Award Winners Kacey Musgraves and Shane McAnally will be Joined by Hit Songwriter Josh Osborne
the CMA Foundation
NASHVILLE – The critically-acclaimed CMA Songwriters Series
returns to Austin to make its official South by Southwest Festival debut at the
Paramount Theatre Saturday, March 19
(8:00 PM/CT). The lineup consists of 2014 CMA Song of the Year Award winners Kacey
Musgraves and Shane McAnally, who will be joined by
hit songwriter and two-time CMA Awards nominee Josh Osborne.
“This trio of writers
represents the highest echelon of talent for the current era of Country Music,”
said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “CMA is excited
to partner with another prestigious festival like South by Southwest and expose
different audiences to the incredible songwriting talent in the Country community.”
2016 marks the 50th
Anniversary of the CMA Awards and with a combined 23 CMA Award nominations, including
nine for Song of the Year, these writers embody the recent history of Country Music’s Biggest Night™.
The day of their Songwriters
Series performance, Musgraves and McAnally will meet with local children on behalf
of the CMA Foundation. The pair will host a songwriting Q&A session and perform
for the group at the future home of the Austin chapter of Foundation beneficiary
program Notes for Notes. The CMA Foundation focuses on improving and sustaining
music education programs everywhere, while supporting worthwhile causes important to CMA.
Musgraves is a 12-time
CMA Awards nominee who claimed trophies for New Artist (2013) and Song of the
Year (2014) for penning her hit “Follow Your Arrow,” which Rolling Stone
listed at No. 39 on their list of 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. A Texas-native
and Nashville-based singer/songwriter, Musgraves released her Mercury Records
Nashville debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, in the
spring of 2013 to massive critical acclaim and recognition. The album, which
she co-produced with McAnally and Luke Laird, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s
Top Country Albums chart making her the first solo female in five years
to open at No. 1 with a rookie release, and just seventh in the 22-year Nielson
SoundScan era. The Gold album includes her Top 10, Platinum single “Merry Go ‘Round”
and Gold hit “Follow Your Arrow.”
Last year, Musgraves released her highly-anticipated
sophomore album, Pageant Material, on June 23, and it debuted at No.
1 on the Billboard Country albums chart and No.3 on the Billboard
200. Musgraves co-wrote all tracks on the album and also co-produced, teaming
up again with McAnally and Laird. Pageant Material includes debut single
“Biscuits” and “Dime Store Cowgirl.” The album has been met with
massive critical acclaim and recognition from press outlets all over the world.
Her recent tour, “The Kacey Musgraves Country & Western Rhinestone Review,”
launched this past August and sold-out famous venues all over the world, including
the famed Royal Albert Hall in London. The spring leg of the tour began Jan. 21
in Dallas.
McAnally has written and produced hits with well-known artists including
Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Hunt, Lady Antebellum, Musgraves,
Jake Owen, Reba, and many more. He has received nine CMA Awards nominations and
six Grammy nods, and in 2014, he was awarded CMA Song of the Year, along with
fellow co-writer Musgraves, for “Follow Your Arrow.” He also took home two
Grammys in 2014 for collaborations with Musgraves, including Best Country Album
for Same Trailer Different Park and Best Country Song for “Merry Go
‘Round.” In 2015, McAnally was named the top Songwriter of the Year on the Billboard Hot
Country list and was tapped as one of Billboard’s Nashville Power Players.
McAnally is a CMA Board member and a four-time recipient of CMA’s coveted Triple
Play Award for penning three No. 1 songs in a 12 month period (12 total).
Osborne’s work has been
recorded by Dierks Bentley, Chesney, Faith Hill, Hunt, Tim McGraw, and Blake Shelton,
among many others. The two-time CMA Awards nominee’s hit singles include “Sangria”
(Shelton), “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (Keith Urban), and his first
No. 1 song “Come Over” (Chesney). With 10 No. 1s and multiple awards under
his belt, including a Grammy for “Merry Go ‘Round” and an ASCAP Award, Osborne
most recently received recognition from the CMA for his second Triple Play Award,
celebrating No. 1 songs “Leave The Night On” and “Take Your Time” recorded
by Hunt; and “Wild Child,” performed by Chesney and Grace Potter.
The CMA Songwriters Series
is in its 12th season kicking off the first show of this year at indigo
at The O2 in London during the C2C Festival. Since 2005, the CMA Songwriters Series
has presented more than 90 shows in 15 cities including Austin, Belfast, Chicago,
Dublin, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. at
the renowned Library of Congress.
The CMA Songwriters Series continues reaching audiences nationwide
through a partnership between CMA and public television’s acclaimed series “Front
and Center.” To date, 11 episodes have been taped and air nationwide on public
television (check local listings). One episode features McAnally alongside Brandy
Clark, Bob DiPiero, and Charlie Worsham. Other episodes collectively feature Bentley,
Ronnie Dunn, Brett Eldredge, Evans, Hunter Hayes, Lady Antebellum, Little Big
Town, Kip Moore, Martina McBride, Darius Rucker, Steven Tyler, and their many songwriter collaborators.
CMA Songwriters Series
at South by Southwest will be held Saturday,
March 19 (8:00 PM/CT) at the Paramount Theatre. This showcase will be open
to SXSW Music and Platinum badge-holders, and Music and Showcasing Artist wristband-holders.
Limited tickets will go on sale Thursday,
March 10. The Paramount Theatre is located at 713 Congress Ave., Austin,
Texas 78701. Their box office can be reached at (512) 472-5470. For more information
on the CMA Songwriters Series, visit CMAsongwritersseries.com.