Singer-songwriters Alex Hall and Tenille Townes joined the Museum remotely for a Songwriter Session in February 2021, sharing live performances and thoughts about the art and craft of songwriting. Hall's debut EP, "Six Strings," features a collection of well-known collaborators, including Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, and his Songwriter Session partner Tenille Townes, who appears on the duet “Heart Shut.”

The two artists and collaborators deliver an acoustic performance of “Heart Shut” during their Songwriter Session, but lead up to it first with in-depth conversation and a selection of solo songs. Among those songs: Hall's “Last One to Leave” and “Never Seen the World” (both from "Six Strings"), and Townes's "The Last Time” (a track she wrote with Gordie Sampson and Ben Goldsmith) and “Somebody’s Daughter,” the leadoff single from her 2020 album "The Lemonade Stand."

In an interview with the Museum's Michael Gray, the two offer insight into musical growth and the songwriting process. Hall looks back on the influence of John Mayer and an encouraging poetry teacher; Townes remembers listening to the radio in the backseat growing up, and taking in a blend of her parents' and grandmother's musical tastes, from Shania Twain to Patsy Cline and U2.

Alex Hall and Tenille Townes also share some of their more recent inspirations, Townes pointing to Patty Griffin's vulnerability and Hall noting how hit songwriter Shane McAnally fueled his focus on listening, and staying humble.

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