The Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival is an annual festival of songwriters in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. It was established by the 4,000-member

Nashville Songwriters Association International The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) is a 501(c) not-for-profit trade organization that works to help songwriters in three ways: through legislative advocacy, through education and advice about the actual craft of songwrit ...

(NSAI) in 1993. The festival is typically a five-day session for songwriters including nights of "songwriter in the round" shows held at 10 or so venues around the city, usually Nashville's top singer/songwriter hotspots. According to ''

Tennessean Tennessean refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the state of Tennessee, including: * ''The Tennessean'' newspaper * Tennessean (train) See also * List of people from Tennessee * Tennessine Tennessine is a synthetic chemic ...

'' writer Dave Paulson, the festival allows country music's rising stars to take the stage alongside their closest collaborators. The festival is not about country music ''per se'' — it includes all genres of music, and features both professional and amateur composers in the U.S. and abroad. The name was derived from

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

, a district of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

near West 28th Street, where music publishers flourished as far back as 1885. As of 2019, Tin Pan South is "the world's largest songwriter festival" according to the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation. The 31st annual (2023) event will feature performances by hundreds of songwriters.

Seminars

The Tin Pan South Songwriting Seminar is usually held during the Monday and Tuesday of the festival and includes keynote speakers, songwriter panels of successful composers, publisher breakout sessions and networking opportunities. Topics such as "effective co-writing" are typical, as is "dealing with rejection". Each venue has two shows per night. At a symposium, writers can get critiques of their songs. Attendees entrance fees cover most of the nightly shows, which are open to the public, but performances by top songwriters or performers at larger venues, like the

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (also known as Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' fr ...

are extra. In 2018, the keynote speakers were

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country singer. She has won six Grammy Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and three Academy of Country Music Awards. Musgraves self-released three solo albums and one as Texa ...

and

Shane McAnally Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 " Are Y ...

. Previous speakers have been

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

(" Sundown"),

Merle Kilgore Wyatt Merle Kilgore (August 9, 1934 – February 6, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and manager. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the time of his death, he was the personal manager of Hank Wil ...

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...

") and

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

Dim All the Lights "Dim All the Lights" is a song by American recording artist Donna Summer released as the third single from her 1979 album ''Bad Girls (Donna Summer album), Bad Girls''. It debuted at number 70 on August 25, 1979, and peaked that year at number two ...

"). The 2001 festival, for example, featured

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...

") and

Andrew Gold Andrew Maurice Gold (August 2, 1951 – June 3, 2011) was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who influenced much of the Los Angeles-dominated pop rock, pop/soft rock sound in the 1970s. Gold played on scor ...

Thank You for Being a Friend "Thank You for Being a Friend" is a song written by Andrew Gold. It was recorded for Gold's third album, ''All This and Heaven Too''. The song reached number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1978. Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard ...

", the theme from the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...

''). The festival goers are well aware of the millions of dollars that songs may earn. Speaking about the festival in 2001, BMI's Charlie Feldman said, "Songs like " This Kiss" (

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

) or "

I Swear "I Swear" is a song written by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers that became a hit for American country music artist John Michael Montgomery in 1993, and for American R&B group All-4-One in 1994. Released in November 1993 as the lead single from ...

" (

John Michael Montgomery John Michael Montgomery (born January 20, 1965) is an American country music singer. Montgomery began singing with his brother Eddie, who would later become known as one half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, before beginning his major-label solo ca ...

and

All-4-One All-4-One is an American male R&B and pop group best known for their hit singles "I Swear", "So Much in Love" and "I Can Love You Like That". The group is composed of Jamie Jones, Delious Kennedy, Alfred Nevarez, and Tony Borowiak, all from t ...

)... could generate in a year and a half or two years upward of a half-million dollars". Some of the former attendees who have gone on to writes successful songs include:

Jon Vezner Jon Vezner (born June 6, 1951) is an American country music songwriter. He is best known for his work with Kathy Mattea, to whom he has been married since 1988. Vezner began working as a songwriter in Minnesota and later moved to Nashville, Tenne ...

Where've You Been "Where've You Been" is a song recorded by American country music artist Kathy Mattea. It was released in November 1989 as the third single from the album ''Willow in the Wind''. The song reached #10 on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot ...

" –

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that re ...

);

Tia Sillers Tia Maria Sillers is an American songwriter. She has written over 40 singles in multiple music formats, including the Lee Ann Womack single "I Hope You Dance (song), I Hope You Dance", and the Kenny Wayne Shepherd single "Blue on Black". Siller ...

I Hope You Dance "I Hope You Dance" is a crossover country pop song written by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers and recorded by American country music singer Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert. (Drew and Tim Womack of Sons of the Desert are not related to Le ...

" –

LeAnn Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, "I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 ...

); Barry Dean (" Pontoon" –

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbro ...

); and Lance Carpenter ("

Love Me Like You Mean It "Love Me Like You Mean It" is a song co-written and recorded by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini. Ballerini co-wrote the song with Josh Kerr, Forest Glen Whitehead and Lance Carpenter. It was released on July 8, 2014, as Ballerini's d ...

" –

Kelsea Ballerini Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American country pop singer. She began songwriting as a child and signed with Black River Entertainment in 2014, releasing her debut studio album the following year, '' The First Time''. ...

Festival sponsors

Sponsors of the event have included ''American Songwriter'' Magazine,

Folk Alliance International Folk Alliance International (previously the ''North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance'') is a non-profit organization that produces an annual conference that is the world's largest gathering of the folk music industry and community. Founded ...

, corporate donors and performing-rights organizations such as BMI,

SESAC SESAC is a for-profit performance-rights organization in the United States. Founded in 1930 as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, it is the second-oldest performance-rights organization in the United States.

and

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

. NSAI Senior Director of Operations Jennifer Turnbow said, "We offer artistic reinforcement while presenting the truth about the music industry". Turnbow stated, "...one thing that has never seemed to change over the years, though, is that a well-written song is a well-written song, so I think the relevance of learning the art and craft of songwriting is timeless.”

The Nashville Songwriters Association International

The NSAI is a non-profit songwriters trade association including both professional and amateur songwriters and all genres of music. The organization raises money, in part to support lobbying efforts in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

to be advocates for fair reimbursement for songwriters, but this is not their main goal, according to Bart Herbison, former executive director. "We don't raise vast amounts of money with this estival, he said, "because there are a lot of costs involved...we do it to showcase the art form and the artists". In 2008, NSAI took ownership of

The Bluebird Cafe ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, Nashville's landmark music-listening venue founded by Amy Kurland in 1982.

References

External links

Tin Pan South
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival 1993 establishments in Tennessee Music festivals established in 1993 Music festivals in Tennessee Songwriting