Faren Rachels joins us for this week’s new episode of Stories Behind the Songs!

Faren has been a longtime friend and co-writer of Lainey Wilson and has several cuts with her including “Weak-End” and “This One’s Gonna Cost Me” off of her 2022 breakout album, Bell Bottom Country. 

In this week's episode, Faren also talks about some of the songs that she’s released herself like her powerful 2023 single, “The Rug” written with Austin Goodloe and Lydia Vaughan. She shares about not wanting to be a part of the “artist rat race”, getting a FaceTime call from Lainey right after winning a Grammy while sitting on the sofa in a facemask, going on tour with Luke Combs where she played with Brantley Gilbert and Willie Nelson, playing arena shows in a writers’ round format, and developing her very own Nashville songwriters’ girls club. 

Don’t miss Faren’s upcoming September shows at The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville, TN to hear her amazing songs like “The Rug” and the stories behind them.

Podcast Show Notes:

Faren's TikTok - @FarenRachels

Faren's Intagram - @FarenRachels

Faren's YouTube - @FarenRachels

Faren's music on Spotify - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

And thanks, as always, to our sponsors! We appreciate the support from Sennheiser, Imperfect Aesthetician & Alclair In-Ear Monitors

We’ve got Sammy Arriaga on this week’s brand new episode of Stories Behind the Songs! I’ve known Sammy for over 10 years, and it was such a good time to catch up with him today. 

Sammy and I talk about his 2021 album release, Boots x Beats, which features songs like “COUNTRY SIDE” and “take my phone.” Sammy goes into how the Miami music scene he was raised in with heavy R&B and EDM influences meshed with the storytelling of country music to create the unique sound he has today. 

We dive into his recent single, “The Boat”, which he shares the story behind and plays a verse/ chorus of. Sammy plays several other songs including “COUNTRY SIDE,” one of his popular Spanish covers, and a fan-favorite unreleased track. 

In this week’s episode, we also discuss 615 House, his recent tour of the U.K. with fellow rising country artist, Gareth, how to maintain artistic integrity while also writing for sound bites and short attention spans (using the example of Ella Langley and Riley Green’s smash hit, “you look like you love me”), how the title of his 2016 EP, Banjos ‘n’ Bongos, doubles as his motto as an artist, and the amazing advice he would give to his younger self - to lead with humanity over ambition as a songwriter.

If you enjoyed this week’s episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s our passion to share the Stories Behind the Songs, and it’s because of listeners like you that we are able to continue doing it.

It was great sitting down with Sammy - enjoy!

Podcast Show Notes:

Sammy's TikTok - @SammyArriaga

Sammy's Instagram - @SammyArriaga

Sammy's YouTube - @SammyArriaga

Sammy's Website - SammyArriaga.com

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs   ⁠

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs   ⁠

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs   ⁠

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ⁠ChrisBlair.com⁠   ⁠

The Listening Room's Website - ⁠ListeningRoomCafe.com⁠  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe   ⁠

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe   ⁠

And thanks to our sponsors!

Sennheiser - ⁠https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us⁠

Imperfect Aesthetician - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/⁠

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - ⁠https://alclair.com/⁠

#SBTSongs

I’m so excited to have my good buddy Brian White on this week’s episode of the Stories Behind the Songs podcast!

Brian White’s career in music has spanned over many decades and many genres - he got his start in Christian and gospel music and toured for about 15 years doing that. He eventually fell in love with the storytelling of country music and has become a true legend here in Music City.

Brian not only has plenty of hits to his name, but he’s written more than a few country classics as well. Some of my personal favorite cuts of his that we cover in this episode are “Watching You” released by Rodney Atkins, “Blame It On You” by Jason Aldean and “Roll On Mississippi” by Charley Pride.

He also has cuts with Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, and Gary Allan and Christian cuts like “Holding Out Hope To You” released by Michael English and “The Promise” by The Martins.

In this episode, Brian and I also talk about the difference between CCM and country songwriting, starting out as a youth pastor following God’s calling for his life, and, as usual, the stories behind the songs!

I’ve wanted to have Brian on the podcast for a longtime - in a lot of ways, he is a big reason that The Listening Room is where it is today. He was the one who organized the fundraiser in the early days when we were struggling that was a turning point for us and in turn also played a role in inspiring our "Sound Good. Do Good." program that gives back to non-profits every month.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s our mission to share the Stories Behind the Songs and highlight the songwriters behind the stories, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to do it.

Alright, here’s my good friend, Brian White!

Podcast Show Notes:

Brian's Website - HERE

Brian's NSAI page - HERE

Brian's Instagram - @BWTunes

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

And thanks to our sponsors!

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - https://alclair.com/

We’ve got Rocky Block with us for this week’s new episode of Stories Behind the Songs!

I have known Rocky for years because I was close friends with his father and it’s been so cool to watch his career take off, from playing bass on a cruise line to having several top 40 hits, all within just a few years.

It seems like Rocky has a writing credit on every hit single and #1 album lately. He’s collaborated with some of the biggest names in country music and has too many great cuts to list, but a few highlights include: “Can’t Help Myself” by Dean Brody, “Man Made a Bar” by Morgan Wallen and Eric Church, “Cowgirls” by Morgan Wallen and Ernest, “Broadway Girls” by Morgan and Lil Durk, “Whiskey Bent” by Cody Johnson and Jelly Roll and other cuts such as “Hammer to the Heart” with Teddy Swims who he says is not only a “generational talent” but also just a super nice guy.

In this episode, we also cover his collaborations with Larry Fleet and Ashley Gorley, signing with Big Loud Publishing, writing “Jupiter” with Georgia Webster, being a fan of the artists he’s in the writer’s rooms with, and finding inspiration with new co-writers.

He also gives us a quick performance of “Cowgirls”, and as always, we get to hear the story behind it - the idea for this one came from the TV show, Yellowstone!

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. We are passionate about sharing the Stories Behind the Songs and getting to know the songwriters behind the stories, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

And thanks to our sponsors for all that you do for us! We appreciate you! More on our sponsors and other links below...

Podcast Show Notes:

Rocky's Instagram - @RockyBlock

Rocky's Apple Music Playlist - click here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

Our Sponsors:

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - https://alclair.com/

Jordan Feliz, GMA Dove Awards Winner and Platinum selling Christian artist, joins us for this week’s Stories Behind the Songs!

Jordan has definitely come a long way in the industry. He started his career in Nashville working as a valet to make ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck. We actually met for the first time while he was doing the valet here at The Listening Room. Jordan talks about how this exposed him to meeting so many other talented musicians that worked here and played the stage.

Jordan’s first ever release, “The River,” was also his first #1 song - crazy! He’s gonna talk about how the song idea came from a verse-of-the-day notification on his Bible app and how he wrote it with Colby Wedgeworth, Jeff Pardo, and Joe Silverberg. In the co-write, they talked about the Bible verse for hours but once they started writing, the song came together in just 45 minutes.

“The River” spent 15 weeks at #1 on Christian charts which is so impressive and very difficult to pull off - especially in Christian music - and this just goes to show what a great song it is and how much it speaks to its listeners.

In this episode, we also cover Jordan’s calling to Christian music, starting out leading worship at youth group, the complexities of Christian radio, writing a song for The Chosen Christmas movie, life on the road as an artist, having features with legendary Christian artists like Lecrae and Toby Mac, and his upcoming single “Praise God for That.” Which is coming out In just a couple weeks on June 21!

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue bringing the Stories Behind the Songs from legends in the industry.

Quick shoutout to Sennheiser, Imperfect Aesthetician and Alclair In Ears for sponsoring us. We appreciate your love and support!

It was so good to have him here - he’s a favorite in my family so I’m extra excited to share this one with y’all - here’s my friend, Jordan Feliz.

Podcast Show Notes:

Jordan's Facebook - @JordanFelizMusic

Jordan's Instagram - @JordanFeliz

Jordan's Website - JordanFeliz.com

Jordan's Music on Spotify - here

Jordan's Music on Apple - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

Singer/Songwriter Brian Fuller joins us on Stories Behind the Songs this week!

