Tin Pan South Songwriter Lineup Revealed and Passes On Sale Now

Tin Pan South Songwriter Festival set for March 28 – April 1, 2023

A few years ago, I was talking to songwriter Roger Cook.  He’d already had a stellar career in his native country of England, co-writing a string of monster hits that are still in rotation on ‘oldies’ radio (“Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress”, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” etc) and also scored hits as a recording artist.  Leaving that all behind, he moved to Nashville and launched another career, penning a string of country hits for artists such as George Strait, Don Gibson and Crystal Gayle.  I asked him what motivated him to take such a drastic step.

“Nashville is the only place on earth where they still write ‘story’ songs,” he told me.

That’s one of the best descriptions of Music City I have ever heard.  Like a magnet, Nashville pulls in storytellers who find like-minded creators and congregate in twos and threes in anonymous writers’ rooms around the city.  Sure, a lot of the resulting songs end up as curling paper scraps in a drawer or buried in a forgotten file on an iPhone.  But plenty find their way to the desk or the inbox of A&R execs, some get put on hold, a few jump from a hold to a cut and some ascend to the dizzy heights of a chart hit.

There’s a story behind the story that becomes a hit song.  Nobody can tell those stories like the songwriters themselves.  That’s why, for three decades, music fans and industry insiders alike have been drawn to Tin Pan South to see and hear the men and women who created the stories that became the songs.  

And now, Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has revealed the lineup for the 31^st Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival presented by Regions Bank that will take place March 28 – April 1, 2023. Passes for the Festival are available now here.  Fast Access Passes are priced at $175.00 to the general public and $145 for NSAI members.  (If you would like to come to a show but do not have a pass, locate and line up in the Cash Line at a venue. Once all pass holders have entered, Cash Line attendees are admitted until the venue hits capacity.) Fast Access Passes usually sell out fast, so if you are planning to attend the Festival, I suggest you jump on that link ASAP!

This year, Tin Pan South will be spread across ten venues in Nashville, with around one hundred shows and four hundred songwriter performances! Among the hit writers set to appear: Aaron Barker, Abby Anderson, Brandon Davis, Caylee Hammick, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose.  Also scheduled: Emily Shackelton, Maddie & Tae, Chris DeStefano, Ashley Gorley, Barry Dean, J.T. Harding, Kevin Griffin, Matt Roy, Renee Blair, and many more – plus a few ‘surprise’ guests. 

You can find a full list of performers, venues and a schedule of who is playing when and where at the Tin Pan South website, with updates at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. There is also an all-new Festival app for both iOS and Android devices that you can download here to help you keep up with everything while you are on the move between venues. More about NSAI here.

Yes, it all begins with a song, and Tin Pan South is your chance to be part of the magic. 

PHOTO: L to R – Chris DeStefano, Lee Thomas Miller, and Wendell Mobley performing in “Songs Meet Symphony” (stage sponsored by Visit Music City) at the late 3rd & Lindsley show, Tin Pan South, 2022. - Photo: Tin Pan South/Sydney Zuyus