote and performed “Forever Now,” the theme song to TLC’s hit reality series SAY YES TO THE DRESS, and his songs will anchor the world premiere of TROUBADOUR, a play set in 1950s Nashville, debuting at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre Center in 2017. For more information, visit www.kristianbush.com.
KYLIE SACKLEY For award-winning songwriter Kylie Sackley, it’s always been about the songs first. As a wunderkind performer in her birthplace of Australia, Kylie dazzled audiences with her authentic grasp of country, her gorgeously expressive vocals, and her electrifying stage presence. When she won Australia’s most prestigious country music talent search, Star Maker (Keith Urban was a previous winner), she made the fateful decision to go the route of being a professional songwriter, and she hasn’t looked back since. Kylie’s first year on the Nashville scene was astounding. That year she co-wrote Leann Rimes country comeback smash “Nothin’ ‘bout Love Makes Sense” with highly sought after writers Gary Burr and Joel Feeney. “I thank my lucky stars for that single, it helped me get my foot in the door and get momentum as a writer,” Kylie reveals. That track, and her next co-write—Faith Hill’s “Sunshine and Summertime”—went Top 5. Kylie also co-wrote Troy Cassar Daley’s “The Sunshine Club,” Alan Jackson’s “It’s Just That Way,” and has penned songs for Thompson Square, John Rich, Lee Brice and Jodee Messina. Kylie co-wrote the track “Young In America” recorded by Danielle Bradbery, the 2013 US winner of reality TV show, The Voice. That track landed in the Billboard Hot Country Song Chart and reached Number 53 on the US Country Airplay Chart. Kylie’s songwriting also appears on the first single from US country duo, American Young. She co-wrote the duo’s song “Love is War” which reached Number 44 on the US Country Airplay Chart. Kylie was nominated by the APRA (Australian performing rights association) for “Breakthrough Songwriter Of The Year” award in 2014. Most recently, Kylie wrote Sam Hunt’s “Speakers,” on his certified double platinum album Montebello.
LANCE MILLER ACC Award nominated singer/songwriter. As a solo artist he toured with Tim McGraw & Faith Hill. As a songwriter he is credited for the #1 country hit and SESAC Song of the Year “Drink To That All Night,” recorded by Jerrod Niemann. He has also had songs recorded by Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Justin Moore, Thomas Rhett, Lee Brice and many more. Lance has also made several guest appearances as a background vocalist on various major label records. One of his personal career highlights was singing background vocals on “A Horse Called Music,” featuring Merle Haggard on Willie Nelson’s “Heroes” album. You might also remember Lance from the hit cable television series Nashville Star.
MARC BEESON Marc Beeson is an American country music singer and songwriter. Beeson’s list of songs written and recorded could fill up a cross country road trip. With over 100 cuts in his span of living in Nashville, Beeson is guaranteed to be behind some of the biggest hits on your iPod. As an artist, Beeson has recorded albums for Warner Bros, BNA, and Curb Records. As a writer, he’s had over 100 cuts by Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Pat Green, Restless Heart, Billy Currington, Martina McBride, Chicago, Love and Theft, Kenny Rogers, Peter Cetera, LeAnn Rimes and others. Beeson’s songs have been recorded by music legends from all genres. In addition to winning 10 ASCAP awards, the song “When She Cries” won both ASCAP country and pop song of the year awards. As a board member for NSAI and a mentor in the MTSU music business program, Beeson is involved in all aspects of the business from recording to songwriting, to educating. Beeson continues to be the best writer he can, and believes his best song still has not been written.
MEGAN LINVILLE Megan is no newcomer to the Nashville music scene. Her Nashville roots wind back to her grandfather, the late Jerry McBee, who penned songs for many of Nashville’s great country artists. Musically, those roots cross all genre boundaries and can be traced back to the noted hymn composer, Jonathon Edwards and a great-grandfather, once a Vaudeville singer who performed with the likes of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. With a family tree intertwined so deeply with these musical roots, according to Megan, “there simply was no way out…the trail that I absolutely had to follow led me right back to where I started out… straight to Music City…my hometown!” 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. Megan’s songs are being played on radio stations around the world and she has been featured in several publications including CountryStarsOnline.com, Today’s Country Magazine and in the “Listen Up!” section of Country Weekly Magazine. 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. 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, dynamically-packed performances while showcasing her strong vocals and captivating audiences with self-penned lyrics that are relatable.
ROB HATCH Rob Hatch moved to Nashville in 2001 to follow his dreams of becoming a songwriter. Since then, Rob has had cuts with the likes of Lee Brice, the #1 smash, “I Don’t Dance”, “Beautiful Everytime”, “Friends We Wont Forget”, “Sirens”, and “Don’t Get No Better Than This”; Jerrod Niemann: “Shining on Me”, “It Don’t Matter Anymore”, and “Beach Baby”; Randy Houser’s #1 hit “Goodnight Kiss” and “Top of The World”; Luke Bryan “Sunburnt Lips”; Faith Hill’s “Boy”, Craig Campbell “Chillaxin” and “Make You Wanna Sing”; and Joe Nichols “Hard To Be Cool” to name a few. In 2014, Hatch capped off a great year by being named Songwriter of the Year at the SESAC Nashville Music Awards.
