The 8th Annual
Key West Songwriter’s Fest
is set for
May 7th
through
May 10th 2003.

View Last Year's Songwriter's Fest

Scheduled performers (in alphabetical order) are:

Gary Burr  

If it's a song about love...falling in or falling out...if it takes you back in time...makes you cry or smile...then it's a song written about the human experience...a song that will last forever.

Gary Burr has made a career out of writing just those kinds of songs, though he often jokes that all he ever set out to do is re-write "Love Me Do." The end results show more than that. His career has carries him from the clubs of New England to the top of the charts of popular music. It eventually even found him fulfilling a life long dream, playing and singing in a band on stage with one of his idols, Ringo Star.

After a high school soccer game left him with a broken leg and time on his hands, Gary taught himself the guitar and began writing songs. From those humble and horizontal beginnings he has gone on to become one of the most sought-after writers in American music...a favorite collaborator of such musical luminaries as Carole King, Michael Bolton, Aerosmith, Jack Blades, Andrew Gold, Desmond Child, John Leventhal and others. He has topped the charts in both the pop and country fields. His songs defy all labels.

In the nineties, Gary has seemed to own the country music charts. He has been named writer of the year several times, scoring hits with almost every major country artist in the world. From Garth Brooks to George Jones to LeAnn Rimes, all have recorded and had hits with Gary's songs. Gary has recorded a live album called "Stop Me If You've Heard This One..." (and you will have heard them). The album showcases his wildly popular live show and features eighteen songs that have been hits for others.

http://garyburr.com/ 

Chuck Cannon
Chuck moved to Nashville from his native South Carolina in 1984 to study Music Business and Finance. He began writing professionally in 1989. Chuck is a "triple threat" on Music Row, writing, publishing and plugging his own wildly successful song catalogue. His career tune "I Love The Way You Love Me" by John Michael Montgomery was the ACM Song of the Year in 1993 and a crossover smash.

Chuck has also had a string of number one hits with Toby Keith. "How Do You Like Me Now" went eight weeks at #1. Other number ones with Toby were “Dream Walkin’”, “We Were In Love”, and “Getcha’ Some”. He has also had numerous Top Ten hits and several #1 songs with Lari White, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks & Dunn and Willie Nelson, among others. He and his wife Lari reside in Nashville with their two beautiful children. He has also helped put this festival on the map by supporting it over the years. Thank you Chuck!

Scotty Emerick
Scotty Emerick is as straightforward and no-nonsense as his songs. That’s a rare quality in a man with a repertoire like his, but a welcome one. With massive hits like Toby Keith’s number one “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight,” Emerick has earned his bragging rights — he’s just choosing not to exercise them.

Emerick’s songwriting beginnings can be traced all the way back to his youth playing Moose Lodges and VFW Halls around his home state of Florida. “I came to songwriting just from playing music all my life, I guess,” Emerick says. “It was just natural.” After a stint in firefighter school, Emerick's love of music took over and led him to Nashville where he soon found himself signed on with Mark Miller’s Travelin’ Zoo Music and writing songs for Sawyer Brown, including the band’s 1995 hit “I Don’t Believe In Goodbye.” Between then and 1999, Emerick racked up a number of cuts, including George Strait’s"If It's Gonna Rain" and several tunes for Bryan White and Ronnie Milsap.

After signing on with Sony/ATV Tree’s Big Yellow Dog Music in 2000, Emerick began working with Toby Keith — a relationship that spawned five tunes on Keith’s Pull My Chain and seven songs on Keith’s latest, Unleashed, including the Keith/Willie Nelson duet “Beer for My Horses.”

“I believe in magic,” Emerick says of songwriting. “The best songs I’ve ever been a part of have just fallen out of the sky. It’s hard to describe how they happen. A good idea is the biggest starting point.” Laughing, he adds, “Sometimes, writings some songs is like pulling teeth. Other ones just fall out.”

He takes a similar approach to co-writing. “It’s different with everybody just because everybody’s different. But, it’s all the same, really. I get to write with my heroes. Great songwriters like John Scott Sherrill, Dave Loggins and Red Lane.”

And what about hearing Willie Nelson sing one of your songs? “Oh, man that’s a trip,” he laughs. “He’s one of my biggest influences. Willie’s what I strive to be. He’s done so many songs in so many genres but he just makes them all his own.” In his typically understated way, Emerick sums up not only Willie’s approach, but his own. “It’s all about the music.”

Clay Steakley 

Brett James  

After ten years in Nashville, three albums recorded, two recording contracts, three publishing contracts, one move back to Oklahoma and over 70 of his songs recorded by other artists, maybe it is Brett James’ turn to finally become an overnight success.

The Oklahoma native has certainly seen his share of highs and lows on his musical journey, but with the success of his songwriting career over the past two and a half years and the early success of his first single, “Chasin’ Amy” from his forthcoming Arista Nashville album, it looks like Brett is on the verge of a huge breakthrough. “It hasn’t always been easy, but I believe that the struggle makes you stronger and I know that I’m a lot more grateful for the success that I’ve had lately than I would have, had it come quickly,” said Brett.

