CMA Presents CMA Songwriters Series Exclusively For BBC Radio 2 And “The Country Radio Show With Bob Harris”

CMA will present an exclusive CMA Songwriters Series performance recorded for “The Country Show with Bob Harris” on BBC Radio 2, broadcasting in the U.K. on Thursday, March 11. The one-hour radio show will feature Country superstars Cam, Shy Carter, Ashley McBryde and Brett Young taking turns telling the stories behind their songs while performing them acoustically. The performance was recorded socially-distanced at Nashville’s Blackbird Studio and will be available on the BBC Sounds App for 30 days following the event.  

Since 2013, CMA has hosted a CMA Songwriters Series show at the Country to Country (C2C) festival. Following the festival’s postponement this year due to the pandemic, CMA saw the need to present the special Country Music performance to its international audiences.  

“We are thrilled to collaborate with BBC to present this CMA Songwriters Series show,” says Milly Olykan, CMA Vice President, International Relations & Development. “BBC Radio 2’s power to drive the discovery of artists has been particularly impactful to Country artists since the pandemic, and their support of the Country to Country festival over the years has made it possible for audiences across the U.K. to appreciate how broad the contemporary music of Nashville really is. Now with BBC’s support, we are excited to bring this special experience to a much wider audience.” 

Cam
Camaron Ochs, or Cam professionally and to her friends, has an old soul but a young heart and she has always approached her career and her artistry in a way only Cam knows how. She has co-written with Sam Smith for his album and toured with him around North America. She lent her writing voice to Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz album and she opened for Harry Styles at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Forget genres, there is a deeper through-line at work: individuals in pursuit of earnest self-awareness. And they continue supporting each other as both Smith and Styles have writing credit on Cam’s new album. This commitment to her own truth has led to some of her proudest moments outside of her music – giving a TED talk and working in both the GRAMMY and ACM Diversity & Inclusion Task Forces. Her hit “Burning House” received GRAMMY, CMA & ACM nominations and is still the best-selling Country song by a female solo artist over the past five years. Her most recent LP, The Otherside, is the album she wanted to make, how she wanted to make it. The resulting songs contain that kind of classic familiarity that means you only need to hear them once before they’re rolling around in your head. The lead single “Till There’s Nothing Left” is a sexy power ballad that moves like an up-tempo. It’s an unashamed from-the-gut testament to giving your everything to your one true love. Read more at CamCountry.com. 

Shy Carter 
Songwriter, artist and producer Shy Carter has reached all corners of the industry with his early success. With credits that span Kane Brown’s “Heaven” to Charlie Puth’s “One Call Away,” Carter is one of the most formidable up-and-coming talents in Nashville and beyond. He is among the writers behind Billy Currington’s “It Don’t Hurt Like it Used To,” Sugarland’s smash hit “Stuck Like Glue” and Rob Thomas’ single “Someday.” In addition to his feature on Tim McGraw’s “Way Down,” Carter has collaborated with Keith Urban on both “Never Comin’ Down” and “My Wave.” Named to Variety’s 2018 Hitmakers list, he has also worked with Jason Derulo, Meghan Trainor, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Lopez, Nelly and more. His roots in gospel, jazz, R&B and soul developed into an early career in hip-hop, but his gift for storytelling and love of organic instrumentation led to a natural transition into Country Music. Now, with a transcendent style perfectly suited to the times, he’s ready to stand on his own as a Country artist. With its earthy groove, laid-back beat and unflagging spirit, Carter’s debut radio single “Good Love” is a fitting introduction to the man behind the music. Described as “a breezy, inspirational anthem with skittering high-hats and crisp piano… [that] underscores Carter’s grand ambitions” (Rolling Stone), “Good Love” and his second Warner Music Nashville release “All Night” are available now. The born entertainer closed out 2020 visiting radio stations and media partners across the nation on his first-of-its-kind, socially distanced radio tour and has been named a 2021 Artist to Watch by Amazon Music, MusicRow magazine, Pandora, Sounds Like Nashville and more. Read more at ShyCarterOfficial.com. 

Ashley McBryde 
Ashley McBryde cut her teeth playing Country songs in rural biker bars – and it shows. Her 2018 major label debut Girl Going Nowhere (Warner Music Nashville) charmed The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, Paste, The Washington Post, and more, all en route to landing a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album. McBryde closed out 2019 with ACM New Female Artist, CMT Breakout Artist of the Year, a New Artist of the Year win at “The 53rd Annual CMA Awards” and two nominations for the 2020 GRAMMYs for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for “Girl Goin’ Nowhere.” Her follow-up Never Will, released April 3, was tagged by Rolling Stone as one of the most anticipated of the year alongside NPR, who also ranked her lead Top 10 RIAA Gold-Certified single “One Night Standards” as one of the best songs of 2019. Produced once again by Jay Joyce, Never Will reveals the witty, confessional, detail-driven songwriting addressing a wide spectrum of blue-collar Southern women’s experience introduced on Girl Going Nowhere is still here, but perhaps even sharper, earning McBryde a 2021 GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album, along with a 2020 CMA Award nomination for Album of the Year. The music itself is stadium-ready rock-and-roll with a bluegrass wink or two and Country Music’s storytelling heart––and McBryde, no longer new, is the music’s ordained and highly capable standard bearer. Read more at AshleyMcBryde.com. 

Brett Young
Brett Young has captured the hearts of fans everywhere through his honest lyrics and West Coast-meets-Southern sound, aptly dubbed “Caliville” style. His Gold-certified, Top 10-and-rising single “Lady” is a heart-bending love letter to his daughter and wife written with Ross Copperman and Jon Nite shortly before Presley’s birth in October 2019. While touring is paused, Young has been tapped for several high-profile, all-genre livestreams in an effort to bring music and relief to fans across the world – “Spirit Airlines & Mastercard Present Brett Young’s Live from the Runway,” “Live at The Ryman,” “Levi’s 5:01 Music Series,” “Visible’s Red Rocks Unpaused,” “Pepsi’s Unmute Your Voice Concert” and Camping World’s “Taking The Highways Across America” series. He has also been recording new music and recently released up-tempo track “You Got Away With It” on February 26. Young’s Gold-certified Ticket To L.A. (BMLG Records), debuted atop the Billboard Country Albums chart upon release and features back-to-back No. 1 hits he co-wrote — “Catch” and “Here Tonight.” His sophomore effort follows a Platinum self-titled debut, which dominated the Top 20 on the Country Albums chart for 37 weeks. Young’s six consecutive chart-toppers – “In Case You Didn’t Know” (5x Platinum), “Mercy” (3x Platinum), “Sleep Without You” (Platinum), “Like I Loved You” (Platinum), “Here Tonight” (Platinum) and “Catch” (Gold) – have contributed to over 4.5 billion streams globally. He was named ASCAP’s 2018 Country Songwriter-Artist of the Year for his “melodic craftsmanship” (Billboard) and has also garnered nominations from ACM, Billboard, Teen Choice, CMT and CMA Awards as he continues to rack up nonstop hits as “one of Country’s most consistent radio stars” (Rolling Stone). Read more at BrettYoungMusic.com.