Barry Dean. Steve Moakler. Luke Laird. Bluebird Cafe Songwriter Series.
Those ten words would immediately get any country fan excited, knowing the catalog of hits between the songwriters and the history of songwriter rounds at the Bluebird. But when a tweet was posted prior to the Opry City Stage event on Friday that said “and special guest,” the wheels of the mind began to spin. Who else could be in New York City and join this trifecta of brilliance on stage?
As the songwriters took their seats at The Studio, a fourth chair remained empty, keeping the audience in suspense. Dean started the evening with his witty humor (which provided many laughs throughout the evening) and gave the crowd a hint that perhaps the special guest was Tim McGraw as he sang “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools,” which he co-wrote with Laird and Jonathan Singleton (no dice on Tim). Moakler was up next, talking about his home state of Pennsylvania and leading into the title track of last year’s release “Steel Town.” Laird completed the first rotation with his #1 Luke Bryan single “Fast.”
The three then turned their attention to who would be filling in that empty chair: a songwriter who was the first to win back-to-back GRAMMYs for Best Country Song since Roger Miller did so in the 1960s (“Dang Me” in 1965 and “King of the Road” in 1966). Who else but the one and only Lori McKenna. McKenna thanked everyone on stage and in the audience before performing her emotion-provoking “People Get Old” from her forthcoming album The Tree available July 20.
As each round passed, each songwriter told the amazing stories behind some of the genres biggest and most favorite songs. Dean reminded songwriters in the room to never put whistling in your songs before singing “Day Drinkin.” Moakler gave the backstory of how Travis Meadows approached him to write a song called “Survivor” which after a quick-flowing 90-minute songwriting session was completed, Dierks Bentley’s “Riser” was born. Laird shared his story of writing with Kacey Musgraves on “Space Cowboy” while McKenna’s GRAMMY winning “Humble & Kind” was written at her dining room table.
Other songs performed included: Barry Dean – “Girls Chase Boys” (Ingrid Michaelson), “Gods Will” (Martina McBride); Steve Moakler – “Love Drunk,” “Crazy Does”; Luke Laird – “American Kids” (Kenny Chesney), “Pontoon” (Little Big Town); Lori McKenna – “Young and Angry Again,” “Girl Crush” (Little Big Town).
For more information on Opry City Stage, including upcoming events, please visit their website: www.oprycitystage.com