Nashville Songwriting Adventure A Success!

Songwriting In Nashville Was An Amazing Experience.

Wow!! It’s hard to know where to begin. This past August 21st to 24th, 2023. I attended Rodney Crowell’s Songwriting Sessions at the beautiful Scarritt Bennett Centre, located on Vanderbilt University Campus.

What an inspiring experience to explore.

The list of songwriting instructors and special guests included Rodney Crowell, John Hiatt, Peter Asher, Gretchen Peters, Bill Payne, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Joe Henry, Lera Lynn, John Paul White and John Estes. Filled with excitement and apprehension in equal measure, on the first day I performed my original song (In The Stars Tonight) for the assembled group (which was nerve wracking and exhilarating at the same time). Over the next three days I had the opportunity to listen to some of the new up and coming young songwriting performers who also attended. I feel certain these talented young artists will make their mark and find great success if they continue to pursue their music dreams. I also had the chance to listen to the instructors perform concerts and share their unique stories and experiences as well as having some of them work one on one to critique some of my original songs.

Humbling and inspiring were some of my take aways from this amazing opportunity.

I still have to pinch myself when I think about acclaimed producer Peter Asher and songwriting goddess Beth Nielsen Chapman going through my song, Band Of Gold, line by line with great suggestions and ideas to make the song better. I took their advice to heart and will look forward to releasing the revised version of the song called, Burning Bright with my audiences in 2024. My other one on one critique was with Lera Lynn who said with a few revisions my song, In Your Eyes, was just the kind of song she was looking for to record on her upcoming album. How incredible that would be eh?

My songwriting experience in Nashville also confirmed some very expert advice given to me by established Folk singer/songwriter David Francey, from a year ago. I had an opportunity to work with him and we spent most of our time together speaking about the experiences he has had on his music journey, his songwriting process and his songwriting advice. He shared that, “what you do as a singer songwriter who doesn’t play an accompanying instrument is enough. Kimberly, your ability to write lyrics and create melodies is special and very needed in the world. You are enough, never forget that what you bring to songwriting is enough.”