Songwriting Secrets

You Should Be Here

countryheartbeat Country Chatter, Songwriting Secrets

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Last Thursday at Darlings Waterfront Pavilion, I had the opportunity to hang and chat backstage with Cole Swindell (yes, complete dream come true!). Swindell is a part of the Dig Your Roots Tour with Florida Georgia Line this summer and couldn’t be happier!

We got a bit of insiders info about his number one song, “You Should Be Here”, which Swindell says that is the song that he “came to Nashville to write” about his father who unexpectedly passed away in 2013, just as his music career was taking off. “You Should Be Here” was written with Ashley Gorley in the parking lot of Gillette Stadium in August of 2014 while Swindell was on the That’s My Kind of Night Tour with Luke Bryan. Gorley sent his daughter a text about being at such an infamous football stadium and told her simply, “you should be here.” The rest is history, and Swindell and Gorley drafted up the song right there at our very own Patriot’s stadium!

If you don’t have Swindell’s new album featuring the title track “You Should Be Here”, do yourself a favor and go pick up a copy! One of my favorite songs on the album is the first one, “Flatliner” featuring Dierks Bentley. It’s such a fun upbeat song, and I was lucky enough to hear it live for the first time on Thursday night during Cole’s set. I had to ask Cole if they had plans of releasing it as a radio single, and his response was that it’s difficult when they both come from different labels, however he loves Dierks and loves that song! Cole said he would love it if it were released as a single, but he’s not sure if it will happen. Hopefully I will be lucky enough to see them perform the duet together live one day! Have a listen for yourself!

 

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Brothers Osborne CD Release Party!

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Did you hear that Brothers Osborne had a CD Release party at Bull Moose in Salem, New Hampshire the day before their debut album, Pawn Shop, was released?! If you weren’t one of the few lucky enough to attend, I captured the question and answer part of their acoustic performance for you guys to watch!

So technically, I was scheduled to work that Thursday, but when I found out on Tuesday morning that they would be about an hour and a half away from my house, AND there was an opportunity to meet them and get their CD before anyone else… I knew I had to go. I had to find SOME way to be there. They recently played in Portland, and sadly I had to miss the show and was very upset about it. THIS WAS MY CHANCE. Sooo… should I play hooky? Call out sick? I decided that honesty was the best policy (it usually is!) and I decided to just present the facts to my boss and see what she had to say about it. Luckily, she understands my passion/obsession for country music and networking within the industry and graciously allowed me to take the day off to go! When you truly want something guys, just have the courage to ASK!

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New Music Monday!

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September 28th, 2015

These songs have been on repeat for me lately, and I would like to introduce you guys to some of my favorite songs that aren’t on the radio… yet!

Kip Moore, “Running For You”

“If the light starts fading / Baby don’t move / Just say my name, stay right there / I’ll come running for you.” 

If you haven’t gotten Kip’s sophomore album, Wild Ones, yet… you are seriously missing out on some quality music. This album is so raw and full of so much passion that nearly every song gives me goosebumps. I’ve been a fan of Kip since 2011, before most people had any idea of who he was. Albeit the entire CD is on point, the song that I have to play twice every time that the album cycles through is track #12, Running For You. Written with Blair Daly and Troy Verges, Kip explains, “The melody came to me I was with Troy Verges and Blair Daly, and I said, ‘I got this thing.’ We just kinda wrote a song about when you really care about somebody, you wanna see ’em shine and you wanna see ’em go grab what they’re after.”  Kip… I hope one day some man sings (or plays) me this song when I pack up and head to Nashville after my own dreams…

Old Dominion, “Snapback”

“Those stars need to be wished on / Your skin needs to be kissed on”

I was literally hooked on this song from the first verse… it’s not your ordinary “Top 40” country song… and that freshness and new sound is what is going to take it to the top. No doubt this song from their upcoming Meat and Candy album is going to reach #1. The upbeat and fun tempo and killer lyrics drew me in right away! My favorite line from the song? “We got the beat, let’s drop it.”… just the way Matt sings it! This song makes me SMILE SO BIG! I just love a song that makes me break out in a huge grin! Snapback was written by Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi, who are actually 3 of the 5 members of the band.

Kelsea Ballerini, “Secondhand Smoke”

“Am I the product of a problem that I couldn’t change?/Got his eyes, got her hair, so do I get their mistakes?”

