Stories Behind the Songs

Jenn Schott joins us today on the Listening Room stage for this week's episode of Stories Behind the Songs! Jenn is a true TLR OG, she's been playing our stage since the Franklin and 2nd Avenue days.  She’s a seasoned songwriter here in Nashville, and it was so cool to hear more about her journey to where she is now and her many incredible accomplishments - cuts with Tim McGraw and Micke...

Justin Ebach is this week’s guest on Stories Behind the Songs. Justin has done so much so far in his songwriting career – he was named SESAC songwriter of the year TWICE and won the CMA Triple Play Award in 2019. If you’re not sure what that is, a CMA Triple Play Award is given to songwriters who have secured three #1 hits within a 12-month period. This is insanely impressive and not easy to accom...

This week we’ve got Michael Lotten with us on Stories Behind the Songs. Michael moved to Nashville when he was around 22 from Missouri and started off working in restaurants and playing in cover bands. He’s going to talk about the song that got him his first publishing deal in town “ Alcohol You Later ” by Mitchel Tenpenny , writing with Tenpenny before either of them had deals, and the many cuts...

We’ve got UK artist Twinnie with us this week on the podcast! Twinnie is from England and made the move to Nashville just last year to pursue a career in country music. She comes from a long background of performing from growing up on stages in musical theatre to acting in movies and backup dancing for iconic artists like Robin Thicke and Pharell Williams.   Twinnie is going to dive into how she s...

We’ve got Josh Phililips with us on the Listening Room stage for this week’s brand new episode of Stories Behind the Songs. Josh's journey began listening to the artists that he now has regular cuts with including Jason Aldean and Brantley Gilbert. His career began singing at biker bars in North Carolina until he landed a spot playing local gigs with Luke Combs. What would soon become a colla...

Hey friends! We are back with another episode of Stories Behind the Songs and this week we sit down with Chris DeStefano! Chris has written songs for so many amazing artists like Luke Bryan, Chase Rice, Dan and Shay, Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, Morgan Evans, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Jake Owen, Thomas Rhett, Jason Mraz – JUST to name a few... I mean the list goes on and on....

Here we are with another episode of Stories Behind the Songs and we are sitting down with my good buddy Josh Melton this week! Josh has an incredible story that is extremely inspiring. If you are an aspiring musician or songwriter thinking about moving to Nashville, this episode is for you. He shares some truly wild stories about his initial arrival in Nashville and all the hardships he had to thr...

This week we have Gina Venier with us! Gina is actually our January 2024 Listening Room Unsigned Artist of the Month and we are so excited we get to spotlight her this week and dive deeper into her career and stories. Gina moved to Nashville about 10 years ago and from the start has been putting in the work networking, co-writing, and building her community. You’re going to hear the story behind h...

Hey Guys - Chris Blair here and I am SO excited for this episode because today marks one year of Stories Behind the Songs ! We have loved getting to sit down with so many incredible songwriters, artists, and industry icons. We can't wait to see what this next year holds... Today, to help celebrate our 1 year anniversary, we’ve got Hannah Ellis with us! Hannah started songwriting after she lis...

Alright everyone, here's another episode of Stories Behind the Songs and this week Chris Blair sits down with singer/songwriter Ben Williams! Ben has played at The Listening Room in Nashville, TN quite a bit in the last couple months where he has shared some of the stories behind his songs, but today we are going to dive even deeper into those stories – taking a look at some of his hits for M...

We’ve got Julia Cole on the podcast this week! From singing for sports events growing up in Houston and winning singing competitions to moving to Nashville cutting demos and learning how to write music, Julia takes us through the highs and lows of her music career. We’re going to talk about her Grand Ole Opry debut, navigating a breakup publicly, and how she was able to transform those feelings an...

On this week's episode of Stories Behind the Songs, we have the incredibly talented songwriter, Marla Cannon-Goodman. Marla is more than a seasoned songwriter as she has had a very productive career that began with her first cut for Sammy Kershaw in 1996. She grew up in the industry, writing poems since she was young, and learning from her dad - Buddy Cannon - who is also an iconic songwriter...

Welcome to another episode of Stories Behind the Songs. This week, we're joined by Adam James. Adam has been in Nashville since 2009 and shares some of his experiences in the industry with us, including co-writing Kenny Chesney's #1 hit "Knowing You" with Brett James and Kat Higgins. Adam takes us into the writing room, discusses the process of coming up with the concept, and r...

