Song Suffragettes Honors Carly Pearce During 12th Anniversary Celebration

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Maddie Lenhart, Carly Pearce & Todd Cassetty. Photo: Libby Danforth

Song Suffragettes, Nashville’s only all female weekly songwriters round, held its sold out 12th annual anniversary show last night (March 30) at The Listening Room.

The annual celebration of community kicked off with Founder Todd Cassetty and Event Director Maddie Lenhart sharing opening remarks.

“For those of you who don’t know the history of Song Suffragettes, we started it in 2014 because as much as we love Nashville as a music scene, Nashville has notoriously been underwhelming to female artists in this town,” shared Cassetty. He then shared that since the start of the organization, over 5oo women have played the show. Of the alumna, 54 have landed record deals, and over 80 have inked publishing deals, including Ashley McBryde, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, Maddie & Tae, Megan Moroney and many more.

Pictured (L-R, back row): Song Suffragettes’ Founder Todd Cassetty, Ashley Anne, Belle Frantz, Abby Anderson, Carly Pearce, Elizabth Nichols, Q&A host Kelly Sutton, Alison Nichols and Song Suffragettes’ Event Director Maddie Lenhart. (L-R, front row): Chanel Yates, Nanseera, Abbey Rowe and Abbie Callahan. Photo: Libby Danforth

The evening then turned to the first writer’s round of the night. The room was treated to original tunes from Abbey Rowe (“Crazy or Pregnant”), Abbie Callahan (“Simon Says”), Alison Nichols (“Box Wine Problems”), Nanseera (“Mobile”), and Ashley Anne, who was debuting in the show, and sang a tune cut by the woman of the night Carly Pearce, “Why God, Why Me.” The creative and emotional lyrics set the tone for the evening, as the group ended with a cover of Pearce’s “What He Didn’t Do.” Throughout the round, each of them expressed their admiration for Pearce and her trailblazing career.

Round two featured Chanel Yates, Belle Frantz, Abby Anderson and Elizabeth Nichols, who all kept the praise for Pearce high. The round featured two songs each, with Yates delighting the packed room with “Once Upon A Time” and “Big Girl Boots,” Frantz showcasing “He Sure Is Nice” and the Vince Gill recorded “Lonely’s What I Do,” Anderson playing “Heart On Fire In Mexico” and “Untamed Woman,” the title track from her upcoming album, and Nichols rounding out with “White Paint” and “I Got A New One.” Pearce’s “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” was chosen as the group cover to end the round.

As the room filled with anticipation for Pearce, Kelly Sutton was welcomed to the stage, who conducted the interview with Pearce. Throughout the thoughtful q+a, Pearce highlighted her career journey from starting out to her favorite milestones, the community she has built with fellow female artists, the sacrifices she has had to made, and shared advice for aspiring artists.

Kelly Sutton & Carly Pearce. Photo: Libby Danforth

On community, Pearce noted “I don’t think you can find your people if you’re chasing it. I think they find you. It’s really interesting to see as all of us come up, you see the different groups and it’s fun to think off all those memories. We came from nothing, and have evolved. Those memories burned so deep in my soul.”

During the interview, Pearce also noted the struggles she has faced in her career. “I was told to move home. I was told I was old news. I was told I was dated, that nobody cared. I was told that being a female playing music that was reminiscent of the ’90s wasn’t going to work. What kept me here is every time I would get close to giving up, I felt like God would give me just something as small as an email from someone as a sign to stay.”

Sutton and Pearce also took the time to reflect on Pearce’s current place in her career. “‘Every Little Thing’ came out a decade ago, and I’m about to turn 36, and I would tell you that right now is the most sure of my artistry that I’ve ever been. And that’s taken trial and error, because it’s so hard to be an artist and want to land and succeed, and to not look at other people and keep your blinders on and try to remember who you are. But I think ‘Every Little Thing’ is always the North Star for me of the moment of that’s who I am.”

After the q+a, Cassetty and Lenhart took the stage to present Pearce with the Yellow Rose of Inspiration Award. The yearly honor is given to a female artist or songwriter who has inspired the women of the Song Suffragettes collective.

To round out the inspirational evening, Pearce performed a stripped back set showcasing her emotional songwriting and powerhouse vocals. She kicked off with her breakthrough hit “Every Little Thing,” before moving into her current radio single and collaboration with Riley Green “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay.” She then hit an emotional chord with “Dream Come True,” before closing with the unreleased “If You Can Take Him You Can Have Him,” which was co-penned with Carter Faith and will be on Pearce’s upcoming album releasing this summer.

Song Suffragettes is hosted every Monday night at 6 p.m. at The Listening Room.

Abbey Rowe, Abbie Callahan, Alison Nichols, Nanseera & Ashley Anne. Photo: Libby Danforth

Chanel Yates, Belle Frantz, Abby Anderson & Elizabeth Nichols. Photo: Libby Danforth.

Carly Pearce. Photo: Libby Danforth

Madison Hahnen
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