WINTER SONGWRITERS CONCERT

Over the last decade, Laird has penned 24 #1 country songs, earned two Grammy Awards, clinched Songwriter of the Year titles from BMI and the ACMs, and has taken home too much industry hardware to list. Laird has had hits with Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Eric Church, Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, Sam Hunt, and many more. He produced Musgraves’ Grammy-winning album, Same Trailer, Different Park, as well as her Grammy-nominated record, Pageant Material. He also frequently works outside of country music with a broad range of artists, including Charlie Puth, Ne-Yo, Tori Kelly, Alec Benjamin, Pink Sweat$, Future, Snoop Dogg, and John Legend. Laird is a co-writer on Jon Pardi’s current single, “Tequila Little Time,” and is the host of Apple Music’s Country Replay Radio.

Dean has co-written over 20 radio singles since moving to Nashville and beginning his career as one of the most in demand writers in town. Of these, four have gone #1 on country radio, including “Day Drinking” (Little Big Town), “Pontoon” (Little Big Town), “Think A Little Less” (Michael Ray), and most recently, “Heartache Medication” (Jon Pardi). In 2016, Dean was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Country Song for Tim McGraw’s “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” and earned a BMI Pop Award the year prior for Ingrid Michaelson’s “Girls Chase Boys.” He has penned songs with and for artists across all genres, including Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Luke Combs, Maren Morris, BØRNS, and more.

In addition to her career as a Grammy-nominated solo artist, McKenna is one of the music industry’s most in-demand songwriters. She is the first female to ever win Songwriter of the Year at the ACMs, the first female to ever win CMA’s Song of the Year two years in a row, and she also won back-to-back Grammys for Best Country Song for “Girl Crush” (Little Big Town) and “Humble and Kind” (Tim McGraw). In addition to writing songs for a multitude of award-winning artists including Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Sara Bareilles, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Hunter Hayes and Reba McEntire, McKenna also co-wrote “Always Remember Us This Way,” which was featured in the Academy Award-winning 2018 film, A Star Is Born, and received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

Steve Moakler is a country music singer/songwriter with Pennsylvania roots. His career as a songwriter has seen chart successes including Dierks Bentley’s emotionally powerful title-track, “Riser.” Bentley told Billboard Magazine that the single was a “once in a career song.” He has also had songs recorded by artists such as Jake Owen, Ben Rector, Kenny Chesney, Reba McIntire, and more. Over a decade after relocating to Nashville from Pittsburgh, Moakler released his own radio single, “Suitcase,” which received over 17 million combined streams and hit #3 on SiriusXM’s The Highway’s Hot 30 Countdown. He has toured alongside Old Dominion, Willie Nelson, Dan + Shay, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Hunter Hayes, and Billy Currington. Since signing with Creative Nation, Moakler has released three successful studio albums, Steel Town, Born Ready, and Blue Jeans, all of which were produced by Grammy-award winning producer, Luke Laird.

Travis Wood is an award-winning songwriter, producer, and musician. After quickly writing a slew of radio hits in Canada, totaling six #1’s, 18 top 10’s and 10 Certified Gold singles, Wood made the move to Nashville to expand his presence. Wood signed a publishing deal with Creative Nation in 2019. Since signing with Creative Nation, Travis has had cuts with Morgan Wallen, Lady A, Jake Owen, Scotty McCreery, Hannah Ellis, Alana Springsteen, Kassi Ashton, Andrew Jannakos and more. He was signed as a topliner, but over the past year he has grown into a very capable producer and is able to play either role in the writing room.

Casey Brown is a multi-talented writer/producer best known for his success with Russell Dickerson. He produced the debut album and scored four #1 hits as a writer and producer. Brown co-produced Dickerson’s sophomore album, Southern Symphony, with Dann Huff. Since signing with Creative Nation, Brown has had cuts with Lauren Alaina, Lily Rose, Dustin Lynch, Chase Rice, Brian Kelley, Hannah Ellis, Madison Kozak, and more. Brown is a co-writer on Russell Dickerson’s current single, “Home Sweet.”