Brian moved to Nashville young and hungry in 2021 and has been all over town since then. He was one of Chris Blair's Unsigned Artist of the Month back in October 2023 and since then has landed a major cut with “I Could Be That Rain” for Randall King and a pub deal with Sony Music Publishing. Side note, if you haven't heard the behind the scenes from a publisher's input, check out our episode we did with Rusty Gaston, President/CEO of Sony Music Publishing.

Brian recently released the song “Blue Skies Beautiful,” written with Brandon Kinney, and he just released a song on May 24th that he wrote with Joey Hyde and Justin Wilson called “That Girl Can Drive.” Definitely give that song a listen anywhere you find your music - it's a great one… At The Listening Room, we’re all about supporting the songwriters behind the songs our favorite artists are putting out, but it’s always fun talking to someone like Brian who is killing it at both songwriting AND artistry.

In this episode, we’ll also take a dive into Brian’s favorite lyrics from his song - “Blue Skies Beautiful,” his love/ hate relationship with the “oversaturated” music industry, and figuring out how to say something that’s been said a thousand times in a new way when he's writing a song. As usual, we also get to hear Brian play some of “I Could Be That Rain” and “Blue Skies Beautiful.”

Make sure to check out Brian’s single that just came out, and if you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends, give us a follow, and check out our SBTS Spotify playlist - highlighting the songs written by our podcast guests. We are passionate about sharing the stories behind the songs and highlighting the writers with those stories, and we need your support to keep going!

A big shout out to our sponsors as well! Sennheiser Microphones, Bose, Imperfect Aesthetician & Alclair In Ears - we appreciate your support! Make sure to use our code SBTSongs for 10% off at checkout!

Let’s get to it - this is Brian Fuller.

Podcast Show Notes:

Brian's Instagram - @BrianFullerMusic

Brian's TikTok - @BrianFullerMusic

Brian's New Single "That Girl Can Drive" - Available HERE

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

Emily Landis is here with us this week on Stories Behind the Songs! It was so good to have her onstage with us.

Emily is killing it right now after being in Nashville for 12 years - she has recent cuts with artists like Tiera Kennedy, Dylan Scott and Gabby Barrett. She got her first #1 hit with Gabby Barrett’s “The Good Ones” written back in 2018 which ended up getting multiple CMA noms for Song and Single of the Year. You’ll hear how this song started with just a title and was almost trashed - we’re very glad she didn't do that! We also go over “Stuck In My Ways” - one she wrote for Lauren Watkins who is the current opener for Morgan Wallen. This song’s writing process began similarly to “The Good Ones” and has an awesome story behind it.

While sitting together this week, we also discussed Emily losing her first pub deal with Big Machine which motivated her to make more contacts, play more rounds and get her name around Music Row. We cover the story behind “Chasin’ Tornados” - written with Jamie Moore and Lainey Wilson, and Emily answered the question - melody or lyric first when she's writing songs? And, as always, Emily performs a couple of her songs for us - “The Good Ones” and “Chasin’ Tornados.”

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It is our mission to bring you the Stories Behind the Songs from the songwriters themselves and it's because of YOU that we get to keep going.

Let’s jump in - here’s Emily Landis.

Podcast Show Notes:

Emily's TikTok - @emily_landis

Emily's Instagram - @emily_landis

Emily's Apple Music Playlist - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

And thanks to our sponsors! We couldn't do it without the support of Sennheiser, Imperfect Aesthetician & Alclair In-Ear Monitors

We’ve got Brice Long with us on the podcast this week. Brice has enjoyed a successful 25+ year music career. As a songwriter he has had over 100 of his songs cut with artists such as Garth Brooks, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Hank Williams Jr, Randy Houser, Josh Turner, Reba McEntire, Gary Allan, Cody Johnson, Chris Young, Jon Pardi, Easton Corbin, Lainey Wilson, Casey James, Darryl Worley, Randy Travis, Gretchen Wilson, John Michael Montgomery, Porter Wagoner and many more.

Brice has tons of wisdom to share when it comes to getting a start in music city. This is a guy who started off struggling to pay his bills and has come full circle with several hits for major artists and his own foundation which he created to give back to the community.

This week, we focus on the stories behind "Nothing On But the Radio" by Gary Allan, "Heartache on the Dance Floor" by Jon Pardi, and "Like A Cowboy" by Randy Houser. 

Brice had a record deal with RCA and got dropped, but secured a #1 with Gary Allen that same year. He talks about his collaboration with Jon Pardi on several songs, emphasizing hard work and the importance of jumping on a good opportunity. On this episode, we also cover his work with Randy Houser, including the CMA-nominated "Like A Cowboy," opening many doors and his foundation, "Back to Back," helping over 150 families in the community. Brice is extremely humble and throughout the episode, consistently credits God mixed with hard work for his success.

If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and check out our Stories Behind the Songs playlist to hear more of the songs Brice has written throughout his career. 

We also want to shout-out our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of 10% off by placing an order at alclair.com/sbtsongs!

Alright, let’s get to it - here is Brice Long. 

Podcast Show Notes:

Brice's Instagram - @BriceLongSongs

Brice's Website - BriceLongMusic.com

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

Davis Loose joins us today and man I have loved getting to know him these past couple years. I met Davis when he was just 16 at the St Augustine’s songwriter’s festival. I host this festival every year out in Florida and the year I met Davis I was genuinely surprised by how talented he was. He is a fantastic songwriter and performer so when I heard he was thinking about making the move to Nashville, I told him he'd have a job at the Listening Room. Davis has been in town for just 2 years now and during that time he has - grown his network to writing with guys like Mark Irwin, went from serving tables here at the Listening Room to playing our main stage, writing a song that made its way to American Idol, and puts in the work writing 5 days a week. Davis has one single out so far titled - John Deere Tractor Beer and tells the story behind this one and plays a piece of it for us. Davis is young and fresh in Music City and has a lot of great work left to do. Right now, he has the opening slot on Randy Houser’s upcoming tour, is continuing to play songwriters festivals, and continues to write and build his camp with some iconic songwriters here in town. We had a lot of fun during this one and are so excited to introduce you to one of Nashville’s up-and-comers. You can find Davis on Instagram @davisloose and be sure to check out his recent release “John Deere Tractor Beer” anywhere you get your music. It's a great one. If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and click that notification button to stay up to date when new episodes are released. We also want to shout-out our sponsors Sennheiser, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of 10% off by placing an order at alclair.com/sbtsongs! Alright, let’s go - here is Davis Loose! Podcast Show Notes: Davis' Instagram - @DavisLoose Davis' YouTube - @davisloose And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here: Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe

#SBTSongs

Well this week took a turn! As I was sitting down ready to interview Davis Loose (who I did end up interviewing and his episode comes out next week!) my staff had tricked me and he took over the interview! It was a surprise and I wasn't sure how it would go, but we had a lot of fun. So on this episode, you get to hear more about me...Chris Blair. You'll hear how I got into music, what moved me to Nashville and how I ended up starting The Listening Room. You'll hear the struggles I went through in the beginning and what I did to overcome those. It's a little of the story behind me and TLR - so I hope you enjoy it! As always, a big shoutout to our sponsors: Sennheiser Microphones, Imperfect Aesthetician and Alclair In-ears. We have a new discount for Alclair, so if you need a great set of in-ear monitors check out Alclair.com/sbtsongs. And follow us (and me), here: Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe #sbtsongs

Jordan Dozzi joins us this week on Stories Behind the Songs! Jordan landed his very first number one on the charts ~ just this week actually ~ with Morgan Wallen! “Man Made A Bar” - written by Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet, Rocky Block, and Brett Tyler - was originally meant to be released by Larry Fleet. In this episode, we learn how Morgan heard it, loved it, and RELEASED it himself - sending it up the charts to number 1. Jordan’s catalog of songs includes - “Things I Take For Granted” for Larry Fleet, “Get The Girl” for Seaforth, “Fine By Me” for Chase Matthews, “It Don't, He Won't, You Do” for Jake Owen, and a song for Nelly - which was his very first cut ever - CRAZY! We take a look at the stories behind all of these songs and as always - we get to hear Jordan play a couple of them. 

