You’d be hard-pressed to find a life, a career or a body of work quite like that of singer/songwriter/performer/composer H. Jack Williams.  Jack himself credits equal parts luck, talent and tenacity. “My whole life, I’ve gone out and gotten stuff done,” he says. “I think I have unique emotional connections within me, and I’ve always found a way to make that connection musically.” But for one of Nashville’s hardest working songwriters and most in-demand co-writers – and now with flourishing work in film and television – it’s been a one-of-a-kind 40+ year ride with some of the biggest names in Folk, Rock and Country. And in many ways, he’s just getting started.  Raised in the tiny town of Eureka, Florida, Williams began writing songs shortly after his 1971 discharge from the US Marines Force Recon. It was while working in Atlanta as a trained Escoffier chef and moonlighting as a roadie that Williams went after his first break by knocking on Richie Havens’ hotel room door. “Actually banged on it all night long,” Jack laughs, “until he opened the door and I handed him a cassette.” The Woodstock icon invited Jack to New York City to be his opening act, eventually playing on and producing the demo that got Jack a $500 advance from Clive Davis (who insisted on first playing Jack the demo of ‘Mandy’). By 1974, Jack was back cooking in Atlanta when he spotted a tour bus belonging to The Who. Still in his chef whites, Williams approached the road crew and boldly asked for an introduction to Roger Daltrey. “I knew Roger loved songwriters,” Jack says, “and Pete Townsend knew songs.” Williams was ushered backstage that night and spent the next few months on tour with the band, eventually signing a deal – his first – with the publishing company owned by Daltrey, Townsend and Who manager Bill Curbishley. For two years and dozens of unmentionable road stories, Jack was mentored by one of the greatest acts in rock history.  Towards the end of his Who deal, Williams got a phone call from Ken Hensley, Keyboardest  and primary songwriter of UK proto-metal rockers Uriah Heep, who invited Jack to move to London as the band’s first outside in-house songwriter. Jack jumped at the invite, and amid opening UK shows for Havens and demo sessions with neighbors like Alvin Lee and George Harrison, Uriah Heep would record four of Jack’s songs for the Gold albums Innocent Victim and Firefly. But it was a group of fellow small-town Florida boys that triggered the next chapter of Jack’s career. “Lynyrd Skynyrd came to London for their Knebworth concert”, Jack explains. “I got to know the band, played Ronnie Van Zant some of my songs, and he suggested I come to Florida and be part of the Southern Rock scene.” Williams moved back to the states, founding the Jacksonville-based band Streets Of Ice, landing cuts with acts like Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet, and writing with Gregg Allman. Dickie Betts became a good friend and began producing the Streets Of Ice project. But when the band imploded just before signing their major label deal, Betts suggested that Jack’s songwriting skills could find a full-time home in Nashville.   With a $50 loan and a one-way bus ticket, Williams landed in Nashville and signed a publishing deal with The Oak Ridge Boys, who soon recorded Jack’s songs ‘Seasons’ and ‘Everybody Wins’. Jack then had his first major hit, co-writing – with Allman Brothers Band member Warren Haynes – Gregg Allman’s ‘Just Before The Bullets Fly’. But when the mid-‘90s Country Boom began to fade, Williams returned to his culinary background, opening restaurants in North Carolina, Memphis and Olympia, and running kitchen teams on research vessels in the Aleutian Islands and Azores, and on supply ships during the Gulf War, for which he earned a Medal of Bravery from President Bush. “I’d also played blues clubs in Seattle,” Jack adds, “which is how Leonard Chess signed me to a writing deal with Chess Records. So I guess we can add ‘Blues Artist’ to the list, too.” Williams returned to Nashville in 2005, owning a catering business while landing cuts with artists that included Montgomery Gentry, Black Stone Cherry, and on the MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN Soundtrack. He signed a new publishing deal with Lynn Gann Music Enterprises in 2015, scoring even more cuts that included Canadian artist Aaron Pritchett’s Top 10 hit ‘Dirt Road In ‘Em.’ “When it comes to commercial radio stuff, I write like a gunfighter,” Jack says. “But at a certain point, I couldn’t write another line about drinking beer in the back of a truck with a girl. I needed to find the soul of my music again.”  Jack began writing songs reflective of his lifetime of not only struggles, but his continued sense of hope. He would soon – in more ways than one – find his own voice. “Pete Townsend once told me, ‘Always hire a great singer’,” Jack explains. “I never believed my vocals were that strong, which is why I always used other singers for my demos. But I began participating in singer/songwriter nights here in Nashville and got the kind of reaction I’d never received before. When I started to sing what’s in my heart, everything began to change.”  Williams soon connected with Academy Award winner Kevin Costner, whose band Kevin Costner & Modern West had recorded two of Jack’s songs (including the Top 20 hit ‘Love Shine’), leading Costner to cut additional five Jack tracks for his hit TV series’ TALES FROM YELLOWSTONE soundtrack. Jack signed with Anthem Entertainment for additional film & television work, and has since collaborated with award-winning Welsh composer John Hardy. And his 2020 EP (Already Dead) produced by Brothers Osborne’s Adam Box, became – after nearly five decades of music and adventure fit for a dozen lives – E. Jack Williams’ first solo release. “I feel like a 20 year old singer/songwriter again,” Jack says, with the characteristic combination of fortitude and poignancy that still defines his life, his career, and his very best work to come. “I’m a survivor, and I keep pushing forward. I believe that my A-game has just begun.”

