Growing up with seven kids in the house and a father who loved listening to Irish music, Kat Higgins remembers pushing play on the family’s tape deck, learning songs like “Fields of Athenry” and “Danny Boy.” It wasn’t long before she and her brothers and sisters were performing them together for her parent’s friends. What started out as a song or two at parties quickly grew into full on concerts. “We looked like a scene from The Sound of Music,” Kat remembers. “We wore matching outfits, and stood in order of height.”  By the time she was ten years old, she was earning money at it, and by age 13, she had bought her first guitar. She learned to play that guitar and eventually began honing her skills as a songwriter. As the group became more popular, it wasn’t just family and friends who took notice. Open Road/Universal Music Canada soon came calling. By this time, some of the siblings had lost interest in being in a band, so along with one sister and brother, The Higgins were formed. The transition into a country music trio was effortless with the sound of their tight-knit family harmonies.  Kat loved that storytelling was at the heart of country music.  She co-wrote almost every song they recorded and at 19, she was well on her way to realizing what she had been born to do. The group’s unique sound and catchy melodies propelled the trio to the top of the Canadian radio charts.  They were nominated for multiple awards including CCMA Group/Duo of the year.  However, the group disbanded when older sister Eileen decided to become a stay at home mom.  All was not lost.  Kat knew where she belonged. During the making of the band’s albums, she travelled back and forth to Nashville, where she spent her time co-writing. Kat finally made the one-way trip to Nashville for good. “Music is the true constant in my life,” says Kat with a smile. “The only relationship I’ve known how to maintain is with mr. guitar.”  Like some of her influences, The Dixie Chicks, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac and Emmylou Harris, she knew the importance of crafting a song.  Kat thrived on producing the music, not just singing it. Having caught the attention of Nashville music industry veteran Pat Higdon, she was offered her first publishing deal with Patrick Joseph Music.  A young uninhibited spirit blended with old soul wisdom, Kat knows how to tell an emotional story.  Her vulnerable lyrics compliment her smoky and unique voice. While many things have changed for Kat in the last few years, the motivation of her craft has stayed the same.  “It’s a simple goal, whether through a lyric, a melody or a performance, I just want to make people feel.”

Adam James was raised on a farm in central Illinois. As a child of 90s country radio, he always dreamed of making music in Music City. Now, Adam currently writes for Universal Music Publishing Group and his songs have been recorded by Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, Cody Johnson and Little Big Town, just to name a few. He recently achieved his first #1 hit with Chesney’s “Knowing You”, which was also nominated for ACM Song Of The Year.

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.  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 earned 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, Dan + Shay, Hunter Hayes and Caitlyn Smith 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, - his 1999 album Stones garnered a Juno Award nomination for Best Roots & Traditional Album and he has won numerous East Coast Music Awards.   Although he doesn’t often take on outside projects, he has appeared as a 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.  From 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, the members of roots/pop group Port Cities, Dave Sampson and Kyle Mischiek (Sunsetto)  have gone on to build their own successful musical careers. 

Nashville is known for being the most cut-throat and saturated city for musicians; some even call it a ten year town. But in Makena’s first year alone, she racked up Nashville milestones one by one. She quickly stood out for her unique writing style and voice and was noticed by Eric Fortaleza and Mike Gannon, the founders of the award winning artist collective Pitch Meeting and was asked to join the world class house band in its early stages in January 2021. The group went on to win “Best Writers’ Night” by the Nashville Scene that year, as well as grace the Ryman Auditorium stage for a sold out show as the backing band for the Whiskey Jam Ten Year Reunion. Makena has since sung backup vocals for numerous top acts in music including Lainey Wilson, Karen Fairchild, Charles Kelley, Randy Travis, David Ryan Harris, Gavin DeGraw, and countless others. When she realized she was sharing stages with artists who used to only be voices in her headphones and whose lives she watched from afar, she realized just how much potential this city had for her and that she certainly made the right decision. She has become a member of the popular all-female songwriter round Song Suffragettes at the Listening Room Cafe, and played multiple full band showcases at the Whiskey Jam. Being a core member of the Pitch Meeting band, Makena would perform her songs at the weekly full-band writers’ open mic night, and at many of the other events and venues the group played such as the Brooklyn Bowl, and the Bonnaroo festival. Songs, “The Apple”, “LA”, and “She Decides” became staple crowd favorites due to their universally felt themes such as overcoming generational trauma, enduring unrequited love, and becoming empowered to leave unhealthy relationships. While Makena gravitates toward song themes with weight, they have an undertone of empowerment and positivity that lightens up the darkness of the human experience. She quickly earned the nickname “Songbird of Nashville” around town by musicians and artists due to her soaring melodies, feminine essence, and her storytelling and vocal power.