Also discussed in this episode: Jordan’s upbringing in Australia, the logistics of pursuing music as an Australian citizen in the US, making music signed under Big Loud and the type of community that comes with that, and he came in with Ernests’s guitar because his girlfriend stole his. It was a Cole Clark and I definitely had to give it a play before he left…

If you liked this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It is our mission to bring you the Stories Behind the Songs from the songwriters themselves and it's because of YOU that we get to keep going.

Let’s get to it - this is Jordan Dozzi.

Podcast Show Notes:

Jordan's Apple Playlist - here

Jordan's Instagram - @JordanDozzi

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

And thanks to our sponsors! Sennheiser Microphones, Imperfect Aesthetician & Alclair In-Ear Monitors! Check out Alclair.com/SBTSongs to get 10% off your order!

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 Mickey Guyton, playing the Ryman stage, and a placement on NSAI’s “Top 10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” list, to name a few. She recently got a cut on Rascal Flatts’ most recent album release, How They Remember You, with “Feel It In The Morning.” 

It was awesome to hear how Jenn went from handing out resumes on Music Row to being the VP on the board of NSAI. In this episode, she offers up some excellent advice for aspiring songwriters that was passed down from one of her journalism professors at Mizzou. Here’s the takeaway - don’t wait to make the move to Nashville; follow your gut and do it now. 

If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and check out Jenn’s socials to keep up with what she’s got going on.  

We also want to shout-out our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of 10% off by placing an order at alclair.com/sbtsongs!

Alright, let’s go - here’s Jenn Schott. 

Podcast Show Notes:

Jenn's Instagram - @JennSchott

Jenn's Website - JennSchott.com

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

Today marks exactly 1-1/2 years since we re-launched the Stories Behind the Songs Podcast. So, we thought we'd take you back to our very first episode with the amazing and beautiful Carly Pearce!

Carly has been a very good friend for many years and when I originally had this idea to do this podcast, Carly was my very first guest and she had just put her first single out to radio. This was February of 2017! It’s funny to see how far we have come with video quality since then and I had a lot less gray hair (haha) but since we have been doing this for 78 weeks in a row now, I thought I would dive into the archives and share this beautiful story from Carly.

She talks about how she got started from being listed in Rolling Stone as a top 10 artist to watch, her first single with the Josh Abbot Band “wasn’t that drunk” and when we recorded this episode it was a week after her debut single Every Little Thing.

Since then she has obviously come so far and I feel like I’m constantly sending her texts about how proud I am of her. I hope you enjoy this special throwback episode, hearing more of Carly’s story from the beginning, hearing her talk about Busbee who was her producer and just an industry icon that unfortunately passed away back in September 2019, and the story behind every little thing and more.

Carly, I’m so proud of you and you’re absolutely crushing it. I hope everyone out there loves this and continues to support us here on the podcast, share it with all of your friends and make sure to go see Carly in concert and support her incredible career! And maybe we will get her in here again soon to talk about everything going on now and how the last 7 years has been. Here is my dear friend on this special throwback episode, Carly Pearce.

Podcast Show Notes:

Carly's website - CarlyPearce.com

Carly's Instagram - @CarlyPearce

Carly's TikTok - @CarlyPearce

Carly's YouTube - @CarlyPearce

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

And thanks to our amazing sponsors!

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - https://alclair.com/

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 accomplish. We are going to dive into those three number ones and more on this week’s episode!

Justin has so many cuts and a good handful of those made it to number one – a few of his number one hits include “Here Tonight” by Brett Young, “Down to One” by Luke Bryan, “Good Girl” by Dustin Lynch, “Singles You Up” by Jordan Davis, and “When I Pray For You” by Dan and Shay. 

Justin takes us behind the scenes of so many cool stories in this episode and we can’t wait for you to hear them.

Give us a follow to stay up to date when new episodes drop with some of Nashville’s greatest and let us know what you think! If there are any specific stories, artists, or songwriters you’d like to hear – shoot us a DM! We love connecting you with the Stories Behind the Songs.

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!  

Alright – let's get into it... This is Justin Ebach!

Podcast Show Notes:

Justin's Instagram - @EbachMusic

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 that followed.

You’ll hear the stories behind “Mommas House” for Dustin Lynch, “Money on Me” and “Last Drive Down Main” for Morgan Wallen, and “Mistake” for Chris Lane. We dig into the meaning behind Mistake and look closer at the lyrics – this one was so cool to take apart and dissect.

Michael also talks about his most recent cut which was just released on March 1. We take a deep dive into this one too looking at some of the lyrics that took this song from the writer’s room to Keith Urban...

Check out Michael Lotten in the liner notes below and give us a follow if you enjoyed this episode and tell your friends! It’s because of your support that we are able to sit down on the Listening Room stage and dive deeper into the stories that make up some of country music’s best songs.

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Let’s get to it – this is Michael Lotten.

Podcast Show Notes:

Michael's Intagram - @MichaelLotten

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 started her career in Nashville, making connections wherever she could – Jamey Johnson being one of those connections – and takes us into the stories behind her songs, The Way I Loved You, her EP Just Like Earle (based off of Goodbye Earle by the Chicks), and her most recent release Take a Break. We talk about the importance of relationships and how they have formed her into who she is today...

Twinnie was also just named 2024 Next Women of Country – she takes us to the moment when she found out about it, how she thought she was being asked to just play a show, but was pleasantly surprised that it would be much more than that... If you’re not sure what it is, CMT’s Next Women of Country highlights a lineup of women who are making great music and accomplishing awesome things in the industry. They highlight women across all of the CMT screens, providing them with several other opportunities throughout the year... Twinnie is more than deserving of this honor – keep an eye out for her!

Apart from touring and writing music, Twinnie has started her own non-profit called “I Know A Woman” designed to connect female artists to opportunities in the industry. It was a joy sitting down with Twinnie and we can’t wait to see what she has coming up next.

Make sure to stream Twinnie wherever you find your music and give us a follow if you enjoyed this episode. We want to know your feedback! If there are any stories, questions, or artists you’d like to see on the podcast, let us know! Shoot us a DM on instagram or tik tok @sbtsongs and we will do our best to incorporate your suggestions!

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!   

Let’s get to it – this is Twinnie!

Show Notes:

Twinnie's TikTok - @TwinnieOfficial

Twinnie's Instagram - @TwinnieOfficial

Twinnie's Other Links - Here!

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 collaborative duo, Josh and Luke started taking monthly trips to Nashville where they frequently played at some of Nashville’s bars like Winners and Losers. Josh talks about how outside of Winner's bar Luke said to him, “Man, our angels are working overtime.” Co-written by Josh Phillips, Luke Combs, and Josh Thompson, “Angels Workin’ Overtime” now has over 35 million streams on Spotify. Josh and I talk about this song in our conversation, as well as how this was a pivotal moment in his career.

After flipping an early 20th century farmhouse with his wife, Josh wrote “Dirt Cheap,” and we discuss how this song went from a frustrating indefinite hold to becoming a Cody Johnson (and TLR!) favorite. (If you love “Dirt Cheap,” thank Josh’s wife, Jordan - it was her idea to send the song to Cody in the first place!)

In this episode, Josh and I also go through the exciting process of his first publishing deal at Warner/Chappell Music, co-signed with Brantley Gilbert. We wrap it up with some hard-earned advice from Josh to aspiring writers - keep doing what you’re doing - and to himself - keep playing that guitar.

If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and check out Josh’s socials to stay current with what he’s got in the works. We also want to shout-out our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Show Notes:

Josh's Instagram - @imjoshphillips

Josh's Spotify Link - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE   https://linktr.ee/sbtsongs

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs   https://www.tiktok.com/@sbtsongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs   https://www.instagram.com/sbtsongs/

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs   https://www.youtube.com/@SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic   https://www.instagram.com/chrisblairmusic/

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com   https://www.chrisblair.com/

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com   https://www.listeningroomcafe.com/

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe   https://www.instagram.com/listeningroomcafe/

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe   https://www.tiktok.com/@listeningroomcafe

#SBTSongs

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. Chris is not only an incredible writer, but he is an amazing guitar player and has a great voice... If you’ve never seen him live or play at the Listening Room, you are going to hear exactly what I mean later in this episode when he plays a couple of his songs...

