Live music is returning to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum on Jan. 21 when they kick off the 2021 edition of The Nashville Songwriter series presented by Jagoe Homes.
The series will be held the third Thursday of each month and feature professional songwriters who have performed at the Bluebird Café in Nashville.
The first event takes place in the Woodward Theatre at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum at 7 p.m. on Jan. 21.
General admission tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the Hall of Fame’s website bluegrasshall.org. Tickets are also available in person at the Hall of Fame’s box office Wednesday–Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Seating is limited to less than 25% capacity to ensure social distancing and to meet state requirements related to COVID-19. Purchasing tickets in advance is recommended.
“This is an opportunity for us to feature songwriters who have sacrificed everything to chase their dreams in Nashville, and they all have a story to tell,” Hall of Fame executive director Chris Joslin said. “They usually tell that story with three chords and the truth.”
Each month the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum features three Nashville-based songwriters offering the backstory on their work and sharing personal experiences that shape their songs.
The first event features Ryan Larkins, Frank Hurd, and Marisa McKaye, who will collaborate on-stage in Woodward Theatre to share their songwriting process and stories.
Larkins has a solid foundation in traditional country music. He also covers songs in the pop, gospel, and R&B genres. The range of songwriters he has worked with over the years showcase his musical interests across genres and within country music. He has worked with the likes of Jessi Alexander, Country Hall of Fame Member Bill Anderson, Steve Bogard, Connie Harrington, Tim Nichols, and Tony Lane. He recently signed with THiS Music publishing company, a subsidiary of Warner Chappell.
Hurd’s songs explore timeless and familiar themes, swaying across genre lines. Hurd has performed at festivals such as MerleFest and Tin Pan South while regularly writing, producing, and releasing new material. His most recent single is “Who I Thought You Were.”
Although still a teenager, McKaye is already a veteran of the Nashville songwriting scene, releasing her second EP in 2019. In January 2020, Marisa was invited to host her first songwriter’s round at the legendary Bluebird Cafe. She has been part of Nashville’s Tin Pan South Songwriter’s Festival and CMA Fest and is active in the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
“The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum works hard to present music that matters and to create unique experiences around the music,” Joslin said. “A songwriter series featuring Nashville-based songwriters feels very authentic. Thanks to our corporate partner, Jagoe Homes, we can bring a little bit of Nashville to Owensboro. Here at the Hall of Fame we tell stories energized by live music, and that is what The Nashville Songwriter series is all about. We look forward to bringing back live music safely.”