Welcome to another episode of Stories Behind the Songs with Chris Blair ! This week we are sitting down with Blake Pendergrass. From North Carolina, Blake has been in Nashville since 2013 with a very productive 10 years of experience built up. Blake talks about his first connections here in Nashville leading to him getting his first cut in town for Morgan Wallen ... His breakthrough came with “865...

Hi everyone! Chris Blair here with another episode of Stories Behind the Songs. My guest this week is the amazing Adam Sanders. Adam has played the Listening Room stage quite a bit throughout the years, has written tons of songs for some great artists, and makes music of his own with an EP entitled “Like It’s Your Last” out now and a full album being released on February 2nd. Like most of our gues...

Happy new year everyone! And welcome to another episode of Stories Behind the Songs. We are really excited to kick off 2024 with Mae Estes! Mae was one of our Listening Room Unsigned Artists of the Month and since that time just several months ago, she’s now got a record deal with Big Machine. You’re gonna hear the full story of Mae’s journey in Nashville and how she went from writing with her fir...

Hey guys – Chris Blair here with another episode of Stories Behind the Songs and this week hit songwriter Gordie Sampson is joining us. From Nova Scotia, Canada, Gordie started as a producer and singer-songwriter. Within a year of moving to Nashville, Gordie wrote a song you might have heard before... And that song is “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. You’re going to hear the full story...

Welcome to another episode of Stories Behind the Songs! This week we sat down with Marv Green – Marv has cuts for pretty much anyone you can think of - LoneStar, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, George Strait, Brooks and Dunn, Sara Evans, Morgan Wallen, Bon Jovi, Blake Shelton, Dustin Lynch, Chris Young, Lee Brice, Dierks Bentley. And this doesn’t even come close to the full list. Marv moved out to Nashvil...

Welcome to another episode of Stories Behind the Songs! This week we are with singer/songwriter Eric Van Houten . From Buffalo, NY, Eric makes songs with a country-rock sound and writes from a place of passion and authenticity. He has several singles out on Spotify and gives us the story behind “Lucky Me” off of his debut album “Dreamers”. Eric has been playing at the Listening Room for some time...

Welcome to another episode of Stories Behind the Songs with Chris Blair! In this week's episode, we took a trip to my home state of Missouri close to where I grew up to sit down with Randy Davis! Randy was Tim McGraw 's first drummer and spent years on the road playing for some iconic artists. He talks about stories from the road, the downsides and best parts of touring, and how he now o...

Welcome to another episode of Stories Behind the Songs. This week we are joined by Chad Warrix and David Tolliver of Halfway to Hazard. Man – this episode was a blast to film. These guys are legends in the music industry. They kicked off their career touring with Tim McGraw , Faith Hill , Taylor Swift , Jason Aldean , and more. You’re going to hear all sorts of their stories from being on the road...

Hey everybody – welcome to another episode of Stories Behind the Songs. This week, Chris Blair sits down with the one, the only Taylor Austin Dye. From East Kentucky, Taylor moved to Nashville in 2018. Starting off as a homebody and a solo writer, Taylor has grown immensely across the board with her socials, streams, and fan base the 'Ride or Dye's.' Taylor just released her debut a...

Welcome to Stories Behind the Songs podcast! This week, Chris Blair sat down in "the listening room" at Sony Music Publishing  with president and CEO, Rusty Gaston. They have a "listening room" at Sony where they meet daily to listen to every song their writers wrote the previous day - it was very cool! You’ve probably heard our other guest mention their publishers in previous...

Welcome to Storied Behind the Songs Podcast! In this episode, we are joined by Brooke and Jack, a country-based female duo also known as - Trailer Flowers. Their tight harmonies and empowering lyrics give them a unique edge in the country music world. You might have seen them on America’s Got Talent singing “Who You Are”, one they wrote to encourage listeners that they are enough. They also have a...

Welcome to a very special Halloween episode of Stories Behind the Songs where Chris Blair is dressed up as Hannah Montana and the incredibly talented, indie pop singer/songwriter, Bonner Black is dressed up as Billy Ray Cyrus! On this week’s episode, we're about to uncover the fascinating story behind Bonner's musical journey. Bonner grew up thinking she would have a career in dance as a...