ASCAP, Academy Of Country Music & Bluebird Cafe Kick Off Songwriters Series

Showcases to be Featured at Sundance ASCAP Music Café in January

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Dec 13, 2018, 12:10 ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- For over 20 years, ASCAP has hosted a Music Café in the heart of the Sundance Film Festival, featuring intimate performances by songwriters and artists. Next month, ASCAP continues the tradition, and in collaboration with the Academy of Country Music and the famed Bluebird Cafe, will present some of Nashville's rising stars and country legends at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café. Songwriters and artists from a variety of music genres will also perform at the Café during the Sundance Film Festival.

Pictured (l-r): Daniel Miller, Fusion Music and ACM Board member; Jacob Davis; Kele Currier, ASCAP Senior Director, Strategic Services and ACM Board member; Carlton Anderson; JT Harding; Erick Long, ACM SVP, Events; Erika Wollam Nichols, GM, The Bluebird Café. Credit: Bluebird Cafe

Carlton Anderson, Jacob Davis and JT Harding celebrated bringing together the Academy and The Bluebird Cafe by performing a sold-out show at the Bluebird in Nashville Thursday night (Dec. 6). In January, Anderson and Davis will be joined by some very special guests at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café as part of the ACM & Bluebird Cafe Songwriters Series during the Sundance Film Festival. The complete Sundance ASCAP Music Café lineup will be announced in early 2019.

ASCAP VP of Membership Michael Martin said, "Music and film are undeniably intertwined, and the Sundance ASCAP Music Café is a truly unique opportunity to showcase Nashville's best. We are thrilled to partner with two iconic Country music institutions, the ACM and The Bluebird Cafe, to bring our talented songwriters and artists to one of the world's most renowned film festivals."

"We're excited to partner with two great organizations, both of whom recognize the significance of songwriters to the film industry," said Erika Wollam Nichols, GM of The Bluebird Cafe. "It's an honor to work with the ACM this year to feature some of the best of Nashville's country artists and writers and we're grateful to ASCAP for giving us the opportunity to be involved in such a high-profile event."

"The Academy is delighted to be part of what ASCAP has built at Sundance, and we look forward to joining ASCAP and The Bluebird Cafe in highlighting some incredible songwriters and introducing them to the film industry with these events," said Erick Long, ACM SVP, Events.

About ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With more than 680,000 members representing more than 11.5 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Twitter and Instagram @ASCAP and on Facebook.

About the Academy of Country Music
Founded in Southern California in 1964, the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC (ACM) is a fan-focused artist and industry-driven organization, providing the financial resources to ensure the on-going philanthropic work of ACM LIFTING LIVES, the charitable arm of the Academy which works to improve lives through the power of music. The Academy has a rich history in the entertainment industry, having been founded when Southern California was a hotbed of emerging country music and when Westerns were a staple of television programing and film production. Comprised of 4,200 professional members nationwide, the ACM is headquartered in Encino, Calif. For more information, log onto www.ACMcountry.com or www.ACMLiftingLives.org.

About The Bluebird Cafe
Amy Kurland opened the small but influential 90-seat Bluebird Cafe in a nondescript strip center just south of downtown Nashville in June of 1982. She added a stage as an afterthought, and live music became a staple of the eatery. She offered the club as an outlet for songwriters and aspiring artists to perform and with the help of regular performers Thom Schuyler and J. Fred Knobloch, pioneered the idea of presenting songwriters "in the round," where writers set their chairs in the center of the room to play their original material, telling the stories and inspirations for their songs. Both Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift were signed after performing in the Bluebird Cafe. Numerous aspiring songwriters were discovered and countless songs were first heard by artists, A&R execs, producers and others in the small venue. In 2008, Kurland sold the legendary venue to the Nashville Songwriters Association International, (NSAI). More of a donation than a corporate sale, Kurland saw NSAI's mission to "educate, elevate and celebrate songwriters" as a way to continue the Bluebird's relationship to songwriters and to the community. Outside of its home base, The Bluebird Cafe continues a host of events that bear the iconic name. Bluebird on the Mountain - a sold-out concert series at Vanderbilt's Dyer Observatory in Nashville, the Bluebird Cafe at London's Country2Country Festival, Bluebird at Blackberry Farm, Bluebird at the Ballet and the 15th anniversary of the Bluebird Cafe Concert Series at Utah's Sundance Resort are all scheduled in the coming year. Most recently, the new Opry City Stage in the heart of New York City's Times Square began featuring the Bluebird Cafe Songwriter Series spotlighting songwriters from Nashville, New York and across the country.