Brandy Clark, Brett James,
Chris Stapleton, and Lee Ann Womack Share the Stories Behind Their Hit Songs
NASHVILLE – The CMA
Songwriters Series returns for its tenth season
with the announcement that the first shows of 2014 will be at the world famous
Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22 and
23. For
a decade, the CMA Songwriters Series has been exposing fans across the country
and the globe to the artisans who, through their craft, pen hits that touch the
lives of millions of music fans. The January performances of the Sundance ASCAP
Music Café’s CMA Songwriters Spotlight will feature special guests Brandy Clark, Brett James, Chris Stapleton, and Lee Ann Womack. “We are honored that the CMA Songwriters
Spotlight will be a highlight of the Sundance ASCAP Music Café, an official
part of the Sundance Film Festival calendar,” said Sarah Trahern,
CMA Chief Executive Officer. “Nashville’s songwriters are among the most talented
storytellers in the world and with the Sundance Film Festival being the world’s
premier stage for storytellers, I cannot think of a more appropriate setting to
launch the tenth year of this series.” In its
10-year history, the CMA Songwriter Series has presented more than 75 shows in
13 cities, including Austin, Belfast, Chicago, Dublin, London, Los Angeles, New
York, Paris, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. at the renowned Library of Congress. The series has featured hundreds of music’s most gifted storytellers.
CMA Triple Play Award winner, CMA Board member, and Songwriters Hall of Fame member Bob DiPiero has championed and hosted the series since
its launch in 2005 at Joe’s Pub in New York City. “CMA Songwriters Series has become
the premier event to showcase the Nashville songwriting community,” said DiPiero.
“We
have reached a tipping point, in that fans are starting to understand the role
of the songwriter in the success of their favorite artists. We are grateful to
all of the artists that have performed on the series through the past 10 years,
but it is the songwriter, the ‘invisible star,’ the storytellers and song
makers that the CMA Songwriters Series celebrates. We have become musical ambassadors,
spreading the hillbilly Gospel.” Some of the artists
that have been part of the series over the decade-long run include Dierks Bentley, Clint Black, Kix Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington,
Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert,
Little Big Town, Patty Loveless, Ronnie Milsap, Kip Moore, David Lee Murphy, Gretchen
Peters, Kellie Pickler, The Band Perry, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, Phil Vassar,
and Chris Young. Through CMA’s partnership with ASCAP, some of Country Music’s premier
storytelling talent will present two feature performances as part of the official
Sundance Festival calendar at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café’s CMA Songwriters
Spotlight. Both shows will feature Clark, James, Stapleton, and Womack. The shows
will be on Jan. 22 and 23 at 4:00
PM/MT each day at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café. Clark epitomizes the artistry of the Country Music songwriter. Her debut
record 12 Stories made
a big impact on the year-end “Best Of” lists. Spin
Magazine included “Take A Little Pill” on their Top 50 Songs
of 2013, and also included “Follow Your Arrow,” which Clark wrote with Kacey Musgraves and Shane
McAnally. “Just Like Him” was featured in NPR’s
Favorite Song of 2013 and 12 Stories came
in at No. 27 on American Songwriter’s Top
Albums of 2013. Rolling Stone describes
it as “airtight craftsmanship, sly wit and precise detailing.” She was nominated
for a CMA Song of the Year Award in 2013 for Lambert’s hit “Mama’s Broken
Heart.”
An esteemed member of the CMA Board, James has
had numerous chart successes including “When the Sun Goes Down” recorded by Chesney and Uncle
Kracker, and “Jesus Take the Wheel” recorded by Underwood, which also
won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song. “It’s
America” recorded by Rodney Atkins, “Out Last Night” recorded by Chesney, and “Cowboy Casanova” recorded by Underwood, all co-written
by James, also topped the Country charts as well as “The Truth” recorded by Jason Aldean and “The Man I Want to Be” recorded by Young. ASCAP named James
their Country songwriter of the year in 2006 and again in 2010. Other artists
who have recorded his works include Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet
Boys, Bon Jovi, and Paulina
Rubio.
Stapleton has written four No. 1 songs
including the five-week smash “Never Wanted Nothing More” recorded by Chesney,
“Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” recorded by Strait, and “Come Back Song”
recorded by Darius Rucker. More
than 150 of Stapleton’s songs have appeared on albums by such artists as Adele, Bentley, Tim
McGraw, and Brad Paisley, and he has several notable co-writers including Sheryl Crow,
Peter Frampton, and Vince
Gill. As a member of The SteelDrivers, Stapleton earned three Grammy
Award nominations including Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with
Vocals for the song “Where Rainbows Never Die” and Best Bluegrass Album. He won
the International Bluegrass Music Association Award for Emerging Artist of
the Year in 2009, as well as six ASCAP Awards.
Womack is a six-time CMA Award winner who has sold more than five
million albums and recorded numerous hits including “A Little Past Little Rock,”
“The Fool,” “I May Hate Myself in the Morning,” and “I Hope You Dance,” which
won CMA Song and Single of the Year Awards in 2000. Aside from being a hit singer,
Womack also is an accomplished songwriter, having penned, most notably, “Good
News, Bad News,” a duet with fellow Texan George Strait that
won the CMA Musical Event of the Year Award in 2005. Following an auspicious launch at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café, the
CMA Songwriters Series will return on Feb. 11 and 12 to Joe’s Pub in New York
City, the sight of its first concerts in 2005. Additional shows in 2014 will tentatively
include Austin, Chicago, Nashville, and New York with talent and show dates to
be announced at a later time.
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