Songwriter Sessions

Songwriter Sessions

During Songwriter Sessions at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, fans get a chance to meet the minds behind some of country music's biggest hits, as respected songwriters share the stories behind their work in an intimate performance setting, with audience Q&A.

Scroll down to explore videos of past Songwriter Sessions.

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Songwriter Sessions
  • Sunny Sweeney • Songwriter Session, 2023

    Houston, Texas-born singer-songwriter and recording artist Sunny Sweeney, accompanied by Harley Husbands, performs songs she has written, shares the stories behind them, and takes questions from the audience. This program was recorded on March 11, 2023, and is presented in support of the Museum’s...

  • Miko Marks • Songwriter Session, 2023

    Singer-songwriter and recording artist Miko Marks, accompanied by Effie Zilch and Steve Wyreman, performs songs she has written and shares the stories behind them. This program was recorded on March 11, 2023, and is presented in support of the Museum’s 2023 edition of the exhibition “American Cur...

  • Shawn Camp • Songwriter Session, 2017

    Singer-songwriter Shawn Camp—who has written hits for Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, and Josh Turner, among others—shares stories and performs nine of his songs for the Museum’s Songwriter Session series. Camp has collaborated extensively with Country Music Hall of Fame member Loret...

  • Operation Song With Bob Regan and Friends • Songwriter Session, 2018

    During a Veterans Day Songwriter Session at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, songwriter Bob Regan introduces special guests and performers who have collaborated with Operation Song, a non-profit organization focused on empowering veterans, active military, and their families to relay th...

  • Adam Wright • Songwriter Session, 2015

    Adam Wright shares stories, answers audience questions, and performs a mix of songs he’s written, including new compositions and cuts by his uncle Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Joe Nichols, Lee Ann Womack, and others.

    The March 21, 2015, program, held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum ...

  • Liz Rose • Songwriter Session, 2018

    Hit songwriter Liz Rose performs compositions she had recorded by Eli Young Band, Little Big Town, Taylor Swift, and Carrie Underwood, and two originals from her debut solo album, “Swimming Alone,” during this June 20, 2018, program, part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Songwriter ...

  • Chris Janson • Songwriter Session, 2017

    Chris Janson performs live, answers numerous audience questions, speaks about his small-town roots, and gives advice to frustrated songwriters during this September 23, 2017, Songwriter Session at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

    At the beginning of the program, Janson tells the audien...

  • Priscilla Renea • Songwriter Session, 2018

    Priscilla Renea performs songs she’s written for Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Pitbull, and Kesha, among others, during this intimate Songwriter Session at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, recorded on July 28, 2018.

    The set list includes “Somethin’ Bad” (...

  • Waylon Payne • Songwriter Session, 2018

    Waylon Payne performs eight original songs and a cover of “Help Me Make It Through the Night” during this intimate program, recorded August 8, 2018, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He also speaks about how friends including Frank Liddell, Shelby Lynne, and Willie Nelson helped him a...

  • Rodney Clawson • Songwriter Session, 2016

    Rodney Clawson retraces his songwriting career from farming in Texas to placing songs with Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, and others, during this Songwriter Session at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, held on August 20, 2016. In addition to taking fan questions about songwriti...

  • Silas House and Matraca Berg • Songwriter Session, 2019

    Author Silas House reads excerpts from his novel “Southernmost” alongside songwriter Matraca Berg, who performs five original compositions, during a Songwriter Session at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Together, they look at the portrayal of home through a Southern lens.

    Berg opens t...

  • Luke Dick • Songwriter Session, 2021

    Luke Dick performs and tells stories about three of the hits he’s co-written: Dierks Bentley’s “Burning Man,” Eric Church’s “Kill a Word,” and Miranda Lambert’s “Bluebird.” He also shares two songs from a documentary he produced about his mother.

    In a virtual interview with the Museum’s Michael ...

  • Teddy Robb and J.T. Harding • Songwriter Session, 2019

    Recording artist Teddy Robb and hit songwriter J.T. Harding swap songs and answer audience questions during this Songwriter Session, held on June 8, 2019, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, during the year’s CMA Music Festival. Along with Robb’s originals, Harding offers songs cut by K...

  • Songs of Brad Paisley • Ashley Gorley, Kelley Lovelace, Lee Thomas Miller

    Three of Brad Paisley’s frequent songwriting collaborators—Ashley Gorley, Kelley Lovelace, and Lee Thomas Miller—talk about their friendship with the country artist and tell stories behind their songs he’s recorded.

    Part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Songwriter Sessions series, ...

  • Chip Taylor • Songwriter Session, 2019

    Chip Taylor explains how he discovered country music while growing up in Yonkers, New York, and performs familiar favorites (including “Angel of the Morning” and “Wild Thing”) as well as material from his new album, “Whiskey Salesman,” during this July 17, 2019, Songwriter Session at the Country ...

  • Dillon Carmichael • Songwriter Session, 2019

    Dillon Carmichael performs five original songs and answers questions about songwriting technique, musical heroes, and his favorite guitars during a January 10, 2019, Songwriter Session at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He also talks about working with producer Dave Cobb in Studio A in...

  • Rodney Crowell • Songwriter Session, 2013

    Rodney Crowell opens a dialogue about songwriting and the creative process in this informative program, recorded September 21, 2013, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He also performs a handful of songs including “It’s Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night,” “I Know Love Is All I Need,” and ...

  • Angaleena Presley • Songwriter Session, 2017

    Angaleena Presley performs songs from her second album, “Wrangled,” and original material recorded by Pistol Annies (the dynamic ensemble that also includes Miranda Lambert and Ashley Monroe) during this Songwriter Session, held June 3, 2017 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

    Early in...

  • Larry Gatlin • Songwriter Session, 2015

    Larry Gatlin delivers jokes, anecdotes, and classic songs in this solo acoustic set at the Museum, recorded August 15, 2015, as part of the Songwriter Sessions series. Along with talking about his early days as a songwriter in Nashville, he sings “Help Me,” “Broken Lady,” “I’ve Done Enough Dying ...

  • Shy Carter • Songwriter Session, 2019

    Shy Carter explains how he found common ground in the storytelling of R&B, soul, and country music, and performs hits he’s written for Kane Brown, Billy Currington, Sugarland, and pop star Charlie Puth during this Songwriter Session, recorded March 9, 2019, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and M...

  • Jim Lauderdale • Songwriter Session, 2016

    Jim Lauderdale answers audience questions about songwriting (and conducts a brief comic mock-interview with himself) during this Songwriter Session at the Museum, held on September 24, 2016, during the annual AmericanaFest. Steel guitarist Tommy Detamore joins Lauderdale on three songs, and the p...

  • Jeannie Seely • Songwriter Session, 2019

    Jeannie Seely reflects on the “tremendous honor” of having her songs recorded by so many Country Music Hall of Fame inductees during this Songwriter Session, held and recorded at the Museum on February 23, 2019. Joined by Tim Atwood on piano, the Grand Ole Opry stalwart offers six favorites and o...

  • Joe Ely • Songwriter Session, 2018

    Joe Ely makes a special appearance at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on May 26, 2018, in connection with the opening of the exhibition “Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ʼ70s.” The Texas music mainstay performs songs spanning his broad musical career and shares memorable experien...

  • Bruce Robison • Songwriter Session, 2017

    Texas singer-songwriter Bruce Robinson discusses his creative process and performs a selection of his hits—including “Desperately” (George Strait), “Travelin’ Soldier” (the Chicks), and “Angry All the Time” (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill)—during a special Songwriter Session, presented in partnership ...