Ten Year Town

Originally from a Shreveport, Louisiana, Jacob Davis is a hit songwriter currently signed to Universal Music Publishing. Jacob has written songs for major label artists including Jake Owen, Kolby Cooper, Greylan James, and his brother Jordan Davis. Jacob’s latest radio number one “Buy Dirt” (recorded by Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan) earned him a CMA award for Song of the Year. This episode original...

Host Troy Cartwright and Producer Ben (Ben VanMaarth) sit down to answer to answer our Ten Year Town community submitted questions. In this episode, we discuss what a Nashville co-write is like, battling comparison, protecting your intellectual property, writing by hand vs. writing on your phone, questions about AI and many other stops along the way. If you've got a question, you can submit y...

Josh Crutchmer is a music journalist and author originally from Stillwater, Oklahoma. Josh is a writer and planning editor for the New York Times and a contributor to Rolling Stone. He is set to release his 3rd book, Red Dirt Unplugged, on December 13th. In this episode, we discuss Josh’s journey from Oklahoma to the New York Times, why music journalism is important, the stories behind red dirt le...

This episode features our host Troy Cartwright's interview on the SongTown Podcast. Learn more about SongTown at https://songtown.com/ . "Today’s guest Troy Cartwright (Singer-songwriter/ Host of the Ten Year Town Podcast) reveals his journey through a major label record deal, leaving that, and finding indie streaming success. Now he calls his own creative shots, crushing it with songs l...

Nick Wheeler is a songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of the band “The All-American Rejects.” Originally from Stillwater, Oklahoma, Nick wrote some of the early 2000s’ biggest hits, including “Swing, Swing,” “Move Along,” “Gives You Hell,” and others. In addition to his work with the band, Nick operates and produces out of his Wheelhouse Studio in Nashville. In this episode, Nick shares why he l...

Travis Denning is an artist and songwriter originally from Warner Robbins, Georgia. Known for his creative storytelling in songs like “David Ashley Parker from Powder Springs” (certified Gold) and his first #1 song “After A Few” (certified Platinum), he has had additional success as a songwriter with cuts on Jason Aldean, Justin Moore, Chase Rice, Cody Johnson, and more. He is currently published...

Marv Green is a grammy nominated songwriter and singer originally from Southern California. Over the course of his multi-decade career, he has had cuts with legendary artists such as George Strait, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Morgan Wallen and many, many others. His song “Amazed” recorded by Lonestar won the BMI Award for song of the year. Currently, he is signed to Warner Chappell Music and Red Door...

Harry Miree is a professional drummer originally from Birmingham, Alabama. Harry has toured with acts like Hardy, LoCash, Lindsay Ell, Ryan Follies and many, many more. He is also well known in the drumming community for his popular YouTube channel. Currently, he is the Music Director and touring drummer for Hardy. In this episode, Harry returns to Ten Year Town to discuss all that goes into creat...

Tofer Brown is a GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and producer originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Tofer has written songs for artists like Jon Pardi, Little Big Town, Lauren Daigle, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Carly Pearce and many others. He is currently signed to Concord Music Publishing.  In this episode, Tofer shares his journey, from transferring to Belmont University and then dropping out after onl...

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...