Jenna LaMaster is a talented up-and-coming singer-songwriter here in Nashville and if you haven’t heard of her yet, you definitely will soon. We loved having her on as this week's guest on Stories Behind the Songs Podcast! She started out in Nashville working 14 hour days at a ranch outside of town before signing a publishing deal at Shelter Music - which she signed mid-pandemic!

She has several cuts with Ashland Craft including “Your Momma Still Does”, written with Jonathan Singleton and released by Ashland back in 2021. Jenna also shares the story behind her own 2023 release, “Drunk Thoughts” which was written with Lee Star and Whitney Duncan. 

In this episode, we also talk about growing up in a competing rodeo family in Northern California, building her camp here in Music City with other female writers like Lainey Wilson and Faren Rachels, and learning how to decide which songs to keep for herself and which to offer up to other artists. Jenna also plays a verse/chorus of “Your Momma Still Does” and “Drunk Thoughts”.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends and give us a follow.  It’s our passion to share the Stories Behind the Songs, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

I loved getting to hear a bit more of Jenna’s story and can’t wait for y’all to hear it as well!

Podcast Show Notes:

Jenna's TikTok - @HeyItsJennaLaMaster

Jenna's Instagram - @JennaLaMaster

Jenna's Website - JennaLaMaster.com

Drunk Thoughts on Spotify, Apple Music & More

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

And thanks to our sponsors! Sennheiser Microphones, Alclair In-Ear monitors and Imperfect Aesthetician - we appreciate all of the support!

Rachel Thibodeau is this week’s guest on Stories Behind the Songs!

Rachel has not only written for some of the biggest names in country music but is also working with some of the most exciting up-and-coming talent in Nashville.

You may know her from her long-time collaborative relationship with Luke Bryan with whom she wrote Billy Currington’s massive hit, “Good Directions” on his 2005 album, Doin’ Somethin’ Right.

She also has several cuts with Martina McBride and is working to develop the incredible new artist, Styles Haury.

Rachel plays a verse/chorus of “Good Directions” and a sneak peak of Styles’ unreleased next single.

In this episode, we also talk about the one-on-one co-writing process with Luke Bryan, starting a publishing company with John and Martina McBride (just because she had the guts to ask!), recording at the legendary Blackbird Studios, mentoring young, female writers, and seeing her first #1 sign on Music Row for “Good Directions”.

If you enjoyed this week’s episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s because of listeners like you that we are able to continue sharing the Stories Behind the Songs.

We hope you enjoy this episode and follow Rachel Thibodeau!

Podcast Show Notes:

Rachel's Instagram - @RachelThibodeauMusic

Rachel's Website - Here

Rachel's LinkTree - Here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

And thanks to our sponsors!

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - https://alclair.com/

For this week’s new Stories Behind the Songs, we’ve got Lexie Hayden here with us!

Lexie has some hilarious stories about getting her start here in Nashville - like when she was put on the spot as an intern to sing live on the Bobby Bones radio show. We talk about her 2020 release, You Heard Right and why she’s excited to be putting out her first full length album soon, not during a pandemic.

We also talk about her collaborative relationship with Priscilla Block (who she met as a server here at TLR) and the co-writing process behind Priscilla’s hit single “My Bar”.

Lexie gives us a performance of "My Bar” as well as an unreleased song off of her upcoming project, “Call It A Crush”.

On that note, be sure to stay tuned for her full-length album that’s coming out this August, as well as her album release show that will take place here on the 29th! 

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends and give us a follow.  It’s our passion to share the Stories Behind the Songs, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

Sponsors:

Sennheiser

Imperfect Aesthetician

Alclair In-Ear Monitors

We have 90's country star, Bryan White, with us on this week's episode of Stories Behind the Songs!

I’ve known Bryan for years - even before I met him, I was learning to play his songs on guitar to impress the girls in my college dorm. In this episode, we discuss some of his biggest songs including “Someone Else’s Star” and “Rebecca Lynn” as well as the songs he’s written for other big artists like Diamond Rio. 

We also talk about the challenge of writing uptempo when you’re used to writing sad songs, crafting unlikely chord progressions and key changes, having a hit outside of the U.S., and duetting with the legend herself, Shania Twain. 

Bryan performs a snippet of his song, “Sittin’ on Go” as well his personal favorite, “Dustbowl Dreams” which he wrote with Alan Shamblin, and he shares how this one reconnected him with his Oklahoma roots.

If you enjoyed this episode of Stories Behind the Songs, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. We are passionate about uplifting songwriters and their stories, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

And, as always, a big shoutout to our sponsors! Thanks to Sennheiser microphones, Alclair in-ear monitors, and Imperfect Aesthetician for all the love!