Chris came to Nashville from New Jersey back in 2013 and started to hit the ground running with his first write in town turning into a cut for Eli Young Band. Chris has been dedicated to his music since the beginning spending 10 – 12 hours a day learning guitar and traveling with his choir group growing up... Moving to Nashville was a no brainer for him.

We cover topics like the difference between the songwriting community in Nashville and LA, a deep dive into several of his cuts including “Something in the Water” and “Good Girl” for Carrie Underwood, “I Feel Like Dancing” for Jason Mraz, “Rewind” for Rascal Flatts, and his cut for Chris Young - “End of a Bar”.

Chris takes us into the writer’s room with Carrie Underwood and Chris Young – you’re going to feel like you were there with them that day – these are incredible stories.

We also touch on his publishing company “Winsongs” and Chris discusses how he started it and how it has taken off since, with writers like Emily Shackleton, Jason Duke, and Eric Van Houten on the roster – and all of them have found their way on this podcast.

Give Chris a follow in the liner notes below to stay up to date and give us a follow if you enjoyed the episode – we are able to sit down with amazing songwriters and artists thanks to your support!

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Alright lets get to it – here is my buddy Chris DeStefano!

SHOW NOTES:

Chris' #1 songs include Carrie Underwood ("Good Girl”, “Little Toy Guns”, “Smoke Break”, “Something in the Water”, Super Bowl LII and 2018 Olympic Games Theme Song “The Champion"), Dan + Shay (“From the Ground Up”, “Nothin’ Like You"), Jason Aldean (“Just Gettin’ Started”), Billy Currington (“Hey Girl”), Brett Eldredge (“Don’t Ya”), Luke Bryan (“That’s My Kind of Night”, “Kick the Dust Up"), Miranda Lambert (“Somethin’ Bad” [w-Carrie Underwood]), Chris Young (“Losing Sleep”, "At the End of a Bar" feat. Mitchell Tenpenny), Morgan Evans (“Kiss Somebody”) and Rascal Flatts (“Rewind”), Tyler Rich “Leave Her Wild” (XM The Highway #1) and Chase Rice ("Eyes On You"), “I Feel Like Dancing” (Jason Mraz)

Some of Chris' Awards include 2022 ACM Album of the Year Nominee - Chris Young (Famous Friends) Producer, 3x CMA Triple Play Award winner, 3x Grammy Award Winning - Carrie Underwood - “Something in the Water”, “Somethin’ Bad”(w/Miranda Lambert) and Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” Album, FBI Citizens Academy Graduate 2018, MCEF (Marine Corpse Executive Forum) Graduate 2021, Depart of Defense JCOC (Joint Civilian Orientation Conference) Graduate 2022 and has been an active Emergency Backup Goaltender for the National Hockey League - Nashville Predators!

Follow Chris on Instagram - @ChrisDeStefano

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 through chasing the dream.

Originally from Ohio, Josh takes us through the many ups and downs he experienced when he first moved to Nashville, how he got his first publishing deal, met his wife playing bars on Broadway, and everything else that led to his first number 1 with Dylan Scott’s “Can’t Have Mine”. He’s going to take us into the writer’s room with this one and discusses what it was like hearing that song go number one while on Thanksgiving with his family – this was such a cool story.

Apart from being a songwriter, Josh releases music of his own and plays a portion of his song “Empty Bottles” for us. I remember being at The Listening Room the first time he played that - or at least the first time I heard it - and as a dad myself I just loved the song immediately. Josh has more music coming out in the coming months, with plans to tour at festivals all through the summer. Josh has an incredible voice and tells stories through his songs in a really unique way – give him a listen anywhere you stream music and check him out! You can also find all his information in the liner notes below to stay up to date with his new projects.

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Lets get to it – this is Josh Melton.

Show Notes:

Josh's TikTok -

Josh's Instagram - @JoshMeltonMusic

Josh's YouTube - @JoshMeltonMusic

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 her most recent release “Nora Jane” as we break down some of the lyrics. She’s also going to play a portion of it – if you enjoyed it, give it a stream. It’s a good one and her ability to tell her own story with this one is just incredible.

Gina also talks what it was like being invited by ASCAP to play a writer’s round and having tons of people resonate with her story, playing pride fest in Nashville, an Alicia Keys cover she recently released, and some new music she has coming out in March... You also may hear a sneak peak of “Don’t Come To My Show”, an unreleased song that will be coming out very soon.

Gina’s music has that country sound, but with more of an upbeat pop twist to it. She’s got several great songs already out including “50 Bucks” and “Good For You” available to stream anywhere you find your music!

We had a blast sitting down with Gina this week – if you enjoyed what you heard – give Gina a follow or check her out during a show at the Listening Room!

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a great set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Alright lets do it! This is Gina Venier

Show Notes:

Gina's Instagram - @GinaVenier

Gina's TikTok - @GinaVenier

Gina's Spotify Page - @GinaVenier

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 listened to Taylor Swift, looked up the song credits, and learned that she writes her own music. Inspired to pick up the pen herself, Hannah quickly found out that she had that passion for songwriting and eventually made the move to Nashville from Campbellsville, Kentucky.

Hannah’s first big cut was “Would You Love Me” on Russell Dickerson’s 2017 record, Yours. Since this cut, Hannah has toured with Carly Pearce, Gavin DeGraw, and Brett Young, performed at the Opry 8 times, and achieved her first top 50 single in 2023 with “Wine Country.”

That Girl, Hannah’s 2024 release through Curb Records, is her first full-length album, and it has already racked up millions of Spotify streams. She talks about how playing on The Listening Room stage (which she first visited back in her college days) helped her choose the songs for that very album. Her hope for this record is that it introduces listeners to the authentic Hannah Ellis and that they walk away feeling like old friends.

It has been such a joy to witness the growth of Hannah’s career here on the TLR stage, and it is even more fitting that she is the guest on our one year anniversary release!

If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and check out Hannah’s socials to see what she’s got coming up and stream "That Girl" anywhere you find your music.

We also want to shout-out our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Let's get to it, here is Hannah Ellis!

Podcast Show Notes:

Hannah's Website - HannahEllisMusic.com

Hannah's TikTok - @HannahGreyEllis

Hannah's Instagram - @HannahGreyEllis

Hannah's YouTube - @HannahGreyEllis

Hannah's Upcoming Shows - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 Megan Moroney and Avery Anna.

Ben started out in Nashville 7 years ago attending Belmont, before landing co-writes with smaller up-and-coming artist, Avery Anna. They ended up writing “Narcissist” which was his first cut AND first song to go to radio. Ben tells the story behind this one as well as how he met Megan Moroney...

You’ll hear the story behind his first co-write with Megan and the many writes that followed. Ben has 7 cuts off of Megan’s debut album which went #1 on Rolling Stone... He takes us into the writer’s room when they wrote “Tennessee Orange” and “I’m Not Pretty”. Ben also walks us through “Tennessee Orange” going #1 and the buzz that came from that – winning several awards, a CMA nomination, and how the song was going viral before it even came out – this was a very cool story to hear.

Ben also plays an unreleased track for us that he usually plays during his shows here at the listening room – this one is so good and has still not been cut yet – let us know what you thought in the comments and keep an eye out for Ben during a show here at the Listening Room.

If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and click the notification bell so you can stay up to date when we sit down with new songwriters!

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Let’s get into it – this is Ben Williams.

SHOW NOTES:

Ben's Instagram - @Ben.Williams.Music

Ben's TikTok - @Ben.Williams.Music

Ben's Publisher - Major Bob

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 and emotions into an amazing project. With two songs already out, “This Ring” and “Bulletproof”, Julia takes us through the process of writing that album and explains the inspiration and story behind each song.

We also cover what her experience was like with CMT, being named Next Woman of Country, touring in Dubai, co-writing with other songwriters, and how she markets herself in the industry without any major label – making her own graphics and music videos and building her brand on her own.

Keep an eye out for Julia’s new project set to come out in the beginning of April and give her a follow to stay up to date with everything she has going on..

