Carlene Carter performs at Ralph Lauren store in Nashville. Photo: Bob Merlis

Chapter 651

Whatever you think of his clothes, you can’t fault the musical taste of the folks who run Ralph Lauren’s Double RL stores.

The designer’s branded, quality-lifestyle company is debuting a Nashville-music film that will run in a continuous loop in all of its stores. It showcases the sounds of Carlene Carter, The Lone Bellow, The McCrary Sisters, Willy Gantrim and Aaron Steele. They were among those on hand at a celebratory premiere party at the retailer’s Nashville venue on Villa Place on Thursday evening (Dec. 16).

Carlene was tapped to headline the gig. “I’m Carlene Carter…I’m a third-generation member of The Carter Family,” she told the crowd. “I’m here by way of a film that Double RL did. I’m gonna entertain the shit outta ya, if I can.” She could, and did.

The Lone Bellow sing with Carlene Carter. Photo: Bob Merlis

Armed with just her guitar, she kicked things off with an expressive, driving delivery of “The Bitter End.” The lilting, autobiographical “Me and the Wildwood Rose” drew enthusiastic applause. Before singing it, Carlene talked about writing “Easy From Now On” with Susanna Clark and of Emmylou’s decision to record it.

Elizabeth Cook joined her to harmonize on The Carter Family’s “I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight.” Carlene offered her gospel tune “Damascus Road,” again demonstrating her Maybelle-style, acoustic-guitar mastery (she also plays autoharp and piano). She commands and charms the stage as a total pro, a true troubadour. She closed by leading a sing-along of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” joined by The Lone Bellow and the whole crowd.

Singing, mixing and mingling were Brian Mansfield, Tim Ghianni, Ronna Rubin, Trav Livingston & Randy Talmadge, Tiffany Anastasia Lowe, Wade Sapp, Ben Payne, Bob Merlis, filmmaker Dikayl Rimmasch and a boatload of handsomely attired and expensively groomed fashionistas.

The party was originally planned for outdoors, but we were somewhat uncomfortably crowded inside because of the rain. The move indoors also meant that they couldn’t actually screen the film at its premiere. It is called Double RL Holiday Bread & Jam and was shot on the old Orbison property located next to Old Hickory Lake. Also featured making music in the film are Cindy Cashdollar, Jacob Sooter, Cedric Burnside, Dylan Smucker, Redd Volkaert, Nina Brown & Jackson Lynch, Bart Pike and Matt Pynn.

As for Ralph Lauren in Nashville: Forget the Polo shirts and the preppy look — Double RL is Lauren’s line of western wear. Think denim, Navajo-patterned garments, leather goods, outdoor wear, boots, corduroy and woolens. Lauren’s getaway ranch in Montana initially inspired these beautifully created garments. I doubt that there’s a cowboy in that entire state who can afford Ralph Lauren prices.

There are only 11 of the exclusive Double RL stores in the world, and Music City has one of ‘em. The merch is awesome.

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has announced the dates for the 30th annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival, presented by Regions Bank.

The festival is scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 29 through Saturday, April 2, 2022 in some of Nashville’s most popular venues throughout town. Per usual, each venue will host two shows per night showcasing hundreds of songwriters from Nashville and beyond.

The 2022 Tin Pan South line-up will be revealed and tickets will go on sale on March 1 at 10 a.m. CST. Additional details will be made available in January.

The official 2022 Tin Pan South poster was created by Charlie Hartrich, a freshman at Watkins College of Art at Belmont University.

“When designing this poster I wanted to focus on the songwriting aspect more so than music or Nashville. I was inspired by the idea that songwriters across America are all a part of this festival, and that is what music is all about. Bringing people together and encouraging empathy,” Hartrich says. “Music and the city are a part of one another here so I also wanted to mix the two together and that drove most of the subject choices. But, lastly my main inspiration for my work was music itself. As a musician, music can be such a crazy, other-worldly thing and I tried to convey how expressive it can be in the poster although nothing beats the real thing!”

J.T. Harding. Photo: Fred Hayes

Songwriter J.T. Harding is known for his hilarious, fun-filled stories, and he’s sharing some of them in a new memoir and songwriting how-to, Party Like A Rockstar: The Crazy, Coincidental, Hard-Luck, and Harmonious Life of a Songwriter, due out Feb. 22 from Twelve Books.