The second of three kids, Brett grew up in a very musical family. “My dad’s never done it for a living, but he’s an amazing singer and my mom has a Master’s degree in classical piano, so there was always a lot of music in our house,” says Brett. “I learned to sing in church and started singing duets with my brother when I was about five, but where I’m from you don’t ever really think about trying to make a career out of it. I mean it’s not one of the options that they give you at the job fair in high school. I never really even thought seriously about it until I was already in medical school.” Medical school? That’s right, Brett was in his second year of medical school at the University of Oklahoma when he got his first break.

http://www.brettjames.com/

Rivers Rutheford

Born and raised in Memphis, Rivers Rutherford grew up with music. Influenced by his father, he picked up the guitar and piano at the age of 7. At 15 he played piano on the Memphis Queen riverboat and then moved onto the clubs of Beale Street. A scholarship enabled him to attend Ole'Miss where he majored in English and music. After a meeting with Chips Moman, producer of Elvis' "Suspicious Minds" and author of "Lukenbach, Texas" the well-known producer signed Rutherford to a publishing and production contract. This venture led to his first recording, "American Remains" by The Highwaymen. Moving to Nashville in 1993, he began to work with Whistler's Music and has had several award-winning compositions for TV and Film including a rendition of "Wordless Prayer" for Ken Burns' Florentine Films. In 1996,Rutherford signed with Universal Music Publishing Group. He enjoyed immediate success with Chely Wright's "Shut Up and Drive". His current credits include "Smoke Rings in the Dark" recorded by Gary Allen, Clay Davidson's debut of "Unconditional" and Keith Harling's version of "Bring It On".

Anthony  Smith

The minute he picks up his guitar and launches into a hardcore honkytonker like "Impossible To Do," there is no question to which side of the musical spectrum Anthony Smith falls. The singer/songwriter has spent years etching out his own little niche of cool, wedged somewhere firmly between the classic sounds of retro country, the funk of R&B, the raw edge of rock, and the smooth grooves of the blues, and he serves it up in spades on his forthcoming decidedly country Mercury Nashville debut.
Those thinking they've heard Anthony's name are probably right. . .he's the writing talent behind recent hits like George Strait's "Run," Trace Adkins' "I'm Tryin'," Montgomery Gentry's "Didn't I," and several other cuts by major artists. His debut is steeped with the kind of material that has had stars lining up to cut his tunes. Now ready to step out on his own, he offers up a distinctive new voice for the country Millennium -- to a genre in dire need of some fresh, new stylists. From the first few slow, moaning strains of "Who Invented The Wheel," which kicks off the record, there is no doubt the boy is bona fide.

http://www.anthonysmith.com/

Mindy Smith

Originally from Long Island, Mindy Smith moved to Nashville three years ago to pursue her musical ambitions. Since she has been in town, she a winner of the Tin Pan South Open Mic Competition in 2000 and is currently a finalist in the New Folk Competition at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival. She also created a huge buzz at the 2003 South By Southwest Music Festival. Mindy is currently a staff writer at Big Yellow Dog Music.

Troy Verges

When he was learning the craft of songwriting, Troy Verges instinctively knew how important it was to listen. While still in college at Belmont University ’s School of Music Business , Verges secured an internship at Patrick Joseph Music, one of Music Row’s strongest publishers. His favorite job was working in the tape library listening to every song that came in, including hits from Matraca Berg, Tim Mensy, Kim Carnes, and Gary Harrison.

The Louisiana transplant eventually secured a publishing deal, with Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville , even before he’d graduated from college, but landed only a handful of cuts in his first three years. However, after Verges placed “Love Is A Sweet Thing” on Faith Hill’s multi-platinum Breathe album, he found himself as in demand as any writer in Nashville .

 As proof of his popularity, Verges collects in 2002 not only his first BMI Country Awards, but the accompanying title of BMI Country Songwriter of the Year.  The four songs earning him the prize are his first #1, “Who I Am,” recorded by Jessica Andrews;  “With Me,” by Lonestar; “I Would’ve Loved You Anyway,” by Trish Yearwood; and his second #1, “Blessed,” by Martina McBride.  

He was also named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International at their 2002 Songwriter Achievement Awards.  

Jason White 

For over ten years, Jason White has been writing and performing original music with lyrical depth and a flair for the unexpected. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Jason has been heavily influenced by rock and roll gods Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Costello and Van Morrison. Signed to Acuff-Rose Music Publishing, Jason is currently performing with some of Nashville's finest musicians in support of his first solo release "Shades of Gray." The CD was produced by Viktor Krauss, who is best known for his work with Lyle Lovett, Michael McDonald, Bill Frisell, and is a featured performer on Graham Nash's upcoming 2001 release.

"...his songs indict, mourn celebrate, and snicker - if the fact that White's publishing company is Acuff-Rose isn't assurance enough of his writing ability, then one listen to the record will be - White has secured a place in the relatively small and very exclusive club of young, gutsy, seriously good Nashville songwriters"
- Performing Songwriter Magazine

 http://www.jasonwhite.org/

Venues are as follows: