Johnny Clawson is a Nashville-based songwriter and artist from Leesburg, Virginia. Signed to SMACK Songs in 2022, Clawson co-wrote Blake Shelton’s No .1 single “Texas,” which had a record-breaking radio debut. He also co-wrote Ella Langley’s No. 1 hit single “weren’t for the wind,” which landed Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Top 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Other credits include tracks by Chris Young, Billy Currington, Ashley Cooke, Seaforth, Jon Pardi, Josh Ross, Michael Ray, and more.

Sarah Buxton is making the music she originally set out to make. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter has long excelled inside the machine with her eyes fixed firmly outside of it, plotting a space of her own. On her mesmerizing EP SIGNS OF LIFE, she’s made it. Buxton’s exquisite rasp of a soprano explores death, love, marriage, and the ways we need each other, like a tender but fierce friend willing to share what she’s learned. “I always wanted to make a record that would live in somebody else’s world the way a Joni Mitchell record does in mine,” Buxton says. “I always felt like Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks were my older sisters, walking with me, lifting my chin up and saying, ‘You got this.’” She pauses, then adds, “Instead of being the artist’s, the song becomes yours when you listen to it––your song about your life.” On SIGNS OF LIFE, Buxton’s songwriting––relied upon for years now by Nashville A-listers––is more potent than ever, vulnerable and free in the service of Buxton’s own vision and story. Sacred, feminine, natural, and wise, her new songs exude the energy mustered by looking for answers and the calm that comes with trusting yourself. “Obviously, I’m more mature than I was in my early 20s, but I kind of look at my place in the world the same way now that I did then,” she says. “When you’re older, you’re just as potent as you were, but with wisdom.” A singer’s singer who’s lent her signature ethereal grit to projects for a range of artists from Miranda Lambert to Dierks Bentley to David Nail to Blake Shelton to Will Hoge, Buxton has also written songs for a list that’s equally impressive: Keith Urban, Florida Georgia Line, Big & Rich, Gary Allan, Trisha Yearwood, Caitlyn Smith, Sarah Jarosz, Reba McEntire, Harry Connick Jr., Dan Tyminski, and more. She’s sung on records for Urban, Florida Georgia Line, McBride, Smith, Tyminski, and numerous others as well––evidence of a telling pattern: When discerning ears hear her voice singing her song, they want to incorporate as much of Buxton’s magic into their own version as possible. Buxton has also contributed songs to hit TV series such as Nashville, for which she and co-writer Kate York earned an Emmy nomination. When Buxton moved to Nashville from her native Kansas after high school graduation, she began school at Belmont University and co-founded Southern rock band Stoik Oak, who toured regionally. She signed her first publishing deal in her early 20s and not long after, inked a record deal with Lyric Street. Ultimately, that experience clarified her understanding of who she is and what she wants. “I think the reason I didn’t become a famous country singer was I wasn’t supposed to be a famous country singer,” Buxton says. “Simplicity––that’s what I hold on to.”

Although musicians often love to say they were born to write, singer and songwriter Shane Stevens has more cause than most. He has written both country and pop hits that have been recorded by chart-topping and multi award winning artists such as Carrie Underwood, Lady A, Selena Gomez, Walker Hayes, Meghan Trainor, Ariana Grande, Jo Dee Messina, Little Big Town and Kelly Rowland, Sara Evans, Jordin Sparks, Fifth Harmony, Little Mix, Jesse McCartney and a recent single co-written for Lukas Graham. Shane released his own song ”I Can’t Quit” a duet with country music superstar Sara Evans on February 21, 2025. Stevens received his first Grammy nomination in 2021 for “Fancy Like” by Walker Hayes, which was a number one hit and RIAA certified 6X Platinum. He also received a BMI award and NSAI award for one of the ten “Songs I Wish I’d Written” for “Fancy Like” and an Academy of Country Music Award nomination for Song of the Year. His first number one song, “American Honey” was recorded by Lady A and also won him the NSAI award as well as the “Million-Aire” and “Most-Performed Country Songs of the Year” awards from BMI. And those are just a few. All of Shane Stevens’ songs speak about his journey in life, the music industry and his growth as a songwriter and performer. Raised in the Deep South, Shane moved from North Carolina to Nashville at 17 where he began pursuing his dream of being a singing and songwriting star. He spent the next 5 years in Nashville before heading to New York on the promise of a record deal. “Then 9/11 happened. Everything stopped and I got dropped. I was like, ‘They’ve figured me out! I'm not talented!’ And, because I wasn't going to go back to Nashville with my tail between my legs, I hustled and did what I had to. I waited tables, sang in clubs, ran karaoke shows, and, since I’d gotten my license to do hair when I was 19 years old, I went to work in New York City’s first ever blow out bar, Blow.” One day, he found himself with a new client at Blow, actress Mary Louise Parker, who was at the height of her fame with Weeds. The two had had a chance meeting in Magnolia Bakery years before. “Halfway through washing her hair, she pointed up at me and said, Banana Pudding! That’s how I know you! Aren’t you a singer songwriter? What are you doing washing my hair?” Soon they were friends, and one fateful night at a party for famed photographer Mark Seliger, Parker told Shane it was time to use his other talents. “She grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around to face a crowd of other artists and celebrities in the room and said, ‘These are the people you want to f’ing be, so f’ing be it already!’” Soon after that, while he was coloring his friend and future manager, Beka Tishker’s hair, she told him she’d like to set him up with a meeting with her old boss, Bob Doyle. That meeting turned into a new publishing deal and marked the end of Shane’s professional hairdressing career. This new chapter earned him notable success with songs such as Sara Evans’ “Low” (co- written with Morgan Stapleton) that was included on the soundtrack to 2008’s Billy: The Early Years about evangelist Billy Graham. Stevens’ next hits were with Lady A’s “American Honey” and Kellie Pickler’s “Makin’ Me Fall in Love Again,” which led to Shane writing more songs for more American Idol contestants and winners including Carrie Underwood’s "Do You Think About Me" (from 2012’s chart-topping Blown Away) and “Was I The Only One” with Jordin Sparks. Shane started living part time in Los Angeles and expanding his horizons, which led to work in pop and R&B, where he began working with Victoria Monet and producer Tommy Brown whom he penned “Step on Up” for Ariana Grande and Fifth Harmony’s “Everlasting Love.” He also wrote songs for the 2017 My Little Pony movie as well as co-writing and selling a country musical movie to Paramount Pictures in 2019. Now, Shane is ready to step out of the writing room and onto the stage and be the singer of his own songs. “My life is a country song; I’ve written so many country songs for country stars. Now it’s my turn to take a shot at being one.” Packed with massive hooks and country charms, Stevens released a duet single with Sara Evans titled “I Can’t Quit” on February 21st with many more singles to come in 2025 that include songs based on his experience and life journey. “Bob Doyle told me,” Stevens remembers, “‘Don't write about things you've never experienced, write about the things you know. That stuck with me: always tell the truth. So that's what I do.”