Ten Year Town

Originally from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, Steve Moakler is an artist and songwriter signed to Creative Nation. He has written songs for Dierks Bentley, Ben Rector, Jake Owen, Reba McEntire, and many more. His song “Riser,” recorded by Dierks Bentley, was the title track and a single on Dierks’ 7th studio album and is RIAA Certified Gold. In addition to his songwriting success, Steve releases his...

Lily Rose is a singer and songwriter originally from Atlanta, Georgia. She caught her big break when her song “Villain” went viral in late 2020 and led to her signing a record deal with Big Loud, Back Blocks Music, and Republic Records. Since then, Lily has toured with Sam Hunt, Shania Twain, and more and is slated to release her EP Runnin Out Of Time on May 10th. In this episode, we discuss Lily’...

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Tiera Kennedy is an artist and songwriter currently signed to Songs & Daughters, the publishing company of Nicolle Galyon. Additionally, she is the host of the Tiera Show on Apple Music Country. Recently, Tiera was featured on Beyoncé’s #1 Album ‘Cowboy Carter’. On this episode, Tiera shares her journey, from moving to Nashville and signing a publishing dea...

Corey Kent is a songwriter and artist originally from Bixby, Oklahoma. He is currently signed as an artist at Sony Music Nashville and is published by Combustion Music. His first #1 song “Wild As Her” went certified platinum and has amassed nearly 450 million on-demand streams. In this episode, we discuss Corey’s journey as he’s moved back and forth from Texas to Tennessee over the years, the infl...

Haley Montgomery is the Director of Industry Relations and Awards at the Academy of Country Music (ACM). Haley got her start in the music business doing merchandise on the road for Danielle Bradbery, and has had stops at the CMA, The Grand Ole Opry, is now at the ACM. Outside of work, Haley is a mother and one of the founders of Family Alliance in Music (FAM) which works to encourage a welcoming e...

RaeLynn is a songwriter and country music artist originally from Baytown, Texas. Twice nominated for ACM Female Vocalist of the year, RaeLynn has amassed over one billion career streams. Her single “God Made Girls” is certified Platinum and her songs “Love Triangle” and “Lonely Call” are both certified Gold. In addition to her success as an artist, she is the author of a children’s book titled “Ra...

Dave Cohen is an award-winning session musician and producer currently signed as a songwriter to Spirit Music Nashville. Originally from Calgary, Canada, Dave has played on over 50 #1 records and has co-produced songs for Morgan Wallen, Hardy, Jake Owen, Chris Lane, and many more. In addition to his producer and session musician credits, he is a 3x ACM Award Winner for Keyboard Player of the Year....

Colt Ford is a hit songwriter, country music artist, and former professional golfer. Originally from Athens, GA, Colt has written #1 songs for Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, and George Birge. His song “Dirt Road Anthem” went on to become one of the biggest country songs of the 2010s. As an artist, Colt has collaborated with Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and more. In addition to his succes...

Trey Lewis is a singer and songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. Currently based in Nashville, he is signed as a writer to Sony Music Publishing and as an artist at River House Artists. His viral hit “D***ed Down In Dallas as released in 2020 and went on to become his first platinum single. As a writer, Trey had his songs cut by major country artists including Tracy Lawrence and Cole Swindell.   In...

Jaren Johnston is a hit songwriter and a member of the country rock band The Cadillac Three. Originally from Nashville, Jaren has written #1 songs for artists like Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Jake Owen, Billy Currington and more. He is currently signed as a writer at Sony Music Publishing and is signed as an artist at Big Machine Label Group. In addition to his songwriting, producing, and touring, Ja...

Allison Veltz Cruz is a singer and songwriter signed to Universal Music Publishing. Born in Alabama, Allison grew up in a musical family and toured in a family band before setting out on her own songwriter journey. In 2011, she took a leap of faith and moved from New York City to Nashville to sign  a publishing deal. Since then, Allison has gone on to write songs for some of Country’s biggest star...

Jody Williams is a publisher and music executive born and raised in Nashville. Throughout his 40+ year career, Jody has been a champion for songwriters and awarded the 2023 CMA Songwriter Advocate Award. He is currently serving at the helm of his company, Jody Williams Songs, which is home to songwriters including Natalie Hemby, Vince Gill, Ashley McBryde, Driver Williams and more.  With an extens...