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Podcast Show Notes:

Julia's Website - JuliaColeMusic.com

Julia's Instagram - @JuliaColeMusic

Julia's TikTok - @JuliaColeMusic

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

Jenna LaMaster is a talented up-and-coming singer-songwriter here in Nashville and if you haven’t heard of her yet, you definitely will soon. We loved having her on as this week's guest on Stories Behind the Songs Podcast! She started out in Nashville working 14 hour days at a ranch outside of town before signing a publishing deal at Shelter Music - which she signed mid-pandemic!

She has several cuts with Ashland Craft including “Your Momma Still Does”, written with Jonathan Singleton and released by Ashland back in 2021. Jenna also shares the story behind her own 2023 release, “Drunk Thoughts” which was written with Lee Star and Whitney Duncan. 

In this episode, we also talk about growing up in a competing rodeo family in Northern California, building her camp here in Music City with other female writers like Lainey Wilson and Faren Rachels, and learning how to decide which songs to keep for herself and which to offer up to other artists. Jenna also plays a verse/chorus of “Your Momma Still Does” and “Drunk Thoughts”.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends and give us a follow.  It’s our passion to share the Stories Behind the Songs, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

I loved getting to hear a bit more of Jenna’s story and can’t wait for y’all to hear it as well!

Podcast Show Notes:

Jenna's TikTok - @HeyItsJennaLaMaster

Jenna's Instagram - @JennaLaMaster

Jenna's Website - JennaLaMaster.com

Drunk Thoughts on Spotify, Apple Music & More

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

And thanks to our sponsors! Sennheiser Microphones, Alclair In-Ear monitors and Imperfect Aesthetician - we appreciate all of the support!

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/producer. She’s written “The Fool”, Lee Ann Womack’s #1 hit, “Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo” by Tracy Byrd, and “Cleaning This Gun” by Rodney Atkins. She tells us the full stories behind these songs while also touching on her cut with Blake Shelton, "Don’t Make Me.” She’s going to take us through writing "Unfair Weather Friend" for Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, how those two were going back and forth on who would get to cut the song, and how the song ended up staying with both of them on their "Django and Jimmie" duet album.

Over the last year, Marla has played and told some of these stories at the Listening Room quite a few times and we loved getting to dive even deeper today. She also shares unique insights into the evolution of music and reflects on being the daughter of someone like Buddy Cannon and how that affected her journey.

If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and check out Marla’s socials to stay up to date with what she’s working on.

We also want to shout-out our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Alright – let's get into it – this is Marla Cannon - Goodman!

Podcast Show Notes:

Follow Marla on Spotify - here

Marla's Instagram - @MarlaCGoodmanSongs

Marla's Facebook - @MarlaCannonGoodman

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

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 reflects on everything that unfolded after hearing the news this one would be cut by Kenny Chesney.

Adam also has notable cuts on Cody Johnson's new album, "Leather," with the songs "Double Down" and "Whiskey Bent". He talks about the excitement of hearing Cody cut these songs and dives into how Jelly Roll chose “Whiskey Bent” to feature on because he resonated with the material from the song. We also take a closer look at some of the lyrics from this song and Adam plays a small portion of it for us.

Adam has been consistently writing with a cut coming out on Randall King’s upcoming album, “Into the Neon” titled “Burns Like Her”. Give Adam a follow in the liner notes below to stay up to date with what he’s working on and, if you enjoyed the stories from this episode, give us a follow. We release brand new episodes every Tuesday.

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Podcast Show Notes:

Adam's Instagram - @_adamjames_

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

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”, track 5 on Morgan Wallen's “Dangerous” album, which he co-wrote on Zoom during COVID with John Byron. You’re gonna hear Blake talk about that song catching Morgan's attention which would lead him to a publishing deal and 8 more cuts for Morgan. Blake’s writing style resonates with artists like Morgan Wallen, Dustin Lynch, Jake Owen, Chase Rice, and Chris Lane. You’ll hear the stories behind several of his Morgan Wallen cuts, “Key West and Colorado”, a cut he has with Chase Rice, and an unreleased song called “One of the Ways”.

Coming up on three years since his first publishing deal, Blake discusses the challenges of songwriting in a competitive industry and the dynamics between Nashville's community-oriented culture compared to LA's strategic approach. We had a great time sitting down with Blake Pendergrass this week and learned a ton about where the industry is going and changing. Give Blake a follow in the liner notes below to stay up to date!

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off!

Alright, let’s GO – this is Blake Pendergrass.

Show Notes:

Blake's Instagram - @BlakeMcCoyPendergrass

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

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 guests, Adam is a songwriter here in Nashville with cuts for Cole Swindell, Dierks Bentley, Scotty McCreery, Dustin Lynch, Blake Shelton, and more. He was one of the writers on Cole Swindell’s “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey” which became his first number one. We’re going to talk about how he got his start in Nashville writing with Cole Swindell and Josh Martin before any of them made it big and takes us into the writers room when he wrote “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey”. You’ll also hear about the process of that song going to radio on the same week as “Hell of a Night” cut by Dustin Lynch. Apart from his successes as a songwriter, Adam talks about writing meaningful songs that tell a story and what his goals are in the industry going forward – both with writing songs for artists and making his own music. Keep an eye out for Adam’s new album out next month and give him a follow to stay up to date. If you enjoyed this episode of Stories Behind the Songs, please give us a follow and check that notification button so you can stay up to date with brand new episodes. We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of our code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off! Show Notes: Adam's Website - AdamSandersMusic.com Adam's TikTok - @AdamSandersMusic Adam's Instgram - @AdamSanders And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here: Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE   SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs   SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs   SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs   Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic   Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com   The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com   TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe   TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe   #SBTSongs

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 first crew of songwriters to getting signed and now starting her very first tour at the top of next year. Coming up on 9 years in music city, Mae is extremely hard working and writes her songs authentically. You’ll hear the stories behind her songs “Thinkin Bout Cheatin”, “Town Left Me” and the very first song she wrote when she moved here entitled “Thriftstore Heart” – unreleased but still so good. Mae has gained tons of wisdom from living in Nashville and has a special talent of knowing herself and what she brings to the table... We hope you enjoy this episode with Mae Estes as much as we did.

We also want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alciar In Ears – btw if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitior make sure to use code “SBTSONGS” at checkout for 10% off! AND if you enjoyed this episode, please give us a follow and click that notification button so you can stay up to date when new episodes are released. Make sure to check out Mae Estes’ recycled versions of her most recent songs “Thinkin Bout Cheatin” and “Town Left Me” anywhere you listen to music. Let’s get into it – this is Mae Estes.

Show Notes:

Mae's Website - MaeEstes.com

Mae's TikTok - @MaeEstes

Mae's Instagram - @MaeEstes

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

CB's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

#SBTSongs

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 behind that one and a couple others including “Knockin Boots” by Luke Bryan and “My Favorite Picture of You” a cut he has for Willie Nelson. Gordie also has cuts for Keith Urban, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and many more. Gordie also talks about writing with his camp of co-writers, building up the newer songwriters, and finding ways to give back. If you enjoy this episode, please give us a follow, click that notification button so you can stay up to date with new episodes, and tell your friends about us. We love getting to bring you the stories behind the songs – this is Gordie Sampson Show Notes: Godie's Instagram - @GordieSampson And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here: SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs STBSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic And thanks to our sponors! Sennheiser Microphones, Alclair In-Ear Monitors and Imperfect Aesthetician #SBTSongs

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 Nashville in ‘93 from California – it took him 5 months to get signed and then had his first number one after only 5 years in town. In this episode we talk about tons of stories behind songs he’s written for Morgan Wallen, George Strait, and Bon Jovi (just to name a few), the difference between Nashville in the 90's and Nashville today, tips for writing with great songwriters, how to build connections in the city and so much more. Marv has been working in the industry for a while now and is still actively writing and putting out hits.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a follow and let us know what you thought! As always, we appreciate all of your support and couldn’t be here without it – we hope you enjoy this episode – let’s get it this is Marv Green.

Show Notes/Links:

Marv's Instagram - @MarvoGreeno

Marv's Website - MarvGreen.com

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's website - ChrisBlair.com

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

The Listening Room's website - ListeningRoomCafe.com

The Listening Room's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe

And thanks to our sponsors - Alclair In-Ear Monitors, Sennheiser microphones and The Imperfect Aesthetician.

