Ten Year Town

Tom Douglas is an ACM Award-Winning and Grammy nominated songwriter signed to Sony Music Publishing. Tom has had his songs cut by many legendary artists including Tim McGraw, Lady A, Keith Urban, Eric Church, and more. His song “The House That Built Me,” recorded by Miranda Lambert, went on to win the Song of the Decade Award at the Academy of Country Music Awards.  On this episode, Tom shares his...

Travis Wood is a songwriter originally from Beaverton, Ontario. Travis has had songs recorded by Morgan Wallen, Jake Owen, Corey Kent, Parmalee and many more. He is currently signed to Creative Nation and his song “I Ain’t Sayin”, recorded by Jordan Davis, is currently a single at country radio.  In this episode, we discuss Travis’ move from Canada to Nashville, how he picked up writing songs from...

Kelly Archer is a songwriter originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, and is currently signed as a writer with RED Creative and Sony Music. Kelly has written hits for many country artists, including number 1 songs with Brett Young, Justin Moore, Corey Kent, Travis Denning. Her song “I’m Gonna Love You”, recorded by Cody Johnson featuring Carrie Underwood, is Cody's current radio single. ...

Dylan Marlowe is a songwriter and country artist originally from Statesboro, Georgia. Dylan has toured with artists such as Hardy, Brantley Gilbert, Cole Swindell and Dan + Shay. In addition to his success as an artist, Dylan was a co-writer on Jon Pardi’s number 1 song “Last Night Lonely”. Dylan’s debut record, Mid-Twenties Crisis, is out this week via Sony Music Nashville. He is published by Dal...

Stephen Wilson Jr. is a country singer and songwriter originally from Southern Indiana. He is signed to Big Loud Records and has toured with HARDY, Brothers Osborne and more. Stephen’s debut album “Son of Dad” was released in September 2023 to critical acclaim. In addition to his success as an artist, Stephen has had cuts as a writer with Old Dominion, Brothers Osborne, Caitlyn Smith and others. ...

Ward Guenther is the founder of Whiskey Jam and the host of the Ward Guenther Show on Apple Music Country. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Ward started his journey in Nashville as a writer and musician. In 2011, Ward founded Whiskey Jam as a full band alternative to the traditional acoustic rounds in town. Whiskey Jam has since logged over 1,000 shows, with over 3,500 artists. On this episode,...

Katie Fagan is a music publisher originally from Indiana. Katie got her start in publishing as an intern at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing in LA, and soon began working as an assistant to Dr. Luke, founder of Prescription Songs. Katie later moved to Nashville to open Prescription’s first office outside of LA, and has since signed a number of hit songwriters including Lauren LaRue and Malibu Babi...

Drew Baldridge is a county music singer and songwriter originally from Patoka, Illinois. He has toured with some of country’s biggest acts including Cole Swindell, Lee Brice, and more. This week, Drew became the first ever independent artist to achieve their first Number 1 song at country radio with “She’s Somebody’s Daughter”. On this episode, Drew shares his journey, from playing the label game...

Ryan Beaver is a country music artist and songwriter originally from Emory, Texas. Ryan has written songs for HARDY, Midland, Maddie & Tae, Parker McCollum, and many more. In addition to his songwriting success, he’s released several records including critically acclaimed “RX” in 2016. This year, Ryan celebrated his first #1 song “Pretty Little Poison” recorded by Warren Zeiders. In this episo...

Matt Paskert is a photographer and creative director currently based in Nashville. He has photographed Country Music’s biggest acts including Tim McGraw, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi, Florida Georgia Line and was nominated for the 2019 CMA Tour Photographer of the Year Award. Matt is currently the tour photographer for the Morgan Wallen “One Night At A Time Tour.” On this episode, Matt shares his journey,...

In this second episode of the Ten Year Town Book Club, we bring back Nashville songwriter Aaron Raitiere to talk about Charlie Mackesy's The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse The idea behind the Ten Year Town Book club is to provide a platform for previous guests to revisit and share with us a book that has made a profound impact on them and their careers as creatives.  This episode featu...

Originally from Danville, Kentucky, Aaron Raitiere is a grammy award-winning songwriter, performer, and visual artist. He has written songs for Anderson East, The Oak Ridge Boys, Whiskey Myers, Montgomery Gentry, and Lady Gaga. His song “I’ll Never Love Again” was a part of the movie A Star Is Born and earned Aaron a Grammy in the Best Song Written for Visual Media category.  *Programming Note: th...