This week’s guest @robbairdmusic is a songwriter and artist originally from Memphis, TN and currently located in Austin, TX. Rob has five studio records under his belt and has had songs featured in the TV show “Nashville” and “Yellowstone”. His music has been critically acclaimed in outlets such as Billboard, NPR, Rolling Stone and more. In this episode, we discuss how Rob has carved his own path...

Originally from Fairfax, VA, Sam Sumser is a songwriter signed to Reservoir. He has had cuts with Lizzo, Jason Durelo, Chris Brown, Mitchell Tenpenny, the Plain White T’s, Breland and more.  In this episode, we discuss his journey from LA to Nashville, the differences between the two, writing with Lizzo, being a good person, what success looks like, and many other stop along the way.  New Episodes...

In this inaugural episode of the Ten Year Town Book Club, we bring back Nashville songwriter Jimi Bell to talk about Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way Of Being.  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 features Jimi Bell, a si...

Originally from Lawrence, Kansas, Ashley Ray is a songwriter and artist currently signed to Lady Fairchild Publishing and Warner Chappell Music. She has had cuts with numerous artists including Lori McKenna, Charles Kelley, Little Big Town, Ruston Kelly, and more. In addition to her songwriting success, she has recorded and released three studio albums, including her most recent titled “Animal” re...

Jerry Flowers is a musician and songwriter originally from Pinch, West Virginia. He is currently the bass player and musical director for Keith Urban, and has toured with the Chicks, Counting Crows, and many others. In addition to his success as a musician, he is an accomplished songwriter and has written #1 songs for Billy Currington, Jason Aldean, Sam Hunt and Ryan Hurd.  In this epiosde we talk...

Originally from Philadelphia, Mississippi, Michael Hardy, more popularly known as HARDY, is a hit country music songwriter and artist. In addition to his own #1 songs including “Wait in the Truck” and “One Beer”, he has also penned songs for Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line and many more.  Additionally, HARDY is a partner at his publishing company Relative Music G...

Luke Laird  is a Grammy award-winning songwriter and producer originally from Hartstown, Pennsylvania. In addition to two Grammys, Luke has written over 20 #1 Billboard singles, has production credits with Kacey Musgraves, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and more, and was named both BMI and ACM’s Songwriter of the Year.  On this episode, Luke shares his journey from Pennsylvania to Middle Tennessee State U...

Jessi Alexander is a Nashville country music songwriter and artist originally from Jackson, TN. She has written songs for many major label artists including Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, Patty Loveless and many more. Her song “I Drive Your Truck” - which was recorded by Lee Brice - won song of the year at both the CMA and ACM awards in 2013. In addition to her country songwriting success, Jessi is...

This week's episode is a rewind from episode 7 where we welcomed our first publisher-guest Courtney Allen!  Courtney is a Senior Director of A&R at Concord Music. As a music publisher, she pitches and provides support for many talented songwriters in Nashville including Russell Dickerson, Corey Crowder, Hillary Lindsey, Justin Wilson, Ruston Kelly and more. Courtney shares how she works w...

Buy "The War of Art" here: https://amzn.to/3RQ62EJ In this extra special holiday episode of Ten Year Town, host Troy Cartwright covers (breifly) one of his all time favorite books about the creator's journey.  New Episodes every Tuesday. Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter , Instagram .  Social Channels for Ten Year Town: Youtube Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok This podcast w...

Aaron Eshuis is a songwriter and producer originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan currently signed to Concord Music Publishing. Aaron has written songs for Rascall Flats, Joe Nichols, Cole Swindell, Ryan Hurd, and Scotty McCreery. He had his first No. 1, “this is it”, with McCreery in 2018.  In addition to his songwriting career, Aaron has produced records for Ryan Hurd, Scotty McCreery and others. In...

Currently residing in Los Angeles, Zac Barnett is a songwriter and the lead singer of the band American Authors. Having met while attending Berklee College of Music, Zac and his bandmates have gone on to tour globally, earn over a billion streams, and their biggest hit “Best Day of My Life” is RIAA 3x certified platinum and featured in over 600 commercials and film. In this episode, Zac discusses...

Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Josh Jenkins is a Grammy-nominated hit songwriter and the lead singer of the band Green River Ordinance. He’s written songs for Walker Hayes, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Randy Houser, and many more. Recently, he was a co-writer on the 4x platinum hit “Fancy Like” recorded by Walker Hayes, and CMA Song of the Year “Buy Dirt” recorded by Jordan Davis. On this episo...