The Bluebird Cafe and The Country Music Association Celebrate 35 Years of Song of the Year Award Nominees & Winners

November 25, 2017 Press Release In the News 0

Songwriters, CMA staffers, Bluebird: The Movie production team gather prior to the CMA Awards Song of the Year Show at the Bluebird Cafe.

Nashville, Tennessee – Sixteen powerhouse songwriters gathered recently at The Bluebird Cafe to celebrate 35 years of the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year award and raise awareness for the Bluebird: The Movie fundraising campaign. The special show was filled with stories and songs, all centered around the CMA Song of the Year Award nominees and winners throughout the 35-year history of The Bluebird Cafe. CMT Hot 20 Countdown’s Katie Cook hosted the event, which was captured for the documentary and was streamed on Facebook Live.

The four rounds represented hit songwriters performing CMA Song of the Year Award nominees or winners in each decade since The Bluebird Cafe’s opening in 1982.

(l. to r.) – Jon Vezner, Mark Irwin, Don Henry, Thom Schuyler

Round One:
Thom Schulyer – “16th Avenue” (nominee, 1983)
Don Henry & Jon Vezner – “Where’ve You Been” (winner, 1990)
Mark Irwin – “Here In The Real World” (nominee, 1991)

(l. to r.) – Matraca Berg, Beth Nielson Chapman, Dickie Lee, Karen Staley

Round Two:
Karen Staley & Dickey Lee – “Keeper of the Stars” (nominee, 1996)
Matraca Berg – “Strawberry Wine” (winner, 1997)
Beth Neilsen Chapman – “This Kiss” (winner, 1999)

(l. to r.) Marcus Hummon, Jeff Hanna, Tim Nichols, Doug Johnson

Round Three:
Doug Johnson – “Three Wooden Crosses” (winner, 2003)
Tim Nichols – “Live Like You Were Dying” (winner, 2004)
Marcus Hummon & Jeff Hanna – “Bless The Broken Road” (nominee, 2005)

(l. to r.) Ashley Gorley, Rhett Akins, Steven Lee Olsen
(l. to r.) – Tom Douglas, Rhett Akins, Steven Lee Olsen

Round Four:
Tom Douglas – “The House That Built Me” (winner, 2010)
Rhett Akins & Ashley Gorley – “Dirt On My Boots” (nominee, 2017)
Steven Lee Olsen – “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (nominee, 2017)

The Bluebird Cafe opened in June of 1982 and is in the midst of an ambitious Indiegogo campaign to fund Bluebird: The Movie, an in depth documentary about the influence the tiny 90-seat venue has had on singers, songwriters and popular music in general. The campaign is currently online, and fans can contribute here.

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