This is the most powerful song on Kelsea’s debut album, The First Time. I have been passionate about this song since I first got the CD in June. Secondhand Smoke is a deeply personal song for Kelsea, as it tells the story of her parents divorce. You can hear the raw emotion in every verse. She penned this tune with Josh Kerr and Jordyn Shellhart and they actually came up with the title for the song before the lyrics were written! “Immediately, I thought it could be a story of being in a household that’s broken and that’s all you know, but you decide that you’re not going to feel like that,” Kelsea tells Rolling Stone. Kelsea hopes she can be a voice of comfort for kids who are going through a similar divorce situation like she did as a preteen.

Tour Bus Hang with Lee Brice

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THROWBACK THURSDAY!

Lee Brice letting us preview some unreleased songs!

May 16th, 2015

Today was the day that I realized that my dreams were starting to come true. Today marked a very important day in the history of my future career in the country music industry. I was able to obtain an official photo pass (aka special access to the stage for the first 3 full songs) to photograph Lee Brice at his show on the Maine State Pier in Portland. I’ve always photographed every concert that I’ve ever been to, but point and shoot camera photos do NOT compare to a SLR with a long zoom lens! Photography has always been a passion of mine, and combining that with country music basically makes me one of the happiest girls alive.

Official Photo Pass!
Official Photo Pass!

The radio station that I work for, WPOR 101.9, gave two lucky listeners the opportunity to “hang” with Lee Brice on his tour bus before the show. Obviously a photographer needed to be there to cover the event 😉 and that was ME! This amazing opportunity left me basically speechless. (No, really, I didn’t say more than two words on his bus… I think I said “Thank You” after taking a photo with him and that was about it!) You couldn’t wipe the smile from my face if you tried!

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New Music Monday!

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Songs you should be listening to (and downloading!) right now:

Kip Moore, “I’m to Blame”

We’ve been waiting for his new album for over a year now… his new single hit radio on February 2nd. Request it! It’s raw and honest and sexy… bet you won’t be able to get the hook out of your head! Kip is one of my all time favorite artists and this song is so true to him and his personality.

Love & Theft, “Whiskey on my Breath”

Love & Theft is back with some amazing heart-felt and soul-filled harmonies. This song is GOLD. I have so much love for these two, and this is one of my favorite songs they’ve written so far! This song better get the praise and recognition that it deserves!

Sam Hunt, “Take Your Time”

I could not be more obsessed with Sam Hunt. His acoustic mix tape (Behind the Pines) and debut album (Montavello) are consistently on repeat in my car. This is his newest radio single and is currently at #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Old Dominion, “Break up With Him”

It’s been a number 1 hit on Sirus XM’s station, The Highway, but hasn’t dropped to radio yet. It’s a fan favorite at their live shows and when I saw them live, it’s the song that convinced me to buy their EP! Give it a listen!

Chase Bryant, “Take it on Back”

Country newcomer Chase Bryant is quickly making a name for himself. He is now on my “Artists I Want to See in Concert” list! Lyrically, this song is like 90% of all the other bro-country songs out there, but it’s catchy and is destined to be a radio hit.

Up All Night With Jon Pardi

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My favorite local country station, WPOR, hosted an invite only event with Jon Pardi on their private stage. Only way in was to win! I entered via text nearly every day, of course! During this past week, the Universe has provided me with so many awesome opportunities and blessings, and I am so grateful this was one of them!

My first time seeing Jon Pardi was in December of 2013, and I will just nicely state that I wasn’t too impressed. Apparently during this show he was suffering from a knee injury and awaiting surgery in a few days, so I blamed his performance on this. Poor guy was probably in some pain! So I knew that I needed to give him the opportunity to redeem himself in my book next time he came around! Whether it is merely more stage experience over the past year or the fact that he was no longer in need of surgery, Jon definitely impressed me and won me over this time around!

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Joel Crouse Reveals Truth Behind Hit Song, “Oh Juliette”

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Last night was opening night of the Night That You’ll Never Forget Tour, which kicked off in Portland Maine. Joel was extremely excited to be starting the tour in New England, as he was born and bred in Holland, Massachusetts. Tonight he is back in his home state at the Royale in Boston for night number 2. Joel spoke of how when he moved to Nashville 5 years ago, and he went to play his first gig with long-term friend Kyle Rife, the guy laughed when Joel said he was from Massachusetts. Joel confirmed what we all know to be true, the Northeast has some of the best darn country music lovin’ folk around!

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