By Bob Doerschuk and Maria Eckhardt
© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
Launched in 2005, the CMA Songwriters Series has become a popular recurring event at Joe's Pub in New York City. The fifth year of this successful run kicked off March 19, as the latest all-star assembly showcased some of the best recent songs to emanate from Music Row.
"Knowing what a treasure our Nashville songwriters are, we wanted to share their talents with other music lovers," said CMA CEO Tammy Genovese. "So five years ago, we took a group to Joe's Pub in New York for the first CMA Songwriters Series. New Yorkers embraced them and it has been an amazing success ever since."
Presiding over two sold-out shows, host Bob DiPiero mixed his deftly humorous emcee skills with performances of some of his many hits, including "Blue Clear Sky" (recorded by George Strait) and "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl" (Brooks & Dunn).
The spotlight also settled on BMI Songwriter of the Year Casey Beathard, making his first trip to the Big Apple in 15 years, who presented "Don't Blink" and "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" (Kenny Chesney), among other highlights from his catalog. ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Dave Berg shared his songs "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" (Rodney Atkins) and "Moments" (Emerson Drive).
Lyric Street Records artist Sarah Buxton made a strong impression with her originals, including "Stupid Boy" (Keith Urban) and "Innocence," which she'd recorded and released. Rivers Rutherford offered "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You," (Brooks & Dunn), "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" (Montgomery Gentry) and "Real Good Man" (Tim McGraw).
The next round of CMA Songwriters Series at Joe's Pub took place May 21, with two shows that featured Dean Dillon (George Strait's "Marina Del Rey," "Ocean Front Property," and "The Chair"), Scotty Emerick (Toby Keith's "Good As I Once Was" and "I Love This Bar," and "Beer for My Horses," recorded by Keith and Willie Nelson) and The Valory Music Co. artist Jimmy Wayne, who wrote as well as recorded "I Love You This Much," "Paper Angels" and "Stay Gone." DiPiero once again emceed the evening.
"Bob has done an outstanding job in bringing many of Nashville's greatest songwriters to New York, and this lineup was particularly impressive," said Genovese. "Combining a legend like Dean Dillon with Scotty Emerick and Jimmy Wayne, two talents that have risen to prominence over the last few years, made for a fascinating and entertaining night of music."
The series continues July 30, with two shows featuring Billy Currington (whose hit co-writes include "Walk a Little Straighter," "I Got a Feelin'" and "Why, Why, Why"), Keith Follese (who wrote Faith Hill's hit "The Way You Love Me," Martina McBride's "I Love You" and Tim McGraw's "Something Like That") and Jason Sellers (Keith Anderson's "I Still Miss You," Reba McEntire's "Strange" and Montgomery Gentry's "Some People Change"). Bob DiPiero (Brooks & Dunn's "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl," Faith Hill's "Take Me As I Am," Montgomery Gentry's "Gone" and George Strait's "Blue Clear Sky") will reprise his frequent role as emcee.
Tickets for the July 30 CMA Songwriters Series at Joe's Pub are $25 each. For more information or to order tickets, visit www.JoesPub.com or call (212) 967-7555 between the hours of 10 AM and 9 PM/ET. Joe's Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street in New York City.
"We are proud to once again showcase a stellar roster of songwriters," said Genovese. "New York music fans know that the CMA Songwriters series is not to be missed, which is why each event continues to sell out quickly."
Upcoming CMA Songwriters Series performances at Joe's Pub are Sept. 9 and Nov. 5.
CMA Songwriters Series at Joe's Pub is sponsored by American Airlines, ASCAP, BMI and GAC. American Airlines is the official airline of the CMA Songwriters Series.
On the Web: www.CMASongwritersSeries.com.
