Troy Cartwright
Singer-songwriter Troy Cartwright recently added “podcast host” to his resume. More than 30 episodes in, his Ten Year Town podcast sheds light on the plight of Nashville songwriters and the passion and patience needed for just a chance to make it in Music City.
Cartwright has been a lover of songs and songwriting since he was a young kid growing up in Dallas, Texas. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Nashville, got a publishing deal and then a record deal.
Years later, Cartwright left his label deal to be an independent artist. With releases such as “Unlove You,” “Wild One” and “Over You By Now,” he has garnered over 115 million streams to date, with 2023 marking his highest streaming success yet. His socials have grown exponentially as well.
As a songwriter signed to Big Machine Music, Cartwright has written songs recorded by Ryan Hurd, Josh Abbott Band, Nickelback and several other chart-topping artists. His resilience and perspective make him the perfect host for a podcast about the journey of songwriters like Ten Year Town.
The first season of Ten Year Town featured hitmakers such as Jimi Bell, Marc Beeson, Trannie Anderson, Billy Montana, Wynn Varble and many more—as well as publishers like Tim Hunze, Courtney Allen, Derek Wells and Chris “Falcon” Van Belkom.
Through his interviews, Cartwright uncovers their stories, takes a look into their craft and ultimately extracts words of advice from those behind the hits.
“I’m a really curious person. I just like talking to people,” he shares. “My wife, Mary Lu, and I are always trying to find creative things to do and ways to market. She was like, ‘We should make podcast called Ten Year Town and talk to people about their journey. Then we got started!”
Cartwright wanted to make sure that the podcast highlighted how everyone’s story is different, so that listeners could visualize different paths to success.
“You move to Nashville and hear that it’s a 10 year town, and you’re like, ‘I’m special. I’m going to do it one year.’ Sometimes that is true. Some people we’ve had on the podcast have been in town for 30 years, and some people have been in town for five,” Cartwright says. “For me it was just about trying to capture everyone’s story so that people just getting started could listen to it and [feel like they’re not alone.]”
Some of Cartwright’s favorite moments on Ten Year Town are when his guests speak to those listeners following in their footsteps.
“At the end of every episode I ask, ‘Do you have any advice that you would give to your younger self or to someone just getting started?’ Pretty much everyone’s answer is some version of, ‘don’t quit,'” he says.
“I hope the answer to that question is finding people at the right time, when they need to hear it most. I hope it’s inspiring for them because it’s been really inspiring for me personally.”
Another piece of wisdom Cartwright extracts from his guests is what their role in the writing room is. He says hearing their answers has helped him in his own craft.
“I try to be more present in the room now,” he says. “Sometimes my role is to be the artist, [but sometimes it’s not]. A guy I was writing with recently was going through something and was on fire, so my role was to be the stenographer. I was just trying to capture what he was getting out. I’m trying to be open to that process of understanding I can wear different hats.”
Cartwright’s first season of Ten Year Town connected so well that he has continued to release more, with new episodes featuring Jessi Alexander, Hardy, Luke Laird, Jerry Flowers and more out now.
With the help of his wife, Mary Lu, and some team members, he’s created a significant library of work with Ten Year Town. But it’s not like the singer-songwriter has much time—he is also constantly writing, recording and touring, building his own fan-base while fitting in time to talk to other creators about their lives.
“I’m so happy I’m doing this. It sets my soul on fire,” he says. “I love getting to talk about the craft of songwriting. It’s important to me. The Nashville community has done so much for me, I hope I [can continue] to elevate that so other people can realize how special Nashville is.”
When he’s not working on the podcast, Cartwright is working on a new record and writing three or four days a week.
“I feel like I’ve got three full-time jobs,” he quips. “I’m so grateful. I know how lucky I’m to get to do this. I’ve had a lot of different points where I wasn’t sure if I’d get to, so I don’t take it for granted.”
Ten Year Town is available to listen to here.
