Whether it’s behind the pen as the writer of record-breaking hits like the Billboard “Song of the Year,” Love Like Crazy (Lee Brice), or the CMA, ACM, CCMA, and NSAI “Song of the Year,” Three Wooden Crosses (Randy Travis), at the console as producer for artists like Lee Brice, Hank Jr., Clay Walker, and John Michael Montgomery, or behind the desk helming an A&R department, Doug Johnson knows his way around a hit. Throughout his 30-plus-year career as a songwriter, Johnson has had over 100 cuts, including 7 Number One hits and 10 Top 10s by everyone from Bertie Higgins and Alicia Bridges to George Strait, Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, Wynonna, and Kenny Rogers, among others. Johnson made history when he broke a country music record with Lee Brice’s Love Like Crazy, which spent an incredible 56 weeks on the charts. His production credits are equally notable: as VP/A&R for Epic Records in the early ’90s, he oversaw the careers of Patty Loveless, Collin Raye, Doug Stone, Joe Diffie, Ty Herndon, Sons of the Desert, and many others. He later moved to Giant Records as President, where he guided the careers of Clay Walker, The Wilkinsons, Blake Shelton, Joe Nichols, and Neal McCoy, among others. Following his time at Giant Records, Johnson led the A&R department at Curb Records, whose roster included Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Wynonna, Hank Jr., Rodney Atkins, Lee Brice, Clay Walker, and Heidi Newfield, among others. In 2012, Doug Johnson joined the team at Black River Entertainment as Vice President of A&R and is currently working with Black River's artist roster, which includes Kelsea Ballerini, Chris Young, MaRynn Taylor, Scotty Hasting, and more.

Elvie Shane’s dad had a saying. One of those things that sticks with a person all through life – and especially in tough times. “Always forward, never straight,” he’d proclaim, knowing full well that a detour sometimes gets us where we’re headed. Even as a kid, Shane knew it was good advice. He just had no idea how good. Nowadays, he’s the man behind the most heartwarming country hit in recent memory – the lump-in-your-throat anthem to step-fatherhood, “My Boy” – and Shane knows what his dad meant. The road ahead is rarely a straight shot, and with Backslider, his full-length album debut on Wheelhouse Records, he gives that truth a soundtrack. “It’s my biography pretty much,” Shane says, waving a flag for the perfect imperfection of our world. “I feel like Backslider is about being human, and I just want to say ‘Hey man, I screw up on a daily basis, and I can’t help it – but I’m gonna get up tomorrow and try to be better than I was. Does anybody want to do that with me?’”

Phil O’Donnell, a Canada native, made his first trip to Nashville in 1983 and began developing his skills as a songwriter. Officially making the move in 1994, O’Donnell has also worked as a musician, playing guitar with many artists, including Craig Morgan, Jeff Carson, Kevin Denney, Johnny Lee, and Sherrie Austin. O’Donnell’s songwriting credits include Parmalee’s current single, "Already Callin You Mine,” Blake Shelton's #1, “Doin’ What She Likes,” George Straits 60th #1, "Give It All We Got Tonight,” #1 single, “Back When I Knew It All,” recorded by Montgomery Gentry. Other cuts include “Love Remembers,” “I Got You” and "More Trucks Than Cars" by Craig Morgan; “Tougher Than Nails” by Joe Diffie, “Fore She Was Mama” and “She Won't Be Lonely Long” by Clay Walker; Darryl Worley’s “Sounds Like Life to Me;” “He's Mine” by Rodney Atkins. O’Donnell has also had songs cut by Darius Rucker, Eastin Corbin,Craig Campbell, Josh Thompson, Justin Moore, Kellie Pickler, Tate Stevens, Scotty McCreery, Brad Paisley, Parmalee, Jawga Boyz, Trace Atkins, Chris Janson,Matt Stillwell, Matt Mason, Mark Chesnut, Gord Bamford, Tracy Byrd, Billy Ray Cyrus, Travis Tritt, Jason Blaine, Gretchen Wilson, Randy Travis, James Wesley, Ash Bowers, Joey & Rory, High Valley, Marty Raybon, Gabe Garcia, Guy Pinrod, Lila McCann, Kevin Denney, Trent Willmon, Andy Griggs, Neal M'Coy, Tracy Lawerence, Sammy Kershaw, Cole Deggs And The Lonesome, Chalee Tennison, John Conley, Ed Bruce, and Jill King, In addition to having a successful career as a songwriter, O’Donnell also has served as producer for artists, such as Craig Morgan ,Josh Thompson, Keith Anderson, Matt Mason, Justin McBride, Chris Janson, MarkWills, Tara Oram, Jason Blaine, High Valley, Steve Richard, Davisson Bros.Band. Among his many production credits is the six-week #1 country hit, “That’s What I Love About Sunday” (Craig Morgan), which was the most played country song of 2005.

Modern American singer-songwriter Bryan Simpson is an artist whose sound unnervingly explores an evocative amalgamation of southern folk, bluegrass, classic country and indie eclecticism, with the playful swagger, relatable storytelling, and thoughtful introspection of his heroes which include John Hartford, Tom T Hall, Jeff Tweedy, and of course Bob Dylan. Bryan’s songs have netted praise from all corners: The Huffington Post wrote “Bryan's original undertakings are reminiscent of the whimsical and whip-smart work by David Byrne and Jim James”. While SeattlePi claims Simpson’s music echoes “Bowie, and Beck in the melodies, moods, and arrangements. The quest is entertaining and thought-provoking.” His genre-spanning career has included making records and touring as a singer/songwriter with luminaries as diverse as The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, bluegrass giant Ricky Skaggs and Mumford and Sons. Since leaving his hometown of Ft Worth Texas with only a fiddle, guitar, mandolin and a box fan to his name, Simpson has had many of his original songs recorded by country music stand outs like Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Hailey Whitters, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Brandy Clark, Old Dominion, Stephen Wilson Jr., with several of them ending up with a number 1 beside their name on the Billboard and Music Row charts . He has also been awarded NSAI’s prestigious award of “10 Songs I wish I’d Written”. His songs have easily totaled over 500 million streams at this point. This year Simpson will release his first record under his own name. “The Oldest”, due out in early 2024, is a concise 11 songs in length, produced by Eddie Spear (Zach Bryan/Brandi Carlisle) and takes Simpson’s shade tree kaleidoscopic storytelling center stage.