Ten Year Town – Details, episodes & analysis

Lee Brice is a GRAMMY-nominated country artist, songwriter, and producer originally from Sumter, South Carolina. Over the course of his career, he has earned multiple No. 1 singles as both a performer and songwriter, including “A Woman Like You,” “I Drive Your Truck,” “Hard to Love,” “Rumor,” and “Memory I Don’t Mess With.” As a writer, his songs have also been recorded by Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and the Eli Young Band — whose version of “Crazy Girl” became a multi-week No. 1 hit. Brice has received multiple CMA and ACM Awards, and just released a new single “Killed The Man.” 

In this episode, we discuss Lee’s journey from South Carolina to Nashville, his creative process as both a songwriter and artist, the stories behind some of his biggest hits, and many other stops along the way.

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This episode is also sponsored by The Graphic Guitar Guys. They create eye-catching custom guitar wraps for some of the biggest artists and festivals in the music industry. Their work is perfect for adding a unique touch to album pre-sale bundles or VIP package items—check them out and discover how they can transform a guitar into a show-stopping work of art.

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Troy Cartwright is a Nashville-based artist and songwriter originally from Dallas, Texas. His songs have collectively garnered hundreds of millions of streams, and he is currently signed to Big Machine Music for publishing. Cartwright has written songs recorded by Cody Johnson, Nickelback, Ryan Hurd, Josh Abbott Band, and has upcoming cuts with several A-list artists.

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

Laura Veltz is a four-time GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and artist originally from New York City. Her credits include hit songs for Maren Morris (“The Bones,” “I Could Use a Love Song”), Dan + Shay (“Speechless”), Lady A (“What If I Never Get Over You”), and Demi Lovato (“29”). In 2023, she was nominated for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical at the GRAMMY Awards. She is currently published by Big Machine Music.

In this episode of Ten Year Town, we talk about Laura’s journey through Nashville, her creative process, the evolution of modern country songwriting, and the stories behind some of her biggest songs.

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This episode is also sponsored by The Graphic Guitar Guys. They create eye-catching custom guitar wraps for some of the biggest artists and festivals in the music industry. Their work is perfect for adding a unique touch to album pre-sale bundles or VIP package items—check them out and discover how they can transform a guitar into a show-stopping work of art.

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Troy Cartwright is a Nashville-based artist and songwriter originally from Dallas, Texas. His songs have collectively garnered hundreds of millions of streams, and he is currently signed to Big Machine Music for publishing. Cartwright has written songs recorded by Cody Johnson, Nickelback, Ryan Hurd, Josh Abbott Band, and has upcoming cuts with several A-list artists.

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

Liz Rose is a GRAMMY-winning songwriter originally from Dallas, Texas, and raised in nearby Irving. Her songs have been recorded by artists including Carrie Underwood, Gary Allan, Eli Young Band, Taylor Swift, Little Big Town, and many others. She is the co-writer behind some of Taylor Swift's biggest hits, including “You Belong With Me,” “Teardrops on My Guitar,” and “All Too Well.” Her song “Girl Crush,” recorded by Little Big Town, won both the CMA and GRAMMY Award for Best Country Song.

In this episode, we talk about Liz’s unconventional path into the music business, how she approaches co-writing, what inspires her, and many other stops along the way.

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This episode is also sponsored by The Graphic Guitar Guys. They create eye-catching custom guitar wraps for some of the biggest artists and festivals in the music industry. Their work is perfect for adding a unique touch to album pre-sale bundles or VIP package items—check them out and discover how they can transform a guitar into a show-stopping work of art.

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Troy Cartwright is a Nashville-based artist and songwriter originally from Dallas, Texas. His songs have collectively garnered hundreds of millions of streams, and he is currently signed to Big Machine Music for publishing. Cartwright has written songs recorded by Cody Johnson, Nickelback, Ryan Hurd, Josh Abbott Band, and has upcoming cuts with several A-list artists.

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

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

In this episode we discuss Jessi’s journey, her constant reinvention, and her love of songwriting.

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

This week's episode is a rewind from episode 7 where we welcomed our first publisher-guest Courtney Allen! 

Courtney is a Senior Director of A&R at Concord Music. As a music publisher, she pitches and provides support for many talented songwriters in Nashville including Russell Dickerson, Corey Crowder, Hillary Lindsey, Justin Wilson, Ruston Kelly and more. Courtney shares how she works with writers to build them a great calendar, what new songwriters can do to get on a publisher's radar, and generally what it means to be a champion of songs.This week, we revisit one of our most beloved episodes: our very first publisher-guest Courtney Allen! Courtney is a Senior Director of A&R at Concord Music. As a music publisher, she pitches and provides support for many talented songwriters in Nashville including Russell Dickerson, Corey Crowder, Hillary Lindsey, Justin Wilson, Ruston Kelly and more. Courtney shares how she works with writers to build them a great calendar, what new songwriters can do to get on a publisher's radar, and generally what it means to be a champion of songs.

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

Buy "The War of Art" here: https://amzn.to/3RQ62EJ

In this extra special holiday episode of Ten Year Town, host Troy Cartwright covers (breifly) one of his all time favorite books about the creator's journey. 

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

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

In addition to his songwriting career, Aaron has produced records for Ryan Hurd, Scotty McCreery and others. In this episode Aaron talks about his journey from Michigan to Nashville, how he got started in the music industry, and his philosophy on being an asset in the writer room. Aaron Eshuis is a songwriter and producer originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan currently signed to Concord Music Publishing. Aaron has written songs for many major country artists including Rascall Flats, Joe Nichols, Cole Swindell, Ryan Hurd, and had his first No. 1, with Scotty McCreery’s “This is It” in 2018. 

In addition to songwriting, Aaron has produced records for Ryan Hurd, Scotty McCreery and others. In this episode Aaron talks about his journey from Michigan to Nashville, how he’s developed his songwriting and producer career together, and his philosophy on being an asset in the writer room. 

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

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

In this episode, Zac discusses how the importance of being open to collaboration, his philosophy on releasing music independently, and even how his love of Florida Georgia Line inspired some of his pop-rock writing.

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

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

On this episode Josh talks about growing up learning how to write songs with his dad and brother, joining the rock band Green River Ordinance, touring the country, and landing in Nashville to hone his songwriter craft (to great success).

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.

Harry Miree a professional studio and touring drummer originally from Birmingham, Alabama. Harry has toured with acts like Hardy, LoCash, Lindsay Ell, Ryan Follies and many, many more. He is also well known in the drumming community (and beyond) for his  popular YouTube channel (dude!). 

In this episode, we discuss how a music teacher changed the trajectory of his life, his thought process on building an audience, how he forged his own path to get his start as a touring drummer, and a million other tangents along the way.

New Episodes every Tuesday.

Find the host Troy Cartwright on Twitter, Instagram. 

Social Channels for Ten Year Town:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

This podcast was produced by Ben VanMaarth.

Intro and Outro music for this episode was composed by Troy Cartwright, Monty Criswell, and Derek George. It is called "Same" and you can listen to it in it's entirety here.  

Additional music for this episode was composed by Thomas Ventura. 

Artwork design by Brad Vetter. 

Creative Direction by Mary Lucille Noah.