The new autobiography charts Harding’s life from a kid growing up in Michigan to a chart-topping songwriter living in Nashville and working with stars like Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, and more.

In addition to being a memoir, Party Like A Rockstar is also a how-to guide for anyone wanting to learn how to craft a hit song. It tells the story of one man’s love for rock and roll, and how it guided him through some of the greatest tragedies and triumphs of his life.

Inspired by his favorite artists from KISS to Prince and everything in between, Harding ran away to LA, where he formed a band and became part of the music scene there all while selling records to his favorite artists and producers at Tower Records. Harding made his first demo tape with prize money he earned by winning the VH1 game show Rock & Roll Jeopardy!

He’s penned numerous chart-topping hits, including the triple Platinum “Smile” with Uncle Kracker; “Somewhere In My Car” with Keith Urban; “Somewhere With You” and “Bar at the End of the World” for Kenny Chesney; Dierks Bentley’s “Different For Girls;” Jake Owen’s “Alone With You;” and Blake Shelton’s No. 1 “Sangria.”

Country artists Thomas Rhett, Mitchell Tenpenny and Walker Hayes are headlining two major sporting events over New Year’s: the NHL Winter Classic and the Orange Bowl.

Rhett, an 18x multi-Platinum and Gold-Certified country artist, will perform during the first period intermission at the sold-out Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild. The game will be played outdoors at Target Field, the home of MLB’s Minnesota Twins on Jan. 1.

The 2019 ACM Performer of the Year’s performance will be aired on TNT as part of the Winter Classic Event. The game and concert will air at 6 p.m. CT.

Tenpenny and Hayes will be performing at the highly anticipated 2021 Orange Bowl between Georgia and Michigan on New Year’s Eve.

The “Drunk Me” singer played football in high school and planned to play college football before deciding to pursue a music career. The fan fest will take place in the south lot outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT. Admission to fan fest is free for all fans with a ticket to the game.

“I’ve watched the Orange Bowl ever since I can remember,” says Tenpenny. “I’m so excited to play fan fest and get to see this game live!”

At halftime of the Orange Bowl, Hayes, the 2x Platinum singer of “Fancy Like,” will take the stage to perform the halftime show. The Orange Bowl will air on ESPN at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Pictured (L-R): Bart Herbison (Executive Director, NSAI), Victoria Shaw (Songwriter), Rhett Akins (Songwriter), Nan Kingsley, Craig Wiseman (Songwriter), Erika Wollam Nichols (General Manager, The Bluebird Cafe), John Zarling (President, 615 Leverage + Strategy) and Ken Halford.

The Bluebird Cafe and the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) are partnering with the estate of the late radio icon Bob Kingsley to fund the preservation and distribution of historic songwriter performances.

Kingsley’s estate, under the stewardship of his wife Nan Kingsley, recently announced the partnership with songwriters Rhett Akins, Victoria Shaw and Craig Wiseman at “Live from the Bluebird: A Celebration of Bob Kingsley.”

A financial donation will help underwrite the digitization of some historic Bluebird Cafe shows that were recorded over the years in a variety of mediums. Additionally, video interviews with songwriters featured during The Bluebird Cafe’s 40th anniversary season in 2022 will also be part of the partnership.

Weatherford College in Weatherford, Texas, (Kingsley’s home,) also announced earlier this week that they will partner with The Bluebird Cafe through a Kingsley Estate endowment to have their students involved in the digitization of the historic shows.

“The goal is to begin airing some of the iconic shows when The Bluebird Cafe’s celebrates its 40th birthday next June,” says General Manager Erika Wollam-Nichols.

NSAI also recently launched a Top 40 song page at nashvillesongwriters.com in honor of Kingsley.

“Each quarter NSAI is posting a playlist of the best 40 songs from our non-professional members, songs that come through our programs and services from songwriters around the world. We just launched our second such playlist and this has been very popular among our members.  It is a great way to honor Bob’s legacy and a method to recognize and inspire a new generation of professional songwriters,” says NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison.

“Bob loved and supported the Nashville songwriter community,” adds Nan Kingsley.  “From his early experiences with Hank Cochran and John Hartford to establishing Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley at the annual County Radio Seminar (CRS), Bob’s had a passionate appreciation for songwriters. He supported them on the air too, by using his platform to recognize and promote the individuals behind the songs. It is only fitting that I continue to honor his legacy with these partnerships.”