30A Songwriters Festival

You’d be hard-pressed to name a music festival where songwriting wasn’t a cornerstone of the entire event. Yet for the past ten years an arts council in a county of small beach towns along the Florida Panhandle has been throwing a festival focused entirely on the art and craft of great songwriting. And perhaps the best thing about the 30A Songwriters Festival (called simply “Songwriters” by locals) is that it seems to recognize that some people who write great songs are quite famous, but not every great songwriter is a household name.

That’s why, for its tenth year, Songwriters welcomed artists as variant as Carly Burruss, Carlene Carter, Brandi Carlile, and many more.

The setup at Songwriters is quite unconventional for a music festival. A handful of beach towns along County Road 30A host songwriters-in-the-round and the occasional solo artist on stages inside bars and restaurants, on patios and lawns. A main stage on the edge of what’s basically an outdoor shopping mall hosts the big-name acts beginning around noon and culminating with a headliner set around 3 p.m. Before and after main stage performances, everyone scatters along the highway to cozy up with a whiskey cocktail, some crab bisque, a fish sandwich, and some song-swap action featuring an array of legends, newcomers, and behind-the-scenes Nashville pros.

There’s no specific genre covered at Songwriters, though it is heavy on folksingers and roots artists. There’s also acoustic Christian pop, R&B, rock and roll, oldies, and more — literally hundreds of artists over the course of four days. There is so much on offer at Songwriters that no two people can possibly experience the same festival unless they go everywhere together. There’s so much happening that I swung through the entire weekend without catching even a single song from two of my personal favorite songwriters: Patty Griffin and Darrell Scott.

My experience this year began on Friday evening in a little tent in the middle of a field at the center of a huge condo complex. The War and Treaty threw down a happy hour set that had a packed crowd on its feet within a couple of songs. Hands were up and shaking. There were a lot of white people dancing, thrusting their whiskey cocktails into the air, whistling and hooting and hollering like a Sunday revival. The horn section was on point, and Michael and Tanya Trotter were giving at least one hundred percent from the second they took the stage until the moment they left. I could have ended my festival there. It doesn’t get much better than that. But I pressed on to the next venue.

Songwriting legend Kim Richey was performing in the round with Songwriter Hall of Famer Gretchen Peters and relative newcomer Courtney Marie Andrews. Andrews has a power-hose voice that reminds me of a young Joan Baez, and I was infinitely more impressed with her set this night than I was with her 2018 May Your Kindness Remain album.

The music in this set was stunning, the songwriting unmatchable. But perhaps the most remarkable part of the experience was watching these three women listen to one another. This is something that the 30A Songwriters Festival does, which is unavailable at almost any other festival I’ve been to, except maybe Folk Alliance. Songwriters places us, the audience, in a room with musicians for whom nothing else matters but the song. It was as though the title of the festival challenged the artists to center songwriting in every performance, which left exactly no room for ego and frills.

So many festivals provide a huge lineup, which requires artists to compete for audience attention by giving a “memorable” performance, bringing their best jokes, gimmicks, and showmanship. But at the Songwriters Festival, it’s all about the songs. Artists and audience adjust to that focus, and I saw this happen time and time again: A beautiful set from TOWNE behind a seafood restaurant. A patio performance at a beachfront bar from Hayes Carll, who shared stellar songs (some particularly topical in the best possible way) from his new album, What It Is. Mighty mainstage sets from Rosanne Cash and Jason Isbell, both of whom spent time talking about songwriting — Cash even offering the younger folks some advice about copyright licensing.

Birds of Chicago delivered an exquisite set in a boathouse, moving through their exquisite Love in Wartime album. They shared a new song from Allison Russell’s forthcoming Smithsonian Folkways collaboration with Amythyst Kiah, Rhiannon Giddens, and Layla McCalla, Songs of Our Native Daughters.

Sierra Hull talked in “The Backyard of Love,” under a canopy of the most amazing tree branches, about how her songwriting has evolved over the years, and how conscious she is of learning along the way. Then she lit into a handful of emotionally arresting tunes from an album she’s getting ready to release this year.

