A brilliant songwriter and innovative producer, Gordie Sampson is no stranger to the music scene. Raised in the community of Big Pond (pop. 47), near the rugged, edge-of-the-world coastlines of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Sampson’s songwriting has taken him across the globe. But besides the island he hails from, there might be no place in his story more important than Nashville, Tennessee, where he lives now with his family. He moved to Music City in 2005, and in less than a year Carrie Underwood had recorded his own “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” which wound up at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for six weeks in a row and won Gordie a Grammy for Best Country Song of the Year. Since then, Sampson’s songs have been cut by a long list of established artists that includes Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Rascal Flatts, Hunter Hayes and Scott Helman and by young up-and-comers like Carly Pearce, Caylee Hammack and Tenille Townes. It was a winding road to get here. He tore up the stage in high school and afterwards with his early bands, did time playing and producing for fiddlin’ phenom Ashley MacIsaac, toured with The Rankin Family, and was part of Canadian folk music icon Rita MacNeil’s group on her weekly CBC show Rita and Friends. Sampson’s straight-to-the-heart tunes benefit from the weight of his expressive voice on his own records, and his 1999 album Stones garnered a Juno Award nomination for Best Roots & Traditional Album. Although he doesn’t often take on outside projects, he’s also recently served as producer for records by The East Pointers and Port Cities. Gordie heads back home to Canada every summer to spend time with family and friends in his beloved Cape Breton and to perform in the Maritimes, where enthusiastic audiences welcome him, year after year. Since 2010-2019 he ran The Gordie Sampson Songcamp, a retreat that gives young songwriters the opportunity to develop their skills and build relationships with their peers, and promotes learning in pursuit of artistic excellence. Numerous Songcampers, including Mo Kenney, T. Thomason, and the members of roots/pop group Port Cities have gone on to build their own successful musical careers. A brilliant writer, an innovative producer, a dynamic on-stage presence, and a mentor to emerging writers, Gordie’s musical genius and generosity is applauded by audiences and industry players alike.    

Growing up on a cotton farm in California might not seem like the best preparation for a songwriting career, but for Ed Hill, BMI’s 2006 Songwriter of the Year, it held plenty of valuable lessons that have helped him rise to the top of his profession. The biggest one probably applied after he had been in Nashville awhile struggling, trying to make things happen and painting houses just to eat. “I was about to leave town,” explains Ed. “It’s just so hard when you start out, and I didn’t really have a Plan B. But I just kept my head down like a farmer, like my daddy, and kept working hard. And if you do that, eventually you’ll work your way into some luck.” Ed had plenty of experience to draw on from his early years as part of the ’70’s Bakersfield scene. He played five nights a week at a club where legends like Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson would sit in with the band, and later joined the famed Palomino Club house band in L.A. Ed became so adept on the keys while out West that he was nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s Piano Player of the Year in 1980 and ’82. Arriving in Nashville in 1986, Ed joined AMR/New Haven Music, and was soon getting cuts by Reba McEntire (“Til Love Comes Again”), Faith Hill (“It Matters to Me”), and John Michael Montgomery (“Be My Baby Tonight”). He also scored hits with Trace Adkins’s “Songs About Me,” and Martina McBride’s “Whatever You Say,” and is currently on the charts with Tracy Lawrence’s comeback hit, “Find Out Who Your Friends Are.” And he has a track on Reba’s upcoming duets album with LeAnn Rimes, “When You Love Somebody Like That.” Known to write a song a week on average, Ed never knows where inspiration will strike, so he follows one strict rule of thumb: “I always make my wife buy me shirts with front pockets on them, and I carry a pen and pad in that pocket, no matter where I go. That way I can just pull it out when I get an idea, which could be at any time. I always have my antennas out…it’s fun!”

Australia-born, Nashville-based hitmaker Jordan Dozzi is a songwriter and producer with a growing reputation for crafting standout songs. A former Division I soccer player, Dozzi made the pivot to music in April 2021, signing a publishing deal with Big Loud Publishing and quickly establishing himself as a go-to creative in writing rooms. His credits include No. 1 hits “Pour Me A Drink” (Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton) and “Man Made a Bar” (Morgan Wallen feat. Eric Church), with additional cuts recorded by Chris Lane, Corey Kent, ERNEST, Jake Owen, Kashus Culpepper, Larry Fleet, Seaforth feat. Jordan Davis and more.

Gloria Anderson is an Americana and Country singer-songwriter from Luling, a small Texas town. As a military brat with parents who would quiz her on rock bands like Fleetwood Mac or play classic Country like Dolly Parton, she wrote songs about her window observations during six family moves before seventh grade. She began playing her music at open mics and paid gigs around the San Antonio area, including New Braunfels, Spring Branch, and Luckenbach at age seventeen. Gloria’s talents have been on full display in the Lone Star State, as she became the first rising Texas songwriter to completely sell out the Hill Top Cafe in Fredericksburg, played original music twice on 92.3 The Ranch FM, and toured across Texas with Cole Ritter and the Night Owls this past summer. Her sphere of musical influence even spans to the Midwest, as that tour reached Ohio and she performed at the 2022 Illinois State Fair Grand Central Stage. Gloria’s newest hometown, however, is Nashville, Tennessee, where she studied the craft of songwriting at Belmont University on her way to receiving Warner Chappell's 2022-2023 Songwriting Internship and winning Belmont’s 2022 ASCAP Songwriters Showcase. Gloria’s debut single, “Yours,” has reached over 185,000 cumulative streams across all platforms. Her songs have been featured on an assortment of playlists: Spotify’s New Music Nashville and Fresh Finds: Country, Apple Music’s Don’t Mess With Texas, and BMI’s Texas Ten. Gloria’s music combines her humble Texas roots with a bit of Nashville country flair to create a genuine, yet unique, Americana sound, and her relatable lyrics and sweet persona work together to create her image as an empowering girl-next-door who always has a story to tell.