Rocky Block is a songwriter born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. He has written songs for some of the biggest names in country music, including Morgan Wallen, Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, Cody Johnson, and more. In addition to his success in the country genre, he has cuts with artists like Teddy Swims, Flo Rida, Nelly, Lil Dirk and Post Malone. He is currently signed as a writer to Big Loud Publis...

“Trapper” John Morris is the SiriusXM Programmer for Y2K Country and The Highway. After starting in college radio at the University of North Texas, Trapper has spent the last 38 years working in radio with stops in Waco, Tyler, Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, and now Nashville. Trapper shares insight into the relationship between radio and country music, the type of data stations used to test new so...

Jillian Jacqueline is a country singer and songwriter originally from Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. Over her career, she has collaborated with Vince Gill, Kieth Urban, Charlie Worsham, and in 2022, released her debut album “Honestly.” In this episode, Jillian shares her journey, from touring in a family band as a kid, moving to Nashville after college to write songs, her tips for staying inspired...

BJ Hill, originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, is Senior Vice President of  A&R at Warner Chappell Music. BJ has signed some of your favorite songwriters including Nicolle Gaylon, Jordan Reynolds, Charles Kelley, Dan Smyers (of Dan + Shay) and many more. He has worked in A&R on both the label and publisher side and has been an advocate for songwriters in town for over 20 years. In this epis...

Clay Mills is a songwriter originally from Cleveland, Mississippi. He has penned #1 songs for Darius Rucker (“Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”), Diamond Rio (“Beautiful Mess”) and many more. He’s a two time GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and a 16-time ASCAP Award winning songwriter/producer. In addition to his songwriter accolades, he is the co-founder of the songwriting community SongTown.com (ht...

Adam Doleac is country music singer and songwriter originally from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He has amassed 370+ Million on-demand streams and his song “Famous” is RIAA certified gold. In addition to his success as an artist, Adam has had songs cut by Dan + Shay, Lainey Wilson, Kane Brown, Darius Rucker, and more. He is currently singed as a writer to Sony Music Publishing. On this episode, Adam s...

Jason Albers is a drummer originally from Midland, Texas and currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a founding member of the band Flatland Cavalry. Over the past 10 years, Flatland has released 4 studios albums, played 1,000’s of shows, and most recently was nominated for a 2024 ACM Award. In this episode, we discuss the origins of Flatland, being in a band and excelling at your role, o...

Chris DuBois is a hit songwriter and  award-winning publisher from Nashville. He has written numerous #1 songs, including “You Should Probably Leave” by Chris Stapleton, “Mud on The Tires” by Brad Paisley, and is a two-time recipient of the CMA Triple Play Award (three #1 songs in one year). In 1999, Chris co-founded Sea Gayle Music which went on to win the ASCAP Country Publisher of the Year awar...

Join the community at www.tenyeartown.com if you have a question of your own, submit it at tenyeartown.com. Q1: how do i find producers and musicians to make records? Q2: what is the best way for consumers to support songwriters? Q3: where do songwriters hang out in Nashville? Q4: how do I level up as a songwriter? Q5: has the music business changed? Q6: how do i become a studio musician? Q7: how...

Chris DuBois is a hit songwriter and  award-winning publisher from Nashville. He has written numerous #1 songs, including “You Should Probably Leave” by Chris Stapleton, “Mud on The Tires” by Brad Paisley, and is a two-time recipient of the CMA Triple Play Award (three #1 songs in one year). In 1999, Chris co-founded Sea Gayle Music which went on to win the ASCAP Country Publisher of the Year awar...

join the community at tenyeartown.com Here it is the, the long promised Q and A episode. Chapter Markers:  Q1 (2:15): If you lost all of your connections and identity, what would you do in the first month to start your career? Q2 (6:50): what are the main differences between LA and Nashville? Q3 (8:45): What does it take to be an artist?  Q4 (14:00): how do I get in “THE ZONE”? Q5 (17:50): How do...

Alysa Vanderheym is a songwriter and producer originally from the San Fransico Bay Area, and is currently signed to Rhythm House Music. She has been a part of several massive hits including “Lose Somebody” by Kygo and One Republic, “Cold Beer Calling My Name” recorded by Jameson Rodgers and Luke Combs, and “Heartfirst” by Kelsea Ballerina. In addition to her songwriting success, she was nominated...

David Nail is a country singer and songwriter originally from Kennett, Missouri. David has had multiple chart-topping singles including “Let It Rain,” “Whatever She’s Got,” and “Turning Home” which was nominated for the 2011 GRAMMY Awards.  In this episode we discuss David’s path, from baseball player to country singer, getting dropped and signed again at the very same label, his chart success and...