Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Café is moving back to Broadway—for one night only.
To launch the CMA Music Festival and celebrate the Café’s 43rd birthday, the Bluebird has again teamed with Garth Brooks’ Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk to bring the songwriters behind Brooks’ biggest hits and Trisha Yearwood’s new album directly into the CMA Fest fan frenzy.
Yearwood’s writers include Leslie Satcher, Bridgette Tatum, and Rachel Thibodeau for the 1:30 p.m. show on June 4. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. Brooks’ writers are Pat Alger, Kent Blazy, Tony Arata, and Victoria Shaw for the 5 p.m. show on June 4 show. Doors open at 4 p.m. While both shows are sold out, tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Mirror, Yearwood’s first album in six years, will be available July 18. The project is the first time Yearwood co-wrote and co-produced an entire album. There’s a high likelihood that guests at the 1:30 p.m. show will get a preview of Yearwood’s new music.
Yearwood wrote on Instagram that she’s “so proud” of this record.
“I’ve always written a little bit, but I’ve never called myself a songwriter,” Yearwood told Kelly Clarkson. “In fact, I usually will say if somebody says we should write, I’m like, I’m not a songwriter. Because someone told me when I was in college that I was not a songwriter, and I let it be the truth for just like 45 years. I sort of had an a-ha about, ‘Why does that have to be the truth?’”
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In addition to writing for Yearwood, Satcher also penned “Tough” (Kellie Pickler), “Troubadour” (George Strait), and “When God-Fearin’ Women Get the Blues” (Martina McBride). Tatum wrote “She’s Country” for Jason Aldean. And Thibodeau wrote “Good Directions” for Billy Currington, in addition to songs for Luke Bryan, Billy Currington, Reba McEntire, and more.
The Brooks-dedicated line-up is a repeat of last year’s Friends In Low Places Bluebird night. The evening with Alger (“Unanswered Prayers,” “What She’s Doing Now,” “The Thunder Rolls”, and “That Summer”), Blazy (“Somewhere Other Than The Night,” “Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up),” “It’s Midnight Cinderella,” and “She’s Gonna Make It”), Arata (“The Dance”) and Shaw (“The River”) morphed into a Brooks roast that he wasn’t present to enjoy. Each of the writers has known Brooks since the beginning of his career and wasn’t shy about sharing stories that date back to his pre-superstar days.
Blazy, who wrote “If Tomorrow Never Comes” with Brooks, shared the very early days of Brooks’ career. Record labels rejected the singer multiple times, Blazy said. He recalled executives told him no one would sign someone named Garth because it sounded like someone was gargling on the radio. Brooks’ break came unexpectedly when someone didn’t show up to play their set at the Bluebird Café. He received a call asking if he’d like to step in.
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“Garth came in and did ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes,’ and someone who had passed on him for the third time that week came up to his afterward and said, ‘I know we passed on you three times, but maybe we missed something,” Blazy said. “He came back in and got a record deal.”
While Alger didn’t write Brooks’ first single–”I’m Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” – he did help him celebrate it. Nashville record labels and performing rights organizations typically host parties for artists and songwriters only when a song reaches the top of the charts. Since “I’m Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” only went to No. 8, Brooks wasn’t going to get a party. Then Alger stepped in.
“We didn’t know anyone who’d had a No. 8,” Alger said. He added, “We got him a cake with an eight on it, and the eight is bigger than the cake. We played volleyball in the backyard.”
Brooks told Alger in the yard that night that “If Tomorrow Never Comes” would be his next single and that it would go to No. 1.
“Like so many things he predicted, it did,” Alger said.
See Friends In Low Places
In addition to the shows, showgoers will also gain access to two rarely open spaces in Friends In Low Places bar & Honky-Tonk: Garth Brooks’ SEVENS Club, where the afternoon begins with beverages, and Trisha Yearwood’s Studio Kitchen.
For more information, visit bluebirdcafe.com. Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk is located at 411 Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee.
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