Perhaps the starkest example was on the final day, during the final main stage performance — Brandi Carlile, who came to this event solo. She’s just been nominated for the most Grammy awards of any woman artist this year, for an album (By the Way, I Forgive You) that was in the top three of almost every year-end list of note last year. But she chose instead to open her set with “Follow,” from her 2005 self-titled debut. After a couple of other obscure deep-cut tunes, she looked out into the audience and spotted her songwriting hero, Kim Richey, and invited Richey onstage for a song. The pair launched into an unrehearsed but beautifully harmonized version of Richey’s classic, “A Place Called Home” (also from 2005), which Carlile noted was a cherished companion during those early years on the road when she was paying her dues and becoming acquainted with the life of a touring musician.

So taken was she with Richey, Carlile spent time explaining a vocal technique she learned from listening to Richey’s music, and how she’s tried to make it her own over the course of her six studio albums.

Granted, Brandi Carlile is a natural performer who has a casual onstage persona anyway, but it was a testament to the focus of the festival that she chose to perform alone and spend time talking about songwriting and vocal technique from the main stage.

30A Songwriters Festival is a weekend full of songwriters, and everyone is sharing and learning. Those who aren’t there to share and learn, meanwhile, get a glimpse behind the curtain at the mindfulness and dedication that goes into bringing great songs into the world. Here’s hoping this little local arts council and its array of tiny beach towns keeps bringing all this goodness together for many more years to come.

Photo: Kim Richey, left, and Brandi Carlile sing Richey’s “A Place Called Home” at the 2019 30A Songwriters Festival.

Photo & Article by Kim Ruehl, Original Published on No Depression 01/23/19 http:// nodepression.com/article/songwriterscenter-30a-festivals-tenth-year

AWARDS & COMPETITIONS BUZZ

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has announced that its Nashville Songwriter Awards presented by City National Bank will return to the Ryman Auditorium in 2019. The star-studded evening is set for September 17, 2019, and if initial award winner announcements are any indication, the event will be one not to miss. Loretta Lynn will receive the organization’s highest honor, the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award. NSAI has also announced that it will bestow the White Hat Award on United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) that evening.

Entries are now accepted for the 24th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. Songwriters and Composers vie for a chance to win a top prize of $50,000 worth of cash and merchandise such as music gear. Winning songs will be receiving radio airplay. Songwriters can enter in 15 different song categories such as: Pop, Rock/Alt, Folk, R&B, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Instrumental, etc. USA Songwriting Competition is sponsored by: D’Addario Strings, Godin Guitars, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, New Music Weekly, Loggins Promotion, Airplay Access, Audio-Technica, FL Software, Sonoma Wireworks, Berklee College of Music, DiscMakers, CDBaby, StoryBlocks, School of Rock, Final Mix Software and more.

The Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) will present its highest honor, the SERFA Award, to two couples and two individuals on May 17 during its 12th Annual Conference at the Chattanoogan Hotel. One of each have Chattanooga connections: musical legends Norman and Nancy Blake of Rising Fawn, Georgia and the late Fletcher Bright, philanthropist, musician, and presenter. The other honorees are J.T. Gray, four-decade owner of the Station Inn in Nashville, and dancer and choreographer Eileen Carson Schatz and dancer and musician Mark Schatz of Maryland. The SERFA Awards presentation follows the Annual Meeting and precedes the keynote address by Ellis Paul, in a program starting at 1:45 PM EST on Friday, May 17.

ACQUISITIONS, PARTNERSHIPS & PROMOTIONS BUZZ

PLA is proud to announce the addition of Cindy Dupree to the PLA staff as senior consultant PR/Marketing. Cindy brings a wealth of experience with a background in tourism, having worked more than a decade as communications director/PIO for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development during the Bredesen and Haslam administrations. She has also served as communications director for BMI in New York City and as a music manager, literary agent, and artist development consultant while in the Big Apple.

Cumberland Music Collective is proud to announce its acquisition of Nashville’s premier acoustic music agency, KCA Artists. CMC will continue to book legendary acts, such as The Seldom Scene, Radney Foster, Blue Highway, and The Fairfield Four, in addition to greatly diversifying their roster. New additions to the roster include motor-mouthed rapper, Twista, R&B powerhouse, Nivea, and female vocal group superstars, Danity Kane.

peerMusic has acquired the Seoul, South Korea-based independent music publisher Music Cube. This acquisition will add 40,000 Korean copyrights to peermusic’s global music catalogue, including works recorded by K-Pop groups BTS, Red Velvet, and AOA. Korea will be the 30th country in peermusic’s worldwide network. Heesun Park will be the General Manager of peermusic Korea and will report directly to Mary Megan Peer, Deputy CEO, peermusic.The acquisition comes as the latest step in peermusic’s long-term strategy in South Korea. Prior to the acquisition, peermusic and Music Cube had a 10-year partnership based on a reciprocal sub-publishing arrangement. Through that partnership, European and US-based peermusic writers have secured records with popular K-Pop groups including TWICE, EXO and Super Junior.

