Martha’s Vineyard Songwriters’ Festival 2009
Dates: Sept 18th-19th

BMI®

First Annual Martha’s Vineyard Songwriters Festival Slated for Sept. 18 & 19

Country and Pop Collide at Inaugural Event

Nashville, Tenn. – August 19, 2009 - The inaugural Martha’s Vineyard Songwriters Festival will inhabit the famous East Coast playground September 18 and 19. Staged at hotspots in Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, MA, the festival will combine pop and country BMI hit makers in exclusive live music lineups and intimate settings, adopting the overwhelmingly successful approach of the perennially popular Key West Songwriters Festival.  Advance tickets for each show are $25. Admission for both nights of performances is also available in advance for $45. To purchase tickets, visit ticketsMV.com.

The eclectic list of performers includes pop songwriter and scorching “Bette Davis Eyes” vocalist Kim Carnes; witty troubadour Scotty Emerick, whose compositions include Toby Keith’s “As Good As I Once Was,” “I’m Just Talkin’ ‘Bout Tonight” and “A Little Too Late,” all of which he co-wrote with Keith; promising UK pop singer/songwriter Lucie Silvas; revered country poet Hugh Prestwood, whose songs include Randy Travis’s “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart,” Alison Krauss’s “Ghost in this House” and Trisha Yearwood’s “The Song Remembers When”; young southern singer/songwriter Natalie Hemby, who in addition to boasting three songs on Miranda Lambert’s new album including the first single, composed “The Bees”—recorded by Lee Ann Womack and featuring Keith Urban—which has generated substantial buzz on and off Music Row; alt-pop singer/songwriter Daniel Tashian who co-wrote “The Bees” with Hemby; New York-based Jeff Cohen, the co-writer behind cross-genre successes including Big & Rich’s “Holy Water,” Evan & Jaron’s “Crazy for this Girl,” and more; Nashville tunesmith James Slater, composer of Martina McBride’s “In My Daughter’s Eyes” and more; beloved Key West singer/songwriter Scott Kirby; Chris Barron, former front man for alt-rock group the Spin Doctors (“Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and “Two Princes”); and five-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year Paul Overstreet, the pen behind standards including Randy Travis’s “Deeper than the Holler” and “Forever and Ever Amen,” the Forester Sisters’ “I Fell in Love Again Last Night,” The Judds’ “Love Can Build a Bridge,” and many more.

The event is designed to introduce top BMI pop and country songwriters not only to a wider audience, but to one another as well. While attendees soak up performances from the composers behind the hits, the performers will take advantage of the retreat-like setting and establish new creative partnerships with unmitigated hit-making potential.

The first annual Martha’s Vineyard Songwriters Festival is sponsored by BMI, Southwest Airlines, Mansion House, Key West Songwriters Festival, Fury Key West, ticketsMV.com, Plum-TV and Headline Country which airs on GAC.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL VENUE SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

8-10:30 p.m. / Katharine Cornell Theatre / Vineyard Haven, MA

Advance tickets $25 - www.ticketsMV.com    

Performances by:

Jeff Cohen  www.myspace.com/panchoslament

Lucie Silvas  www.myspace.com/luciesilvasmusic

Natalie Hemby  www.myspace.com/nataliehemby

Scott Kirby  www.myspace.com/scottkirbykw

James Slater  www.myspace.com/jamestslater

Daniel Tashian   www.myspace.com/danieltashian

Hugh Prestwood  www.myspace.com/hughprestwood

Saturday, September 19

8-10:30 p.m. / Union Chapel Theatre / Kennebec Avenue / Oak Bluffs, MA

Advance tickets $25 - www.ticketsMV.com    

Performances by:

Paul Overstreet  www.myspace.com/pauloverstreetmusic

Scotty Emerick  www.myspace.com/scottyemerick

Kim Carnes   www.myspace.com/kimcarnessongs

Chris Barron  www.myspace.com/thechrisbarron

 
Media contacts:

Kay Clary / BMI Nashville / kclary@bmi.com / 615.401.2728
Jamil Walker / BMI New York / jwalker@bmi.com / 212.554.7003

About BMI

Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI) is an American performing right organization that represents more than 375,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music and more than 6.5 million works. BMI reported $901 million for its 2008 fiscal year in performing right collections. BMI has represented the most popular and beloved music from around the world for 70 years. The U.S. corporation collects license fees from businesses that use music, which it then distributes as royalties to the musical creators and copyright owners it represents.

Sponsors
BMI, Southwest Airlines, Mansion House, Key West Songwriters Festival, Fury, MVtix.com, Plum-TV
and GAC’s Headline Country, and more