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - https://www.chrisblair.com/⁠

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

Sponsors:

Sennheiser

Imperfect Aesthetician

Alclair In-Ear Monitors

We’ve got my buddy Keesy Timmer on this week’s new episode of Stories Behind the Songs!
Keesy has had a really interesting path that has led him to our stage today.
Keesy has been writing with Kelsea Ballerini since she was a teenager and co-wrote the hit song, “Yeah Boy” with her and Forest Glen Whitehead. In this episode, Keesy shares how the song started from a funny moment with Kelsea and wound up earning a shoutout from Taylor Swift herself.
We also cover Keesy’s recent cut with up-and-comer Zach John King, “Smoke On My Jacket”, which has garnered a couple hundred thousand Spotify streams in only a few months.
Keesy plays a verse/chorus of this cut as well as his Kelsea cut, “Yeah Boy”.
We also talk about being a part of the band - Telluride, the struggle of being a songwriter these days, signing with Average Joes Entertainment, and using his gift for music and songwriting to give back by volunteering with music therapists, in prisons, and through organizations like Operation Song and Redemption Song.
If you enjoyed this week’s episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s because of listeners like you that we are able to continue sharing the Stories Behind the Songs. As always, a big shout out to our sponsors as well! Thanks Sennheiser microphones, Alclair In-ear monitors and Imperfect Aesthetician for all the love!
Alright, lets get into this week's episode. Here is Keesy Timmer!

Podcast Show Notes:

Keesy's Instagram - @KeesyTimmer

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs

Matt McKinney is our guest on this week’s new Stories Behind the Songs!

Matt got his start here at The Listening Room - not on our stage but as a server. Since then, he has landed cuts with some of the biggest names in country music right now like “Part Of It” by Jordan Davis, and he has a HANDFUL of songs on Elle King’s 2023 album Come Get Your Wife.

He also has an unreleased song called “Weatherman” that has been a big fan favorite here at The Listening Room for a while now, and Matt shares that this is probably his favorite song that he’s written.

In this episode, we also talk about his song going viral on TikTok, having a writing camp here in Nashville that looks out for each other, landing a deal at Sony with Rusty Gaston, and closely collaborating with Elle King on songs like “Tulsa” and “Lucky.”

As always, we also get to hear Matt play some of “Part of It” and “Weatherman.”

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s always our mission to share the Stories Behind all your favorite Songs and to highlight the songwriters who wrote them, and it’s thanks to listeners like you that we are able to keep going.

So good to have Matt here with us - let’s get into it!

Podcast Show Notes:

Matt's Instagram - @MattMcKinneyWrites

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

And thanks to our sponsors, Sennheiser, Imperfect Aesthetician and Alclair In-Ear Monitors, we appreciate you!

#SBTSongs

Adam Hambrick joins us this week on the Stories Behind the Songs podcast!

Adam has several huge artist cuts along with a successful artist career of his own. Some of my favorite cuts of his that we’ll talk more about in this week’s episode are “How Not To” released by Dan + Shay (which was actually almost cut by Rascal Flatts) and “Somebody Else Will” by Justin Moore (which was ALSO almost cut by Rascal Flatts).

He also recently put out his debut full-length solo album, “Free Country” back in 2023 and has racked up several million streams on his 2018 single “Rockin’ All Night Long.”

Make sure to stay in the loop with what Adam’s got going on - he has an unreleased song, “Oxford” that will be coming out soon that has been a HUGE hit and fan favorite on The Listening Room stage when he’s played it here.

In this episode, Adam also talks about being asked to get up on stage with Justin Moore to sing “Small Town USA,” learning to discern between a hit and just another song, the realities of record and publishing deals in Nashville, the story behind his song - “Oxford” as well as an awesome full-performance of the song, and going hard at Tin Roof after getting a song cut.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. Sharing all the Stories Behind the Songs is our #1 priority, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

I had such a good time catching up with Adam and hope you enjoy the episode as much as we did!

Podcast Show Notes:

Adam's Website - AdamHambrick.com

Adam's Instagram - @AdamHambrick

Adam's TikTok - @AdamHambrick

Adam's YouTube - @AdamHambrick

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

And as always, a huge thank you to our sponsors:

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - https://alclair.com/

I’m so excited to have my good buddy Brian White on this week’s episode of the Stories Behind the Songs podcast!

Brian White’s career in music has spanned over many decades and many genres - he got his start in Christian and gospel music and toured for about 15 years doing that. He eventually fell in love with the storytelling of country music and has become a true legend here in Music City.