#SBTSongs

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 now, if you’ve been to a show there’s a good chance you’ve seen him play. We also got to talk about what it takes to be successful in this town, making connections with icons like Chase Rice and Chris Destefano, and the key to connecting with fans through the music. Eric has been in Nashville for about 10 years with an album in the works set to release next year. Keep an eye out for Eric on the Listening Room stage and listen to his music – you won’t be disappointed! If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a follow and let us know what you thought! We appreciate all of your continued support and couldn’t be here without you! Let’s get to it! This is Eric Van Houten.

Show Notes:

Eric's TikTok - @EricVanHouten

Eric's Instagram - @EricVanHouten

Eric's Facebook - @EricVanHoutenMusic

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

And to our sponsors, thanks! We appreciate you so much!

Sennheiser Microphones

Alclair In-ear Monitors

Imperfect Aesthetician

#SBTSongs

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 operates his dad’s business “Genes Country Club” where songwriters and artists can come to play located in Pevely, MO. Randy also owns a production company of his own, writes songs, and continues to show his passion for music through his business and connection to the industry. This little club was a blast to experience and it was so cool to hear Randy’s stories living in Nashville and his take on how the country music scene has changed throughout the years.

Thanks Randy for sharing a different perspective of the stories behind the songs this week - from the side of a band leader and drummer.

Thanks to everyone who continues to listen each week! We say it every week, but please share this with your followers on socials etc to help us grow this podcast! Don’t forget to give us a follow on Spotify, Apple Music, Google, etc and click that notification button so you can stay up to date with new episodes.

And thanks to our sponsors: Alclair In-Ear Systems, Sennheiser Microphones and The Imperfect Aesthetician.

Follow us on socials!

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

#SBTSongs

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 with Tim McGraw, their first number one with their debut single - “Daisy”, the many ways they continue to give back to their communities, and so much more. They also play a small piece of their song “Daisy” and wow their harmonies are some of the best in the business. Now – they are both continuing to stay active in the industry playing shows and writing songs. Keep an eye out for them on the Listening Room stage – if you enjoyed the stories in this episode or if it made you laugh as much as we did, share it with a friend! Your support is what keeps us going and we appreciate all of you. PLEASE follow us on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts! With that said – here is Halfway to Hazard. 

Show Notes:

H2H's Instagram: @HalfwayToHazard

H2H's TikTok - @HalfwayToHazard

H2H's Facebook - @HalfwayToHazard

David's Instagram - @DavidTolliverMusic

Chad's Instagram - @ChadWarrix

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

And to our sponsors, Alclair In-Ear Monitors, Sennheiser Microphones & The Imperfect Aesthetician - THANK YOU!

#SBTSongs

Rachel Thibodeau is this week’s guest on Stories Behind the Songs!

Rachel has not only written for some of the biggest names in country music but is also working with some of the most exciting up-and-coming talent in Nashville.

You may know her from her long-time collaborative relationship with Luke Bryan with whom she wrote Billy Currington’s massive hit, “Good Directions” on his 2005 album, Doin’ Somethin’ Right.

She also has several cuts with Martina McBride and is working to develop the incredible new artist, Styles Haury.

Rachel plays a verse/chorus of “Good Directions” and a sneak peak of Styles’ unreleased next single.

In this episode, we also talk about the one-on-one co-writing process with Luke Bryan, starting a publishing company with John and Martina McBride (just because she had the guts to ask!), recording at the legendary Blackbird Studios, mentoring young, female writers, and seeing her first #1 sign on Music Row for “Good Directions”.

If you enjoyed this week’s episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s because of listeners like you that we are able to continue sharing the Stories Behind the Songs.

We hope you enjoy this episode and follow Rachel Thibodeau!

Podcast Show Notes:

Rachel's Instagram - @RachelThibodeauMusic

Rachel's Website - Here

Rachel's LinkTree - Here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

And thanks to our sponsors!

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - https://alclair.com/

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 album “Out of These Hills” this past September and has been keeping herself busy touring and writing with some new releases set to come out before the end of the year. You can find Taylor on Instagram @tayloraustindye and make sure you check out her most recent radio single “Rest in Peace” and “Bible Belt” from her newest album anywhere you listen to music.

Don't forget to subscribe and share with your friends. We love getting to sit down with artists, songwriters, and everyone in between - to hear their stories is what keeps us going. We appreciate your support and thanks for Listening. 

Show Notes:

TAD's TikTok - @TaylorAustinDye

TAD's Instagram - @TaylorAustinDye

TAD's Website - TaylorAustinDye.com

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

And thanks to our sponsors - especially our newest sponsor - ALCLAIR IN-EAR SYSTEMS! We are so excited to have Alclair on board and you can receive 10% off your next set of in-ear monitors by using our code: SBTSongs

And as always, a big thank you to our other sponsors Sennheiser and The Imperfect Aesthetician for all of your support.

#SBTSongs

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 episodes. With several years of experience working in publishing, Rusty gives us the scoop on what a music publisher does and what his role consists of as the president of Sony Music Publishing. If you are an aspiring songwriter, established artist, or just someone who loves music this episode is for you. You will get to hear exclusive, behind-the-scenes stories from the writers’ rooms, interactions between country stars and icons, how the hits are formed, and everything in between. Rusty believes in championing and encouraging artists. You can feel how much he cares for these artists and songwriters just by sitting in the same room with him. You could even say that without Rusty, we wouldn’t have as many number-one hits out there... And what he's doing it working! He's been the recipient of many awards including 2023 Country Power Players Executive of the Year along with many of his writers/artists scooping up awards year after year like Cole SwindelI, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney, Ashley Gorley and countless more! Here's a full list of Sony Music Publishers songwriters.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did and like hearing a little spin on what we usually do this week when sitting down with a publisher instead of a songwriter or artist directly!

Let us know what you thought of this episode and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you find your podcasts.

Show Notes:

Sony Music Publishing Instagram: @SonyMusicPub

Sony Music Publishing Spotify: @SonyATVOfficial

Sony Music Publishing Webiste: here

Rusty Gaston's Instagram: @RustyGaston

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube: @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram: @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website: ChrisBlair.com

And thanks to our sponsors! We just got a brand new sponsor with Alclair In-Ear Monitor systems and we LOVE THEM! They have the most clear, amazing sound and we are pumped to have them on as a sponsor also giving 10% off to any of our listeners! Reach out for a special code or check out our SBTSongs Instagram page for the link/QR code. And a big thanks to our other sponsors, Sennheiser Microphones and The Imperfect Aesthetician.

#SBTSongs

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 single out called “Daughter of the King” anywhere you listen to music. In this episode, Jack and Brooke talk about fitting into an industry that is always changing and growing, balancing success with authenticity, and their next steps in music city. These girls are some of the most talented and genuine artists in Nashville. You can keep up with Trailer Flowers on instagram @trailerflowers. Make sure to subscribe to Stories Behind the Songs to stay up to date with new episodes and share with your friends. You’re the reason we can keep sitting down with exceptional songwriters and artists in the industry. We appreciate your support

Show Notes:

Trailer Flowers Instagram - @TrailerFlowers

Trailer Flowers TikTok - @TrailerFlowers

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

And thanks to our sponsors! We love y'all!

Sennheiser Microphones

Alclair In-Ear Monitors

Britt Skin Beauty Aestheticians

#SBTSongs

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 ballerina, but quickly developed a passion for songwriting and making her own music. During her high school years, she would take trips to and from Nashville to play shows, ended up dropping out of high school, and moving to Nashville at just 17 years old!

Bonner writes music with emotional lyrics while still incorporating an up- beat, dance like sound. in this episode, we talk about Bonner’s songwriting process, what inspires her, and how she stays motivated to keep hustling. With all the challenges that come with the music industry, Bonner never takes herself too seriously and stays true to her art through her music and online presence – I mean seriously you should check out her instagram – it will make you laugh.