Billy Montana has achieved four #1 country records: Lee Brice's “Hard To Love”(2012), Garth Brooks' “More Than A Memory”(2007), Sara Evans' "Suds In The Bucket" (2004) and Jo Dee Messina's "Bring On The Rain" (2002). "Bring On The Rain" was nominated for awards by both the Recording Academy (Grammy) and the Country Music Association and reached Number 6 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It appeared on the Country and A/C Charts for a combined total of 66 weeks! "Suds In The Bucket" was the most played country song by a female artist of 2004 and “More Than A Memory” is the fastest rising single in the history of country music, debuting at #1 on both the Billboard and R & R charts.  Montana's song “What If I Was Willing” was featured on several of the 2013-14 episodes of the popular television series “Nashville.”  Montana has the current Jon Pardi single, “Night Shift” which has broken into the top 20 and continues to climb up the country charts.First inspired to pick up a guitar as a teenager in rural upstate New York by his musician father, Montana soon formed a country/rock band with his brother.  After graduating with a degree in agriculture from Cornell University, Montana decided to try music full time and traded his dream  of becoming a farmer for a record deal on Warner Brothers. His 1996 Magnatone Records release "No Yesterday" received great critical acclaim from USA Today, Music Row magazine, and Billboard magazine. Many prominent artists have recorded Montana's songs including Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Garth Brooks, Lee Brice, Jon Pardi, David Nail, Pat Green, Jo Dee Messina, Sara Evans, Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Eli Young Band, Kellie Pickler, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Sister Hazel, Steve Holy, Kenny Rogers and Lee Ann Womack.

Behind every song is a story. A tale of love, ‘a moment of pain, a chapter of faith. And behind every songwriter is yet another story. For Don Poythress (pronounced Portress), his story began in Meridian, Mississippi, where both faith and music were signposts for the journey ahead.  “Country music has always captivated me,” Don remembers. “But the first music I remember learning were worship songs that my mom taught me. In particular, ‘Jesus, There’s Something About That Name.’”  Don learned the art of songwriting and performing by listening to country legends such as Johnny Cash and Glenn Campbell, and Christian artists like Dallas Holm and Dottie Rambo.  Even as a child, Don saw his story taking shape.“I knew when I was young that I was called to play and sing country music,” he says.Yet the most profound moment in Don’s young musical education took place in his childhood piano class. It was here that Don’s instructor, a deeply spiritual woman, opened his eyes to more than music.“I remember once as I was practicing,” he recalls, “She told me, ‘Now one day the Lord is going to use you in country music, and you’re going to be on the Grand Ole Opry. He’s going to use you to draw people, and you’re going to tell them about Christ.’ It was heavy stuff for a four-year-old.”  Those words of faith would prove prophetic. Today, Don is one of Nashville’s premier songwriters. His songs have been recorded by both acclaimed country and pop stars including Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Blake Shelton, Cheryl Crow, and Jake Owen and Christian artists such as Kari Jobe, Phil Whikham, Lincoln Brewster and Jaci Velasquez.  Accordingly, Don’s accolades also cross genre lines. He was nominated for CMA Song of The Year for his #1 Song by Easton Corbin “A Little More Country Than That”. And in 2006 The Martins’ recording of Don’s song “The Promise” received a Dove Award for Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year. He has also won an ASCAP award for Kellie Pickler’s hit song “Things That Never Cross A Man’s Mind” and received two other Dove Awards for Jason Crabb’s “Joseph, and Karen Peck and New River’s “Revival”.  And as his four-year-old piano teacher said, He has performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage with Roy Acuff, The Ryman Auditorium, the Bluebird Cafe and many other stages.  But regardless of the artist, Don always tries to stay true to his spiritual heritage.“Whether it’s country or Christian music,” Don notes, “I try to write in a way that reflects my faith."

Jimmy Ritchey is a Nashville songwriter and record producer whose songs have been recorded by artists including George Strait, Jake Owen, Trace Adkins, Montgomery Gentry, and Mark Chesnutt. His songwriting credits include the George Strait singles “Twang” and “I Gotta Get to You,” along with several hits for Jake Owen including the #1 hit “The One That Got Away,” “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You,” and “Startin’ with Me.” In addition to writing, Ritchey has produced records for artists including Jake Owen, Mark Chesnutt, and Clay Walker, including the hit “I Can’t Sleep” and the #1 single “I Met a Girl” for William Michael Morgan. Known for his deep roots in traditional country storytelling, he continues to write and produce in Nashville.