Brian not only has plenty of hits to his name, but he’s written more than a few country classics as well. Some of my personal favorite cuts of his that we cover in this episode are “Watching You” released by Rodney Atkins, “Blame It On You” by Jason Aldean and “Roll On Mississippi” by Charley Pride.

He also has cuts with Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, and Gary Allan and Christian cuts like “Holding Out Hope To You” released by Michael English and “The Promise” by The Martins.

In this episode, Brian and I also talk about the difference between CCM and country songwriting, starting out as a youth pastor following God’s calling for his life, and, as usual, the stories behind the songs!

I’ve wanted to have Brian on the podcast for a longtime - in a lot of ways, he is a big reason that The Listening Room is where it is today. He was the one who organized the fundraiser in the early days when we were struggling that was a turning point for us and in turn also played a role in inspiring our "Sound Good. Do Good." program that gives back to non-profits every month.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s our mission to share the Stories Behind the Songs and highlight the songwriters behind the stories, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to do it.

Alright, here’s my good friend, Brian White!

Podcast Show Notes:

Brian's Website - HERE

Brian's NSAI page - HERE

Brian's Instagram - @BWTunes

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

And thanks to our sponsors!

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - https://alclair.com/

We’ve got Rocky Block with us for this week’s new episode of Stories Behind the Songs!

I have known Rocky for years because I was close friends with his father and it’s been so cool to watch his career take off, from playing bass on a cruise line to having several top 40 hits, all within just a few years.

It seems like Rocky has a writing credit on every hit single and #1 album lately. He’s collaborated with some of the biggest names in country music and has too many great cuts to list, but a few highlights include: “Can’t Help Myself” by Dean Brody, “Man Made a Bar” by Morgan Wallen and Eric Church, “Cowgirls” by Morgan Wallen and Ernest, “Broadway Girls” by Morgan and Lil Durk, “Whiskey Bent” by Cody Johnson and Jelly Roll and other cuts such as “Hammer to the Heart” with Teddy Swims who he says is not only a “generational talent” but also just a super nice guy.

In this episode, we also cover his collaborations with Larry Fleet and Ashley Gorley, signing with Big Loud Publishing, writing “Jupiter” with Georgia Webster, being a fan of the artists he’s in the writer’s rooms with, and finding inspiration with new co-writers.

He also gives us a quick performance of “Cowgirls”, and as always, we get to hear the story behind it - the idea for this one came from the TV show, Yellowstone!

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. We are passionate about sharing the Stories Behind the Songs and getting to know the songwriters behind the stories, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

And thanks to our sponsors for all that you do for us! We appreciate you! More on our sponsors and other links below...

Podcast Show Notes:

Rocky's Instagram - @RockyBlock

Rocky's Apple Music Playlist - click here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

Our Sponsors:

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

Alclair In-Ear Monitors - https://alclair.com/

Jordan Feliz, GMA Dove Awards Winner and Platinum selling Christian artist, joins us for this week’s Stories Behind the Songs!

Jordan has definitely come a long way in the industry. He started his career in Nashville working as a valet to make ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck. We actually met for the first time while he was doing the valet here at The Listening Room. Jordan talks about how this exposed him to meeting so many other talented musicians that worked here and played the stage.

Jordan’s first ever release, “The River,” was also his first #1 song - crazy! He’s gonna talk about how the song idea came from a verse-of-the-day notification on his Bible app and how he wrote it with Colby Wedgeworth, Jeff Pardo, and Joe Silverberg. In the co-write, they talked about the Bible verse for hours but once they started writing, the song came together in just 45 minutes.

“The River” spent 15 weeks at #1 on Christian charts which is so impressive and very difficult to pull off - especially in Christian music - and this just goes to show what a great song it is and how much it speaks to its listeners.

In this episode, we also cover Jordan’s calling to Christian music, starting out leading worship at youth group, the complexities of Christian radio, writing a song for The Chosen Christmas movie, life on the road as an artist, having features with legendary Christian artists like Lecrae and Toby Mac, and his upcoming single “Praise God for That.” Which is coming out In just a couple weeks on June 21!

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue bringing the Stories Behind the Songs from legends in the industry.

Quick shoutout to Sennheiser, Imperfect Aesthetician and Alclair In Ears for sponsoring us. We appreciate your love and support!

It was so good to have him here - he’s a favorite in my family so I’m extra excited to share this one with y’all - here’s my friend, Jordan Feliz.

Podcast Show Notes:

Jordan's Facebook - @JordanFelizMusic

Jordan's Instagram - @JordanFeliz

Jordan's Website - JordanFeliz.com

Jordan's Music on Spotify - here

Jordan's Music on Apple - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE  

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs  

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs  

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic  

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com  

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com  

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe  

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe  

#SBTSongs