Bonner’s most recent releases - “Catch 22” and “I’m Not Your Girl” show case her southern styled melodic choices mixed with that pop, upbeat production. They’re very catchy and are available to stream and download everywhere! With a new album set to release at the beginning of next year, Bonner will be releasing another single on November 28th entitled - “17” and there is a good chance you’ll hear a sneak peak of that song in this episode.

It was a blast sitting down with Billy Rae Cyrus – aka BONNER BLACK – in this week’s episode.

As always, remember to subscribe/follow/like, and support this podcast by hitting all of those like buttons wherever you listen and spreading the word to your friends! We love sitting down with new songwriters and artists - and everyone else involved in the music business - to hear their stories and the support from you all is what allows us to keep going. So, thanks!

Show Notes: Bonner's TikTok - @BonnerBlack

Bonner's Intagram - @BonnerBlack

Bonner's Spotify Link - here

Bonner's Apple Music Link - here And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast... SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com #SBTSongs And thanks to our sponsors Alclair In-ear monitors, Sennheiser microphones and Britt Skin Beauty!

The first single that Carly Pearce put out to radio as a solo artist was also her first #1 hit. That song, Every Little Thing, was written by this week's guest - the amazing and talented Emily Shackelton! In this episode, you'll hear how Emily grew up in a very small town in Minnesota surrounded by music. She was encouraged from a young age to pursue what she loves and quickly found out that it was songwriting. Emily tells us stories about how she doubted her career in Nashville many times but every time she did, she turned to her faith and the right doors were opened for her. After first moving to Nashville, Emily entered into a BMI songwriting competition and won! Emily also talks about the stories behind writing songs for ABC’s hit television show “Nashville”, starting a professional relationship with Liz Rose, and writing many other songs for Carly Pearce. She has also written songs for Reba McEntire, Jennifer Nettles, Sara Evans, Jana Kramer, Cassadee Pope, Lauren Alaina, Mickey Guyton, David Cook, Seth Ennis and more. When I asked Emily what advice she would give her 8-year-old self, knowing what she knows now, she said “keep going and trust god”. So cool and so true. Emily has a lot of exciting things happening now with two brand new songs of her own released - “Beloved” and “Our God Sustains”. You gotta check those out – they’re amazing. She also has many shows coming up and lots more cuts to keep an eye out for!

As always, remember to subscribe/follow/like and support this podcast by hitting all of those buttons where you listen and spreading the word to your friends so others can hear it! We love sitting down with new songwriters and artists - and everyone else involved in the music business - to hear their stories and the support from you all is what allows us to keep going. So, thanks!

Show Notes:

Follow Emily and her music here...

Emily's Instagram - @EmilyShackelton

Emily's Spotify Page - here

Emily's Apple Music Page - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here...

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

The Listening Room - ListeningRoomCafe.com

#SBTSongs

Thanks again for listening and for all the support! And thanks to our sponsors, Sennheiser Microphones and Britt Skin Beauty Aesthetician

In this episode, Chris Blair sat down with Cliff Cody. Originally from Odessa, TX (home of Friday Night Lights), Cliff played football but always loved music. He talks about how he transitioned from football to music full time, moved to Nashville at the age of 20, started writing some great songs and then moved to Key West to continue writing but also build an incredible brand as an artist himself. Cliff has written songs for Julie Roberts, Josh Thompson, Halfway to Hazard and more. You can see him playing regularly in Key West at places like The Smokin' Tuna or Hogbreath Saloon. We enjoyed sitting down with him in Florida and sharing his story.

Please be sure to share/like/follow/subscribe anywhere you are watching or listening to this podcast. We are still less than a year old and continuing to grow our brand. We really appreciate the overwhelming support we have gotten so far and how much it seems like our listeners love our content and stories. We want to continue sitting down with amazing songwriters, artists, producers, publishers, label heads, musicians and more - and your support in helping us grow this podcast allows us to do that! So, thank you!

Show Notes:

Cliff Cody's Website - CliffCody.com

Cliff's Instagram: @CliffCody

Cliff's TikTok: @CliffCody

And follow us, the SBTSongs Podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube: @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Website: ChrisBlair.com

CB's Instagram: @ChrisBlairMusic

And thanks to our sponsors and supporters for sharing and loving this Podcast! #SBTSongs

In this episode, Chris Blair sat down with long time friend Arlis Albritton. Arlis is originally from Florida and has had a lot of success as as songwriter himself, writing songs for Diamond Rio, Jamey Johnson, Luke Bryan, Parmalee, Josh Thompson, Keith Anderson, Halfway to Hazard, John Michael Montgomery and many more. Outside of songwriting, he has also been on the management side of the music industry managing acts like Jamey Johnson and Kenny G along with founding and running the St. Augustine Songwriters Festival. Chris sat down with Arlis in St. Augustine at the end of September where Chris hosts the main stage every year. They talked about what all it takes behind the scenes to start and grow a festival, stories about being on the road as a manger and more. It was great to hear a little about songwriting but more on some other areas of the industry that we don't always get to see or talk about. We hope you enjoy this episode and continue to spread the word about the Stories Behind the Songs Podcast!

Show Notes:

Arlis' Instagram: @ArlisAlbritton

Arlis' Website: ArlisAlbritton.com

St. Augustine Songwriters Festival Instagram: @StAugustineSongwritersFestival

St. Augustine Songwriters Festival Website: StAugustineSongwritersFestival.com

And follow us, the SBTS Podcast, here:

SBTSongs TikTok: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube: @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Website: ChrisBlair.com

Chris Blair's Instagram: @ChrisBlairMusic

On this week’s episode of Stories Behind the Songs, I had the pleasure of sitting down with none other than Dylan Altman. With a blues and rock-heavy background, Dylan tells us all about his instant draw to the industry after watching the music video for “Jump” by Van Halen. From that moment on, Dylan knew that music was what he needed to do, so he started a band and has been playing and writing ever since. 

Dylan has written many songs throughout the course of his career with number ones for Tim McGraw, Jake Owen, and Jason Aldean. He has even more cuts in the bag for Eli Young Band, Trace Adkins, JT Hodges, Eric Paslay, Jonathan Jackson, and more. You’ll hear the full story behind his number one, “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” with Jake Owen, his journey in the music industry and struggles with sobriety, and how he is now 4 years sober and doing better than ever. 

Dylan is now booking and playing shows with his blues band and is about to release his very own show with his daughter where they cook with songwriters and special guests and play music afterwards. We are very excited for that show to come out and will let you know when it does – as a songwriter and foodie myself, I can’t wait to see it.  

We loved having Dylan on this week. Give him a follow to stay up to date with what is next for him and catch his new show when that releases as well! Please help us by spreading the word of this podcast. As we continue to grow, we appreciate the support – so send it to a friend, hit that like/subscribe/follow button wherever you’re listening and we can’t thank you enough! 

Show Notes:

Dylan's Instagram: @DylanAltmanMusic

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

Chris Blair's Instagram: @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website: ChrisBlair.com

SBTSongs TikTok: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube: @SBTSongs

#SBTSongs

If you struggle with alcohol addiction, please reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association for free, confidential help at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

On this week's episode, Chris Blair sits down with one of his good friends, Cameron Bedell. Cameron came to Nashville from Wichita, Kansas to attend Belmont University. He grew up surrounded by music with experience singing in show choirs and barbershop quartets. You'll hear about how he started his career after graduating working at a restaurant serving hit songwriters and country artists, where some of those relationships led to him signing his publishing deal with Liz Rose Music four years later.

You'll hear the story and meaning of the #1 song "Down Home" that he wrote for Jimmie Allen and how culture was a big influence for that song. He also touches on his experience working as a producer for Tiera Kennedy, a song he wrote for Hailey Whitters and many ways he stays busy and connected to the music industry.

It was a pleasure having Cameron on and talking about his stories. You can listen to this episode of Stories Behind the Songs anywhere you find your podcasts, and please help us by spreading the word! If you are enjoying these episodes please give us a like, follow, subscribe and share with your friends! We appreciate the support so much and thank you for listening!

Show Notes:

Cameron's Instagram - @CameronBedell

Cameron's TikTok - @CameronBedell

Cameron on Apple Music - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's website - ChrisBlair.com

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Thanks again for listening!

