Another in the long line of great Texas writer/artists, Mark Nesler writes honest, heartfelt country songs in the spirit of all the country music greats-with a definite focus on today’s contemporary sound. Artists that have benefited from his songwriting talent are George Strait and Tim McGraw in particular. McGraw had a six week #1 single with the Nesler penned song “Just to See You Smile” on his multi-platinum selling “Everywhere” album.  

George Strait has two #1 singles, thanks to the songwriting talent of Mark Nesler: “Go On” and “Living And Living Well.” Nesler also co-wrote Darryl Worley’s #1 hit, “I Miss My Friend.”  

Other hit singles include: “For You I Will”- Aaron Tippin, “Heaven In My Women’s Eyes” and “Just Let Me Be In Love”- Tracy Byrd, “Why, Why, Why”- Billy Currington, American Idol finalist Bucky Covington’s debut single, “A Different World,” and Keith Urban’s #1 single release, “You Look Good In My Shirt.”

In 2010, Nesler’s music broke new ground when one of his songs was selected as the title track for the movie, Country Strong. He also wrote Billy Currington’s #1 hit, “Let Me Down Easy” and Josh Turner’s hit, “Time Is Love”, Billboard’s most played country single of 2012.

Mark continues to write every day and is one of Nashville’s most successful and respected songwriters and artists.

It is a rare creative soul who can work at the highest artistic levels in two distinct disciplines. Ray Stephenson has just this kind of soul.

Wildly literate, utterly artistic, impossibly ambitious, absolutely a slave to his art, the South Georgian is completely committed to the truth. He is a world class  songwriter, recording artist, an intensely captivating live singer, guitar player, record producer & virtuoso painter. Add in the ability to express the uniquely personal in a universal way, and you have a true artist. 

Ray Stephenson does exactly that in his paintings, his songwriting & his performances. 

As a musician, Ray Stephenson is a Grammy Award winning, Platinum selling singer/songwriter from Nashville, TN. His successes include winning CCMA Songwriter of the Year in 2013, writing the title track of Kenny Chesney’s album Hemingway’s Whiskey, and writing the Blake Shelton/Miranda Lambert duo and album title track, Red River Blue. Both reached #1 on the Billboard Album Charts and were certified Platinum. Some of the most revered and iconic legends in Country Music have recorded his music, including Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Merle Haggard. He’s been a part of 4 Grammy nominated projects and 1 Grammy winning project (Guy Clark’s final recording, My Favorite Picture Of You, which brought home the Grammy “Best Folk Album” in 2015).

​

As a painter, Ray's paintings are hanging in the homes of collectors like Willie Nelson and Oprah Winfrey.  In 2012, Ray became the Official Painter of the Monsters of Rock Tour. He’s been featured at the Bluebird Cafe, Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville Airport, the Country Music Hall of Fame ,Gaylord Hotels, Aloft Hotel, 3rd and Lyndsley, CMT and Two Old Hippies. He's had feature articles in Nashville Arts & Southwest Georgia Living magazines.

His paintings explore his love of color, texture, music & nature. Ray’s artistic influences are found in the paintings of Odd Nerdrum, Gustav Klimpt, Rembrandt and Andrew Wyeth. His fine art is highly sought after by art collectors & is a part of several prestigious private collections. He has exhibited his work in Nashville, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Atlanta, & the US Virgin islands.