A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music) is excited to welcome a new General Manager to the team and would like to congratulate several others on their well-earned promotions. The independent music advocacy group has added Andrea Pagnanelli to the team, who will serve as the organization’s General Manager. With a renewed contract, Dr. Richard James Burgess will continue to lead the charge and will now serve as President and CEO of the organization. Patrick Ferrell has been promoted to Head of Label Relations from his previous position as Director, Member Services. Patrick joined the A2IM team in April of 2016.Lisa Hresko has been promoted to Senior Director, Associate

Member Services and International Relations from her previous role as Senior Manager, Member Services. Sheryl Cohen has been promoted to Senior Director, Culture & Oversight from her previous role asDirector, Culture and Oversight. Sheryl has been with A2IM since March of 2016. Courtnay Newman has been promoted to Manager, Member Services and Partnerships from her previous role as Coordinator, Member Services.

Exegan Media & Entertainment announces partnership with Los Angeles based The DNS Agency for A&R scouting and related services for Exegan owned labels including Poison Tree Records, Silverado Records and Gateway Records, as well as consulting services on many projects currently in development. The DNS Agency works within all areas of the entertainment industry and encompasses all artists’ needs from A&R, Branding and Distribution to working directly with labels, engineers and producers. Since starting The DNS Agency in 2008, the company’s president Dean O’Shaughnessy has worked closely with clients ranging from national and international acts down to the best in local talent.

The Country Music Association has announced three new hires, including two new positions within CMA’s Strategic Partnerships department, further supporting the organization’s ongoing strategic marketing efforts. Emily Arvanitis joins CMA as Live Events Coordinator, Michelle Kirk joins as Director, Integrated Marketing, and Megan Sykes joins as Director, Sales Development & Strategy. Arvanitis will provide support to the department in all elements of production, logistics and administrative functions, in addition to assisting with the coordination and execution of all CMA events. Kirk will be responsible for developing strategies for and managing relationships with key marketing and digital partners as well as other strategic partners including the ABC Television Network relationship. Kirk will also develop and implement strategic, year-round integrated marketing campaigns with marketing and digital partners that support CMA flagship events, as well as additional special events and initiatives. Sykes will generate new long-term corporate alliances and sponsorships, in addition to growing existing relationships for CMA’s flagship events as well as the CMA Foundation. She will be responsible for the creation and implementation of business development planning, including implementing advanced account management tactics to increase the scope of value of corporate partnerships for CMA and the industry at large.

Amber Mundinger has been named Chief Operating Officer and Head of Strategic Partnerships for Artists Den Entertainment, based at the company’s New York headquarters. Amber joins a growing team of top professionals who will build out the next generation of premium live music entertainment on the Artists Den platform. BBR Music Group is excited to announce that Stan Marczweksi has been named Director of National Promotion for label imprint Stoney Creek Records. Additionally, Stefani Waters has been hired as Director of Southeast Regional Promotion for Stoney Creek Records. Stoney Creek Records boasts a roster which includes chart-toppers Randy Houser, Jimmie Allen and Parmalee, rising star Lindsay Ell, multi-national six-man band King Calaway, plus emerging acts, Walker McGuire and Adam Craig.

CONFERENCE BUZZ

Music Expo, the multi-city conference series for music makers, in association with Sound On Sound magazine, announces its return for 2019. Music Expo brings together Grammy-winning producers and engineers, music industry tastemakers and leading technology brands. Offering unparalleled, up-close access to some of the most successful creators, the series provides hyper-focused workshops, live demos, keynote presentations and panels giving attendees the option to focus on music technology, business or music creation. Hosted by SAE Institute, Music Expo will kick-off in Miami, FL on Sat., March 30th (Tickets HERE). The second annual Music Expo Nashville will take place on Sat., Sept. 21st (Tickets HERE) and Music Expo San Francisco will expand from a one day event to two full days on Sat., Nov. 9th and Sun., Nov. 10th (Tickets HERE). Single day passes will be available for Music Expo San Francisco, more details tba. Early bird tickets for all cities are on sale now at https:// musicexpo.co/.

