DOORS: 6 PM / SHOW: 7 PM
FREE FOR AMERICANA FEST BADGE HOLDERS
GA: $20 WITHOUT AMERICANAFEST BADGE
21+
NO REFUNDS.
September’s show is officially Southern Rounds at AMERICANAFEST! Some of Country music’s best join our Southern Rounds stage at ANALOG in NASHVILLE on SEPTEMBER 18th. The writer’s round kicks off at 7 pm with SONIA LEIGH, RUTHIE COLLINS, and WESLEY DEAN, hosted by Dave Kennedy. SEAN MCCONNELL and his band take the stage at 9 pm showcasing his new music! Come out and see these incredible songwriters who have written hits for ZAC BROWN BAND, BRETT YOUNG, and RASCAL FLATTS.
Sean McConnell
Singer, songwriter, and producer Sean McConnell’s latest collection of songs A Horrible Beautiful Dream approaches the difficult task of asking questions of what one really thinks they know, in the simultaneous struggle of not being afraid of the answers that emerge. Musically, the project wraps McConnell’s rich voice in moments of dark intimacy as well as vivid brightness, and guests such as The Wood Brothers, Natalie Hemby, Audra Mae, and Dan Tyminski underscore McConnell’s versatility as creative partner and commentator. McConnell’s goal in the creation of A Horrible Beautiful Dream was an album reflecting the chaotic time in which it was made, but still striving for timelessness. “You can look at the suffering of the world and you can look at the beauty of the world and you can hold them in your hands and just be present with that and not have to even understand it,” he says.
You can learn more about Sean here:
https://www.seanmcconnell.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sean_mcconnell/
https://www.facebook.com/officialseanmcconnell/
Sonia Leigh
Sonia Leigh’s musical style cannot be put in a box, from Hip-Hop to Country to Pop and Rock and Roll. Her Southern Ground debut album, 1978 December, was where Leigh made her country catapult. The first single off the album “My Name Is Money,” hit Top 40 on US Country Radio. She also co-wrote the Zac Brown Band #1 singles “Goodbye in Her Eyes” and “Sweet Annie”. Leigh currently canopies several projects to umbrella her different styles, such as hip hop/rock duo TYGR TYGR AKA ELYVN: ELYVN with Daphne Willis (Position Music). Other projects include low-fi 90’s hip-hop duo Indica Girlz, and the mysterious grunge-pop project Rob The Man, all pending follow-up releases in 2023. Leigh has toured the world with the likes of the Zac Brown Band, Blackberry Smoke, Amos Lee, Melissa Etheridge, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Joan Jett, and many more. Amongst all of this, Sonia Leigh has been writing and working in the studio on her next solo record. Her hard-hitting single “Thin Ice,” released in 2023, is fueled with pure rock and roll energy that calls for burning down the barriers around one’s self to realize their full potential and made Apple Music’s New In Rock and Women Who Rock new music playlists. In the top of 2024, her release in February “Beautiful Mess” featuring Rob The Man continues to showcase her rock pop side produced by Nick Furlong and Colin Brittain with a cameo on guitar highlighting guitar player Carmen Vandenberg from the rock duo Bones UK.
Gearing up for her full-length record release in August 2024 this artist will keep you on your toes stylistically but seems to return slightly to her Americana roots this time and ties it all together with a common thread which is all her own uniqueness.
You can learn more about Sonia here:
https://www.instagram.com/sonialeigh/
https://www.facebook.com/sonialeighmusic
Ruthie Collins
Ruthie Collins wears her heart on her sleeve, and pretty much always has a sparkle in her eyes. Raised on a farm in Fredonia, NY, Collins blends the vulnerable, the volatile, and the serene in her music. Her songs straddle the line between Americana, Bluegrass, and modern Country, upheld by buoyant and agile vocals reminiscent of her musical icons, Patty Griffin and Emmylou Harris. Collins’ music features some upright bass and traditional bluegrass instrumentation in a style that’s both old-fashioned and completely modern. In her own words, the timeless quality of her music is simply a manifestation of her love for timeless objects, stories, and traditions: “I am drawn to things that speak of permanence.”
At home in nature as well as in Nashville’s honky tonk bars, Collins considers the Joshua Tree National Park in California the place that holds the deepest meaning for her and her music; The first single from her new album, a song called “Joshua Tree”, was inspired by the love-story-turned-tragedy between Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons. For Collins, the song feels “like a lucky charm,” infused with the special energy of a place she’s returned to many times for inspiration, recharging, and peace. “This song means many things to me now. It’s not only a snapshot of a great love story that almost was, but it’s the idea that love is never truly gone, because love cannot die. No matter where you are in the world or in time, love always exists.”
You can learn more about Ruthie here:
https://ruthiecollinsmusic.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ruthiecollinsmusic/
https://www.facebook.com/ruthiecollinsmusic
Wesley Dean
Relocating from Australia to Nashville in early 2021, Wesley Dean, previously known down under as Wes Carr, felt his arrival in the country/Americana roots rock scene required a new signature to herald the maturation of his musical identity. So, his middle name Dean quickly became the new trademark stamping success over his first, and critically acclaimed, American-produced (but sixth in total) studio album ‘Unknown’, which was considered for a Best Americana Album Grammy nomination.
Earlier last year he embarked on his most recent tour, ‘Crazy Hearts Across America’, where he and his family drove over 5000 miles from Nashville to Los Angeles in an RV via towns steeped in musical history playing shows off the beaten track, from Memphis to New Orleans, Luckenbach, Marfa, Las Vegas, and more. With a director and cameraperson in tow, the tour was recorded as part of his upcoming feature ‘Crazy Hearts: The Documentary’, premiering early 2025, where the 10 tracks from his new album ‘Music From Crazy Hearts’, recorded at Nashville’s prestigious RCA Studio A, complement the soundscape to Dean’s personal story of breaking the industry mold to carve out his name independently.
You can learn more about Wesley here:
https://www.wesleydeanmusic.com/
https://www.instagram.com/wesleydeanmusic/
https://www.facebook.com/wesleydeanmusician
Dave Kennedy (Host)
Dave Kennedy is a storyteller above all else, and it’s easy to see why. His songs paint a cinematic portrait of America as his characters journey through love, heartbreak, humor, sin, redemption, revenge, and perhaps even a few of the songwriter’s own footsteps along the way. Bringing these songs to life is a voice so soaring and powerful you can’t help but be swept away into his world by the end of the first chorus. He navigates his way through each story and each world with a dynamic presence of both strength and subtlety that appreciates both the peaks and the valleys, the highways and the backroads, the loves lost and lingering in his mind. It’s for all these reasons that Dave has a reputation as one of Nashville’s most respected songwriters and artists, and why artists like TRAVIS TRITT, RILEY GREEN, WHISKEY MYERS, DRAKE WHITE, LARRY FLEET, and others are eager to continue writing and performing with Dave Kennedy.
You can learn more about Dave here:
https://www.davekennedymusic.com