Christian music artist Gary Chapman sat down for an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy on Friday to reminisce on his career in the entertainment industry.
Read the full storyTag: songwriter
Music Spotlight: Zach Top
Anybody who follows me or my column knows that I have a type. Traditional country music stirs my soul. When I find someone young who can do the same thing, I do my best to track them down.
Zach Top is such an artist. His name kept showing up all over my feeds. When I heard the popular “Sounds Like the Radio,” I was thrilled and couldn’t stop smiling. I relentlessly pursued his people until I got an interview.
Read the full storyMusic Spotlight: Wendy Starland
I met Wendy Starland at a party in Nashville celebrating an upcoming original music competition TV show that will air on MTV later this year. When we arrived, everyone was clamoring to get a picture with her. She was so beautiful that I was taken aback. However, I wondered why she was there.
It turns out that Starland is a musical maven. One of the show’s producers told me that she was a brilliant songwriter and that I needed to meet her. After we met, I asked if she wanted to be featured in my Music Spotlight column, and she gave me her phone number.
Read the full storyMusic Icon Loretta Lynn Has Died
Music superstar Loretta Lynn has died.
A brief statement by her family said, “Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills.”
Read the full storyMusic Spotlight: Noah Hicks
NASHVILLE, Tennessee- If there is one thing that means something to me in country music, it is authenticity. Are you singing your truths or just latching onto the newest country fad?
Noah Hicks is probably the most authentic country guy I have ever interviewed. He is a fifth-generation farmer from Carrolton, Georgia. The land he tilled with an air-conditioned tractor is the land his grandfathers plowed with a mule.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Music Modernization Act and Why it Matters
The Music Modernization Act must be passed in order for songwriters to be compensated fairly.
Read the full story‘It All Begins With A Song: The Story of the Nashville Songwriter’ Awarded Three Silver Lions at Cannes Lions International Festival
It All Begins With A Song: The Story of the Nashville Songwriter, a new documentary that takes an in-depth look at Nashville’s songwriting community, was awarded three Silver Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity recently. “This documentary portrays the strength of Nashville’s creative community and of its music brand,” said Ronnie Smith, Head of Corporate Bank, Regions Bank, and chairman of the NCVC board of directors. “No other city could capture its brand in a documentary of this caliber. It is a unique marketing tool that will prove to be effective, cost-efficient and global in its reach. It certainly goes outside the norm to market a city with a documentary, and this recognition is validation of that effort.” The documentary film was created by the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp as a marketing tool. It was produced by the NCVC, along with John Godsey and VML, a global marketing agency. It was directed by Chusy Jardine of Plan A Films and is being shopped worldwide to major buyers. The Cannes Lions are the most established and coveted awards for the creative and marketing communications industry, and the Festival of Creativity is held in the same southern French…
Read the full storyNew Documentary ‘It All Begins With A Song: The Story of the Nashville Songwriter’ Set for Special Screening at Nashville Film Festival
A new documentary “It All Begins With A Song: The Story of the Nashville Songwriter” is set for a special screening at Nashville Film Festival Film that promotes Nashville and its creative community.
Read the full storyThe Country Music Community Mourns the Passing of a Hit-Maker Who Defined a Decade
After a sad couple of days in the music industry, we have learned of yet another difficult bit of news. The country music community is mourning the passing of hit songwriter Kenny Beard. As a writer, Kenny helped define the sound that would become one of country’s most important decades—the 1990s. His…
Read the full story