Rob Hatch Talks Launching The First Las Vegas Songwriters Festival

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Rob Hatch.

Next week, Las Vegas will host 50 award-winning hitmakers during the launch of the first Las Vegas Songwriters Festival. Presented by MGM Resorts International and Entersong Entertainment, the event will take over Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Aug. 21 – 24, offering fans more than 100 performances across five stages from writers whose work has defined the soundtracks of countless lives.

Co-founded by hitmaker Rob Hatch and Entersong partner Mike Every, in collaboration with MGM Resorts, the festival will blend intimate performances, storytelling and unique collaborations. Names like Bob DiPiero, Dean Dillon, Liz Rose, Victoria Shaw, Billy Montana, Lee Brice and Justin Wilson are among the lineup, representing more than 300 No. 1 hits. The weekend will also feature Q&A sessions hosted by Storme Warren, giving fans the rare opportunity to hear the inspiration behind their favorite songs directly from the writers themselves.

Hatch, a SESAC Songwriter of the Year with cuts by Justin Moore, Randy Houser and more, envisioned the festival as a platform to showcase the world’s most successful songwriters in one place—with Las Vegas providing a fitting backdrop. In the conversation below, he shares how the idea came together, why The Bluebird Café’s “in-the-round” format was essential, and what it means to put songwriters at the center of the spotlight.

MusicRow: What was your original vision for the Las Vegas Songwriters Festival, and how did it grow into this massive first-year lineup?

Our original vision was to create the ultimate celebration of songwriting by bringing together the most talented writers, the biggest hitmakers, the best singers, the best players and the best entertainers, all in one of the best venues in the world. It’s grown into this tremendous lineup thanks to the dedication and hard work of our incredible team, including: Chuck Bowling (Former President and COO of Mandalay Bay), Paul Davis (Senior Vice President – Booking & Development, MGM), Mike Every (Director, Entersong), Laura Ishum (Vice President, MGM), Donna Lee (General Manager, Entersong) and Rachel Dean (Account Manager, Entersong). It took a lot of effort to make this first-year lineup a reality, and we couldn’t be more excited to take the festival to the next level.

With five stages and more than 100 performances, how did you approach curating the mix of iconic names, unique pairings, and up-close fan moments?

I’ve had the unique perspective of writing songs with so many of these folks for the past 25 years. I know their songs, I know how they perform, I know who’s friends with who, and I know who plays well together—so a lot of it came down to that inside knowledge.

And then we’ve got Matt Warren, a hit songwriter himself, hosting the festival. We wanted to have someone who knows this world inside and out to bring the kind of perspective only a fellow writer can.

We also knew we wanted the festival to be for people who love great songs and want to hear the stories behind them from the writers who created them. We thought what better way to let fans learn more about some of these hits and the people who wrote them than having some Q&A sessions, and who better to moderate than Storme Warren, a friend and advocate of songwriters everywhere.

Why was it important to involve The Bluebird Café and the “in-the-round” format in this Vegas setting?

The Bluebird is the most legendary songwriter venue—you can’t celebrate songwriters on this level without including them. If people know anything about songwriters, chances are it’s because of the Bluebird. We’re proud to have them as a partner, and bringing their iconic “in-the-round” format makes it feel like we’re really bringing the Nashville experience to Vegas.

As both a hit songwriter and festival founder, what does it mean to create this kind of platform for songwriters in the spotlight?

It feels like something that should have existed already—I’m really just taking the next step. I’ve been to plenty of songwriter festivals, and they have some really strong and up-and-coming writers, I wanted to create something different: a platform that puts the biggest hit writers in the world in one place together. Writers with the most hits, the best stories, and the kinds of songs people know and can sing along to all night long.

LB Cantrell
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