Tin Pan South: Brett James, Caitlyn Smith, Justin Weaver, and Erik Dylan

Killer round at Tin Pan South last night: Brett James / @caitlynsmith / Justin Weaver / @erikdylanmusic

A photo posted by The Shotgun Seat (@theshotgunseat) on

Nashville’s Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival is an all-you-can-eat buffet of incredible writers’ rounds, and Wednesday night’s Cornman Music round at The Listening Room was an absolute standout. Cornman owner Brett James, along with Caitlyn Smith, Justin Weaver, and Erik Dylan, had the sold-out crowd rapt from Dylan’s opening “Comeback Kid,” a co-write with Kip Moore, and closing with James’ Ashley Monroe co-write, Jason Aldean’s “The Truth.”

Smith and Dylan are touring artists as well as writers; Smith recounted her recent trip to New York, while Dylan in a recent interview with us described the importance of songwriting in its relationship to touring – “If I drive 10 hours in one direction to play 45 minutes and then drive 10 hours back that night to get back to my family, those 45 minutes have to matter, like I can’t play a song just because I feel like it might be a hit.”

Not that there was any shortage of hits between the group. James played #1’s including Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All” and Carrie Underwood’s recent #1 “Something In The Water,” while Smith opted for Garth Brooks’ “Tacoma” and Meghan Trainor’s duet with John Legend, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You.” Weaver shared his Brantley Gilbert hit “Bottoms Up,” which despite the rock-heavy production of the record, lent itself well to an acoustic atmosphere.

Kip Moore, also a Cornman writer, took the stage to play a few, throwing it back to his Brett James produced debut album Up All Night with “Crazy One More Time” before playing his latest single, “I’m To Blame,” a co-write with Weaver and close friend Westin Davis. “This is like my family,” said Moore, who used to live at the Cornman office. Josh Mirenda, also at Cornman, made a guest appearance as well.

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