STEVE BOGARD Steve Bogard has written nine number one country songs including George Strait’s, “Carried Away” and “Carrying Your Love with Me,” and Rascal Flatts’ career breaker, “Prayin’ For Daylight.” Total sales of albums containing Bogard songs are well over one hundred fifty million units. Bogard has won twenty ASCAP or BMI awards with hits and cuts by artists as diverse as Reba, Tanya, Patty Loveless, Etta James, The Four Tops, Sinead O’Connor, Jack Ingram and Restless Heart. He has had two Grammy nominations for Best Country Song with Dierks Bentley and has produced nine majorlabel album projects for Arista, Virgin, Lyric Street and Sony. Recent cuts include cuts on Joe Nichols, Craig Campbell, and Dustin Lynch’s current single “Seein’ Red.” After successful early forays in the music markets of Memphis and Miami, working with legendary producers Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd, Steve was drawn to Nashville, when in 1983, a song from Bogard’s early catalog, “Touch Me with Magic” became a top ten hit for Marty Robbins. He spent over twenty years as a staff writer at Warner Chappell Music, has owned his own publishing company and independent record label, and is currently a staff writer at Magic Mustang Music, a division of the BBR Label Group. In 2000, Steve was elected to the board of the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International and subsequently served an unprecedented seven terms as NSAI’s Board President. During that time he worked closely with the NMPA, DiMA, the RIAA, BMI and ASCAP and SESAC on legislation affecting songwriters’ rights and income in the digital space, covering subscription services, interactive streaming, satellite radio, and future digital uses of music. Steve was the witness representing songwriters at the last Copyright Royalty Board rate setting proceeding. He is currently the Director of The Copyright Forum.
Steve Bogard currently serves as ex officio advisor to the Board of NSAI, and on the board of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation and MyWerx, voted one of Billboard Magazine’s top ten tech startups of 2010. A former Board Member of the CMA and the Academy of Country Music, Steve is a 1995 graduate of Leadership Music, served on ASCAP’s Southern Writer’s Advisory Board, and has hosted the ASCAP Song Seminar. He is a member of both the Producers and Engineers and the Composers Wing of NARAS, The Recording Academy.
SCHEDULE
:: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13 6:00-7:00pm
LOCATION: PADDY O’NEILL’S
HUNTER PHELPS JUSTIN WILSON MEGAN LINVILLE
6:30-7:30pm
LOCATION: WILD BILL SALOON THEATER
DEVIN DAWSON STEVE BOGARD JAMES ELLIOTT
7:30-8:30pm
LOCATION: SALOON #10
DANNY MYRICK LANCE MILLER ROB HATCH
8:30-9:30pm
LOCATION: SANTANTA’S AT DMG
CARLTON ANDERSON DEAN ALEXANDER KRISTIAN BUSH
:: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 11:30am-12:30pm
LOCATION: SANTANA’S AT DMG
PANEL: CO-WRITING
1:30pm-2:30pm
LOCATION: SANTANA’S AT DMG
PANEL: PUBLISHERS 3:00-4:00pm
LOCATION: SCOTT JACOBS GALLERY
BRANDON RAY DAMIEN HORNE KRISTA MARIE
3:30-4:30pm
LOCATION: WILD BILL SALOON THEATER
DAVE PITTENGER JOHN NORTHRUP LANCE MILLER 4:00-5:00pm
LOCATION: PADDY O’NEILL’S
ROB HATCH KYLIE SACKLEY STEVE BOGARD
5:00-6:00pm
LOCATION: SALOON #10
DAVID HODGES EMERSON HART KRISTIAN BUSH
6:00-7:00pm
LOCATION: DEADWOOD DICK’S
DEVIN DAWSON COREY HARPER JUSTIN WILSON
6:30-7:30pm
LOCATION: THE NUGGET SALOON
ALYSSA BONAGURA ELIZABETH HUETT MARC BEESON
8:00-9:30pm
LOCATION: MAIN STAGE, DMG
AMERICA
:: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10 11:30am-12:30pm
LOCATION: SANTANA’S AT DMG
PANEL: BRING YOUR OWN DEMO
1:30pm-2:30pm
LOCATION: SANTANA’S AT DMG
PANEL: ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
3:00-4:00pm
LOCATION: DEADWOOD DICK’S
BRANDON RAY COREY HARPER JAMES ELLIOTT 3:30-4:30pm
LOCATION: THE NUGGET SALOON
ELIZABETH HUETT KRISTA MARIE MARC BEESON 4:00-5:00pm
LOCATION: SCOTT JACOBS GALLERY
DAMIEN HORNE JOHN NORTHRUP MEGAN LINVILLE 4:30-5:30pm
LOCATION: PADDY O’NEILL’S
DANNY MYRICK DEAN ALEXANDER KYLIE SACKLEY
5:00-6:00pm
LOCATION: SALOON #10
ALYSSA BONAGURA DAVID HODGES EMERSON HART
8:30-10:00pm
LOCATION: MAIN STAGE AT DMG
SONGWRITERS JAM SESSION
ALL SONGWRITERS ROUNDS ARE FREE! Purchase a ticket to see America, get a Songwriters Jam Session ticket FREE! For tickets or more info: www.WildWestSongwriters.com • 605.559.1188