We don’t live too far from Nashville. Although We are rural people, and not inclined to love cities, we do like a lot about Nashville. For one thing, it isn’t monstrously big like Chicago, and for two, it truly is Music City. When you got to Nashville, your waitress, your checkout person at the store, even your street person, are probably thinking about writing a hit song. And, you never know where you may encounter a star - in the same restaurant, walking down the street, shopping. There’s an excitement in the air about it all that isn’t in other cities. We like it because we love music so much.

Nashville has it’s special music venues. Of course, the Grand Ol’ Opry is the most famous. And it should be. We prefer to see it at the Ryman, it’s original venue. But even at the new Opry, it’s an awesome show. I dare to say that there isn’t any other music show for the price anywhere on earth where you can see the number and stature of music stars in one night. For anyone that is a country music fan, a trip to Nashville at least once to see the Opry should be a must.

But other than that, there are some famous clubs. One of the most famous is the Bluebird Café. www.bluebirdcafe.com The Bluebird Café is the home of the venue for the best songwriters in Nashville - stars, up and coming, and wannabes. The songwriting stars, like Don Schlitz, who penned “The Gambler” play the prime times - Saturday night, etc. But there are times set aside for the new songwriters. The main venue for new songwriters is the Sunday night songwriter’s showcase. The main way you get to perform on the Sunday night songwriter’s showcase is to audition. You get the opportunity to audition by jumping thru some hoops when the club announces the dates of their auditions, which they hold twice a year. I was lucky to jump thru those hoops earlier this year and get to audition.

The audition was early February. One had to be there by 9:30am, but I got there at 8:30. Already, 17 acts were in line. It was 20 degrees outside. By the end of the line standing, which lasted an hour or more, there were about 90 acts from across the country waiting to audition. I ended up being number 14, because a few of those in line in front of me couldn’t take the cold and left.

When you audition for the Sunday night songwriter’s showcase, you get to play one verse and one chorus of one song. That usually is about one minute. That’s not a lot. They are looking for a tight song structure. I went up there when called and played my verse and chorus. I didn’t make any huge mistakes, but I had no idea how I did. You just can’t tell when you are performing how good you are doing, and since this was a crowd of people competing with you, sure, they applauded, but the applause was obligatory and the same for everyone. I had no idea how I did.

When Kristi came and picked me up afterward, I got in the car and said, “I’ll drop dead if I get picked.” Well, fortunately, although I did get picked, I didn’t drop dead! About two weeks later, I got a letter telling that I would be performing in September - September 2 to be exact - to be more exact, last Sunday.

If you want a table for the Sunday night show, you better be in line by 5:30pm. The doors open at 6. If you are lucky enough to get a table, by the time you get your drinks ordered, the 6:30 showcase will have started. That’s a nice, 45 minute show of some performer that is up and coming in Nashville. Then there is a 45 minute break, and promptly at 8 the songwriters showcase starts.

Each songwriter gets to play 3 original songs. There are 8 new writers, and one professional writer that ends the show. I don’t know how they choose the order, but I got picked to perform in the number 8 slot. So we sat there for a couple hours listening to really good songwriters perform their songs. Just enough time to think about it over and over. Finally, though, my time came.

My good friend and neighbor, and fellow “Groove Daddy” Craig Rhodes, had come with me to back me up with harmonica and background vocals. We got up on stage, got mics and such adjusted. I introduced the first song, called “Had to See You Again,” a sort of Everly Bros. genre tune, and away we went. Next thing I remember, we were walking off stage. I didn’t remember any big mistakes, which made me happy, but I couldn’t remember a lot about the details of the performance. I just know that our three songs were short, up tempo, and went fast. The place was completely packed with people. Even after listening to 7 songwriters, they still listened intently to my songs, and they responded well, I thought. But as I walked off stage, I had no real idea how good I had done.

The Bluebird had provided some written guidance to those that had been picked in the audition as to how to handle the evening and the aftermath. One of the things that had been written was that you could call back that week and see if they would give you another date. I was very nervous, but I called back. They gave me another date - March 23, Easter weekend of next year. That was their first open date. I took it. So, anxiously, I’ll be back at the Bluebird in March. I’m looking forward to it. It’s an adrenalin rush that is unlike any others I ever experienced performing. That stage has been performed on by so many great songwriters, you have an obligation to give it your best and be humble about it.

One thing about going to Nashville for the purpose of performing is that I always end up feeling small. There are a lot of very very talented people out there, and I’m just one of many. It isn’t bad to feel small in that way. It should help to keep you humble, keep you focused. To me that is the lesson of Nashville. Although I am rural based, that is one city that has gotten my attention.