Introducing the CMA Songwriters!

Every year at C2C one of the highlights of the weekend actually occurs the night before on the Thursday in the Indigo when the CMA brings over five of the best songwriters in Country music today. So of course many were delighted when, as part of country Music Week, the CMA were hosting another one of their songwriters series and this time the four writers are not only going to play in London but in Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Gateshead as well. So we’re here to give you more information about the four going on tour this year! And if you haven’t already got your tickets, we’re hoping this will persuade you to get a move on and buy some!

Like always the host of the round has had multiple number one hits and countless other songs recorded by a number of artists in the country and Pop genres. Yes Chris DeStefano is not only a prolific songwriter but a multi-instrumentalist and producer. His songs have been recorded by the likes of Carrie Underwood including the chart toppers Good Girl and Something in the Water. He also wrote Luke Bryan’s That’s My Kind Of Night and Jason Aldean’s Just Gettin Started. His production credits include songs on Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger and Piece by Piece, Kip Moore’s Wild Ones and Chase Rices Ignite the Night. It’s hard to find someone in Country music that Chris hasn’t worked with. He is more than a worthy host with his credentials and his performance will be like a songwriting masterclass, it’s hard to believe that this is his first time performing in the UK since he’s been writing professionally for the past 8 years, so don’t wait another 8 years to see him!

Tenille Townes at just 24 years old has had quite a lot of success as an artist. The Canadian was nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award at just 17 for female artist of the year. Earlier this year she supported Miranda Lambert on her Bandwagon tour and has signed a publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog and a record deal with Columbia Nashville. She’s currently working on an album with award winning producer Jay Joyce. Her most recent single Somebody’s Daughter was written by Townes, Barry Dean and Luke Laird and they make a great team, lyrically her songs are reminiscent of Lori McKenna’s whilst vocally Townes has a very unique sound particularly for Country music. With her team now in place, I think Tenille Townes is going to go from strength to strength until she’s a household name among Country fans. Don’t miss her first performance in the UK!

Kassi Ashton has signed a record deal with UMG Nashville and has a publishing deal with Creative Nation. This is significant again as she has a strong team around her, but to gain this kind of support, she must be good. This year she has released two singles the first one co-wrote with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally. Die hard Keith Urban fans will know Kassi as she featured on his song Drop Top off his GraffittiU album and he described Kassi as a “Unique, original creature.” She has impressed the likes of Bobby Bones who included her in his class of 18 and was named “Who to watch” by the Huffington Post and the Tennesssean. Again this is her first time across the pond so lets make her feel welcome and sell these shows out!

The next writer needs no introduction as she has made plenty of trips to the UK, this will be her fourth visit this year in fact! Ashley Campbell, daughter of the legendary Glen Campbell, released her debut album in March this year and before that released a number of singles including Remembering which was written for her Dad and featured in the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me. We’ve interviewed Ashley a couple of times and her debut album is influenced by Family (both her brothers have writing/production credits on the record), and humour. When Ashley was younger she did a lot of improv comedy and you can hear that in her songwriting. For anyone who hasn’t seen her live yet, it’s not just her songwriting that will blow you away but her banjo skills as well. After touring with her Dad’s band and learning off Godfather Carl Jackson, Ashley is no stranger now to wowing audiences around the World and it’s great to see her back again for the fourth time this year (she must love England!) so if you haven’t seen her before, get your tickets and if you have already seen her you probably already have tickets so well done you!