Nashville-based music startup RootNote has been invited to present at this year’s annual NY:LON Connect conference in London. Organized by Music Ally and the Music Business Association, NY:LON Connect brings together leading executives from the international music industry along with the most innovative startups to discuss and debate key industry issues. Founded by brothers Jason and Jeremy Burchard in 2016, RootNote provides strategic equity-based investment capital to musicians in order to help them build sustainable companies and brands around their music. RootNote counts Jeremy’s duo Moonlight Social and singer-songwriter Tony Lucca among its first artist investments, made in 2018, and plans up to five additional investments in 2019. The Burchard brothers will present RootNote’s business model and current traction to a room of international music industry executives and investors before a panel discussing the role of music industry accelerators and the growing landscape of music investment.

Back for its third year, the two-day Relix Live Music Conference features panels and discussions touching on topics across the live music industry. On May 14th and 15th at Brooklyn Bowl, this year’s conference sheds light on the fast-paced, ever-changing industry and brings together the leading figures in the business today.The conference includes panel discussions, networking opportunities, lunch, happy hour and bowling

The Music Business Association (Music Biz) has announced Richard Gottehrer, co-founder of independent distributor The Orchard, as the recipient of its 2019 Outstanding Achievement Award. Gottehrer will receive the Award at the Music Biz 2019 Conference’s Awards & Hall of Fame Dinner on Tuesday, May 7th at the JW Marriott Nashville. He will also present a keynote address during the Independent Artist & Songwriter Forum, powered by Songtrust. Platinum-selling, progressive Country artist Kane Brown will receive a Breakthrough Artist Award at the Music Biz 2019 Conference’s Awards & Hall of Fame Dinner on Tuesday, May 7 at the JW Marriott Nashville. Brown will be honored alongside fellow 2019 Breakthrough Artist Bebe Rexha, and joins the ranks of past winners including Julia Michaels, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Maren Morris, Nicki Minaj, John Legend, and Carrie Underwood, among others.

SIGNING BUZZ

Sony Music Nashville has announced today the new signing of ROBERT COUNTS to its roster. Counts’ first two releases “Backseat Driver” and “Someone in My Someday” are available now at all streaming platforms and digital retailers. He has writing credits on both tracks, co-penning “Backseat Driver” with Nicolette Hayford and Matt Willis, while Daniel Ross and Laura Veltz were co-writers on the latter. Dann Huff and Jimmy Ritchey served as co-producers.

Country music quartet Gone West-comprised of 2X Grammy Award Winner Colbie Caillat, multi-platinum singer/ songwriter Jason Reeves, 4X Hawaii Music Award Winner Justin Kawika Young and ACM/CMT nominated artist Nelly Joy-have officially signed with Triple Tigers Records to release their highly-anticipated debut EP, TIDES, (Triple Tigers Records) out everywhere today. Featuring an “intoxicating mix The Reviver Entertainment Group is proud to announce the signing of multi-instrumental songwriter & producer Alex Kline to its publishing division. Alex served as co-producer on Australian artist Adam Brand’s No. 1 country album Get On Your Feet, and co-wrote Ronnie Dunn’s 2016 hit “Damn Drunk.” A testament to her musical prowess, Alex has also produced for and written with country music stalwarts like Rascal Flatts, Reba, Mason Ramsey, and Bill Anderson.

Singer/Songwriter Tucker Beathard has signed a major recording deal with Warner Music Nashville. Beathard inked the contract following the independent release of the first installment of his debut double album, NOBODY’S EVERYTHING. The album saw Beathard “bare his soul” (Billboard), as he became the only country artist to release a debut double album. The second chapter will be released in the coming months on Warner Music Nashville.

River House Artists announce the signing of singer/ songwriter Jameson Rodgers to River House Artists/Columbia Nashville. In conjunction with the signing of Rodgers, Sony Music Nashville and River House Artists officially announce their exclusive, long-term joint-venture agreement, effective immediately. Their first collaboration commenced when multi-Platinum artist Luke Combs inked a deal in 2016 to record for the River House Artists and Columbia Nashville imprints.

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Alecia Arnall

is an edgy singer/ songwriter who’s passionate performances captivate her audiences while taking them on a personal journey with every song she sings. New single “Reintroducing Me”

coming soon! Go follow & check out her music page for sneak peak!