Tin Pan South: Songwriters Take the Stage at The Country in Nashville

From now through April 10, Music City Arts Network will be posting coverage and tweeting out messages about this year's Tin Pan South songwriting festival. Follow us http://www.Twitter.com/MusicCityArts and http://www.Facebook.com/MusicCityArts. Please share your TPS experiences with us.

Tuesday: First Show at The Country

Featuring: Jonathan Singleton, Jessi Alexander, Josh Thompson, Cary Barlowe, Maddie & Fae

Report from MCAU Contributing Writer Wil Comstock

       My first time at this fun new venue. Great corner stage and sound. Plenty of craft beers on tap. And a surprise for all those taking a trip to the restroom. The sinks are in the hallway outside of the men’s and women’s rooms. Boys wash their hands with the girls are watching!

       Standing Room Only Crowd for this show!  Highlights included Jonathan Singleton’s “Night’s on Fire”, “A Guy Walks in a Bar”, The Josh Tuner cut “Why Don’t We Just Dance”, and the Tim McGraw hit that bought him a farm in Ashland City, “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools”. 

Jonathan, Jessi and Josh perform their songs at The Country (Photo by Wil Comstock)

       Jessi Alexander looked divine in a red Indian print dress delivering “Mine Will Be You”, a song about regrets, “Damn Country Music”, “Drink on It”, and her inspirational first big cut, “The Climb” recorded by Miley Cyrus. 

       Josh Thompson treated us to “Match”, the newly recorded “Ask Any Barstool” by Jason Aldean, “For All the Wrong Reasons”, and “John Wayne, Johnny Cash, and John Deere”. 

       Cary Barlowe and his pretty damn-good guitar chops played ”Where It’s At”, “It Don’t Hurt Like it Use To”, and “American Honey”, which Lady Antebellum took to the top. Cary and Shy Carter were writing at Major Bobs when in walked Billy Currington, a former Major Bob writer.  Billy asked what they were up to, and they penned Billy’s hit, “It Don’t Hurt Like it Used To”.  

       Surprise guests Maddie and Fae, who both just turned 21, harmonized on “Downside of Growing Up”, “On the Way Down”, and the song that got Big Machine’s attention, “Girl in a Country Song”.

       Jonathan, Jessi, Josh and Cary are all friends. They write together, hang together, and have lots of fun together, on stage and off!

Songwriters perform at The Country during Tin Pan South (Photo by Wil Comstock)