Songwriters, Vets Join For Songwriting With Soldiers Concert

Award-winning songwriters, veterans and service members will come together for a night of powerful music documenting military veterans’ experiences at the Songwriting With Soldiers concert on Thursday, Aug. 1 at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium. The program, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, will be taped for national broadcast on PBS this Fall in a one-hour TV special, Songwriting With Soldiers.

The concert will feature writers performing original songs they’ve written with service members through the nonprofit organization Songwriting With Soldiers. Songwriters set to perform include Bonnie Bishop, Gary Burr, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Radney Foster, Mary Gauthier, James House, Will Kimbrough, Georgia Middleman, Gary Nicholson, Maia Sharp and Darden Smith.

“This performance shines a light on two important things – the power of music to help us connect, and the need to listen to today’s veterans and military families. These are the war stories of our times, and they have much to teach us,” said Songwriting With Soldiers co-founder Mary Judd.

Songwriting With Soldiers will premiere nationally in prime time on PBS on Friday, Oct. 25 at 9 p.m. CT. Tickets are on sale now for $20 to the general public and are free to active military, veterans and their families.

As they face reentry into civilian life, many service members struggle with the aftermath of service – combat, ambush, rocket fire, friends lost. SongwritingWith:Soldiers holds weekend retreats across the country, pairing service members with professional songwriters to craft songs about their experiences, often about combat and the return home. The creative songwriting process is life-changing for participants as it offers a unique outlet to tell their stories, rebuild trust, release pain and forge new bonds.

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Lorie Hollabaugh

Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at [email protected].

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