Nashville is considered to be the hub of everything music in Tennessee – after all, it is Music City. However, the sounds of original music span the entire state, from the blues of Memphis to the bluegrass of Bristol. Along with providing boundless entertainment, Tennessee’s music industry is also a vital economic driver, providing employment for thousands of people each year.
Recognizing the importance of music to the state, the legislature created Tennessee Songwriters Week in 2019 to spur continuing growth in the music industry. Since its inception, nearly 5,000 artists have performed their songs in venues from the Mississippi River to the Smoky Mountains.
"Songwriters Week provides a stage for songwriters to share their original work while spotlighting the craft that put Tennessee on the map – songwriting,” says Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Public Relations Media Manager Jill Killgore. “Each year, the competition provides fans with the opportunity to explore the musical story of Tennessee from the ones who are writing it."
The Songwriters Week competition consists of two phases – preliminary and showcase rounds. The preliminaries are held first in more than seventy venues across the state. During these rounds, participants perform before an audience and a panel of music industry judges. At each site, the judges select two individuals to move on to the next phase – the showcase round.
The showcase round consists of only seven events, highlighting the top performers from all of the preliminaries. However, unlike the preliminary rounds, only one winner is selected at each showcase. Subsequently, the seven regional winners will perform at an exclusive event at the historic Bluebird Café before an audience of music industry professionals. Each winner will also receive a custom Taylor guitar, a $100 travel gift card, a two-night hotel stay in Nashville and a one-year membership to the Nashville Songwriters Association.
Since 2023, Sumner County has hosted two of the Songwriters Week events each year – a preliminary and a showcase round. This year, the Palace Theater in Gallatin hosted a preliminary round on Jan. 31, followed by a showcase at the Temple Theatre in Portland on Feb. 28. Both of these events were sponsored locally by Sumner County Tourism.
“Hosting Tennessee Songwriters Week events in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development is a wonderful opportunity for our community,” says Sumner County Tourism Director of Business Development Madie McCormick. “Events like these provide us with the opportunity to deepen our entertainment roots, which will result in an abundance of economic growth, vitality and opportunity for us all.