#SBTSongs

On this week’s episode of Stories Behind the Songs, we are joined by Kristian Bush. You may know Kristian from the band Sugarland, his production skills on Lindsey Ell’s records, or maybe you’ve listened to his solo work. This week you’ll learn it all as we dive into the life and career of one of music's most versatile and talented artists. From his early days raised in music on the Suzuki method to his adventures in rock, country, and beyond, Kristian Bush has stories that are as diverse as his music. 

You’re going to hear all about Kristian’s first record deal at the age of 22, how he managed to keep a record deal throughout the entirety of his music career, his introduction to Jennifer Nettles and the origins of Sugarland, the work he has done producing other artists, and the musical adventures he found himself in throughout the years.  

You’ll hear the stories behind “All I Want To Do”, “Baby Girl”, and “Babe” as well as the twists and turns of Kristian’s career both within and outside of Sugarland. Kristian is such an icon in the music industry but also manages to be an extremely kind and humble guy. He is now doing some work with “Jawaiin” music – which you will hear all about in this week’s episode – and is continuing to broaden his experience and learn as much as he can from others. We hope you enjoyed this episode as much as we did! 

Please help us by spreading the word of this podcast. As we continue to grow, we appreciate the support – so send it to a friend, hit that like/subscribe/follow button wherever you’re listening and we can’t thank you enough! 

Show Notes:

Kristian's Instagram - @KristianBush

Kristian's TikTok - @KristianBushMusic

Sugarland's Website - SugarlandMusic.com

Sugarland's Instagram - @Sugarland

And follow us, The Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

Chris Blair's website - ChrisBlair.com

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

#SBTSongs

For this week’s new Stories Behind the Songs, we’ve got Lexie Hayden here with us!

Lexie has some hilarious stories about getting her start here in Nashville - like when she was put on the spot as an intern to sing live on the Bobby Bones radio show. We talk about her 2020 release, You Heard Right and why she’s excited to be putting out her first full length album soon, not during a pandemic.

We also talk about her collaborative relationship with Priscilla Block (who she met as a server here at TLR) and the co-writing process behind Priscilla’s hit single “My Bar”.

Lexie gives us a performance of "My Bar” as well as an unreleased song off of her upcoming project, “Call It A Crush”.

On that note, be sure to stay tuned for her full-length album that’s coming out this August, as well as her album release show that will take place here on the 29th! 

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends and give us a follow.  It’s our passion to share the Stories Behind the Songs, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

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SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

Sponsors:

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In this episode of Stories Behind the Songs, Chris sits down with Ryan Griffin. Born and raised in Florida, Ryan moved to Nashville when he was just 18 to pursue writing his own music. Starting his career as Jason Aldean’s tour manager, he decided to step into the songwriting world. Ryan will take us through his musical journey, highlighting the story behind co-writing with Kelsea Ballerini, Josh Kerr and Jason Duke from his perspective. He also talks about his experience getting signed to labels, tasting the highs of the music industry, and the tough moments of being dropped. 

You’ll also hear how he crossed paths with Jay Demarcus, who you might know from Rascal Flatts. Jay saw something special in Ryan and brought him onto his Christian label, "Red Street Records," which ended up being a perfect fit for country artists like Ryan Griffin. 

Ryan also talks his newest EP, "Phases," which showcases his evolution as an artist and dedication to his craft. We also dive into Ryan's latest single, "Heart to Break” and you’ll even hear Ryan play a portion of it! We look forward to seeing what is next for Ryan Griffin and we hope you enjoy this week’s episode. 

As always, please help us by spreading the word of this podcast. As we continue to grow, we appreciate the support – so send it to a friend, hit that like/subscribe/follow button wherever you’re listening and we can’t thank you enough! 

Show liner notes/links:

Ryan's TikTok - @RyanGriffinOfficial

Ryan's Instagram - @RyanGriffinLive

Ryan's Website - RyanGriffin.com

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs podcast, here:

Chris Blair's website - ChrisBlair.com

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

#SBTSongs #SBTSongsPodcast

As always, thanks to our sponsors - Sennheieser microphones and Britt Skin Beauty Aestheticians. If you're interested in more information or becoming a sponsor, reach out to us at: savannah@emergenashville.com.

In this episode Chris Blair sits down with Trannie Anderson, who has written songs for Lainey Wilson, Reba McEntire, Gabby Barrett, Adam Doleac, Walker County and more. Trannie grew up in Waco, Texas and has been playing piano and writing songs since she was six years old. After graduating from Baylor University she moved to Nashville and connected with Lainey Wilson and started playing shows at The Listening Room in November of 2015. You'll hear the stories about the songs she has written and what it was like to go out on the road with Lainey and hear her song "Heart Like A Truck" being sung by a stadium full of fans and some inside stories of some songs she has coming out soon with Dan + Shay and more. This was such a fun episode and we hope you enjoy it!

As always, please help us by spreading the word of this podcast. As we continue to grow we appreciate the support - so send it to a friend, hit that like/subscribe/follow button wherever you're listening and we can't thank you enough!

Show Notes:

Trannie's Instagram: @TrannieAnderson

Trannie's TikTok: @TrannieAnderson

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

Chris Blair's website: ChrisBlair.com

Chris Blair's Intagram: @ChrisBlairMusic

SBTSongs Instagram: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs TikTok: @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube: @SBTSongs

#SBTSongs

Thanks to our sponsors: Sennheieser Microphones and Britt Skin Beauty Aestheticians.

In this episode, Chris Blair sat down with Ryan Larkins. Born and raised in Nashville, TN, you'll hear about how he started writing songs at a young age and ended up on the CMT show "Can You Duet?" where he placed in the top three. You'll hear the story behind his #1 song that he wrote for Bill Anderson & Dolly Parton, "Someday It'll All Make Sense" that led to his first Grammy nomination. He also talks about another song he wrote that just got released with Cody Johnson along with what happened when he opened up for Willie Nelson just a week before we recorded this episode. Ryan also has a new EP coming out on October 13 this year so make sure you go look that up and support him. Two of his songs are out already - called "Man That Holds The Beer" and "She's The Tough One." This was such a great episode and we know big things are happening for Ryan Larkins. We hope you enjoy listening!

As always, remember to subscribe/follow/like and support this podcast by hitting all of those buttons where you listen and spreading the word to your friends so others can hear it! We love sitting down with new songwriters and artists - and everyone else involved in the music business - to hear their stories and the support from you all is what allows us to keep going. So, thanks!

Liner Notes:

Ryan Larkins Website - RyanLarkins.com

Ryan Larkins Instagram - @Ryan.Larkins

Ryan Larkins TikTok - @Ryan.Larkins

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

#SBTSongs

Instagram - @SBTSongs

TikTok - @SBTSongs

YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair Website - ChrisBlair.com

Chris Blair Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Thanks to our sponsors: Sennheiser microphones and Britt Skin Beauty Aestiticians.

In this episode, Chris Blair sits down with Clay Mills. Clay is from the Mississippi Delta and he talks about how he worked the soybean fields with his family and how working those fields is where he really found his love of music. You'll hear the story behind how he moved to New York at the age of 19 to write TV jingles from classical to hip hop, got over 1500 jingles placed in commercials and shows, and then ended up moving to Nashville to become a songwriter. He talks about the stories behind the hits he has written like "Beautiful Mess" for Diamond Rio, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" for Darius Rucker and more. Clay has over 200 songs that have been recorded, 16 ASCAP Music Awards, a couple Grammy nominations, member of the Mississippi Songwriters Hall of Fame and more. And not only does Clay have huge songwriting success, but he also pours into new and established songwriters, along with his business partner Marty Dodson, in their songwriting training courses with SongTown.com. This is another great episode sharing the stories behind the songs and we hope you enjoy it!

Please share, follow, subscribe and like these episodes wherever you're listening to your podcasts. We truly love sitting down with new songwriters, artists and everyone else behind the scenes in the music world and by helping us spread the word we can keep doing that!

Show Notes/Links:

Clay Mills Instagram - @ClayMills2

Clay Mills Songwriting Business - SongTown.com

Clay Mills Book - Buy on Amazon

Clay Mills Website - ClayMills.com

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs Podcast, here:

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

#SBTSongs