Nashville, Tenn. — Ten songwriters and five songwriter/artists have been nominated for one of the nation’s highest songwriting honors – induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Of the nominees, two from the songwriter category and one from the songwriter/artist category will be inducted during the annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony to be held on Sunday, October 26, at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.

“Each of these nominees has honed the songwriting craft to perfection, and the songs they’ve given us are absolute treasures,” said Roger Murrah, a 2005 inductee and the current chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF), which owns and administers the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The ballot seeks to recognize songwriters whose first significant works achieved commercial success and/or artistic recognition at least 20 years ago and have “positively impacted and been closely associated with the Nashville music community and deemed to be outstanding and significant.”

This year’s ten nominees in the Songwriter category are: Matraca Berg (“Strawberry Wine” by Deana Carter), Paul Craft (“Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life” by Moe Bandy), Kye Fleming (“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” by Barbara Mandrell), Larry Henley (“The Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler), the late John Jarrard (“Blue Clear Sky” by George Strait), Bob Morrison (“You Decorated My Life” by Kenny Rogers), Mark D. Sanders (“I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack), Tom Shapiro (“Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” by Brooks & Dunn), John Scott Sherrill (“Would You Go With Me” by Josh Turner) and Sharon Vaughn (“My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” by Willie Nelson).

The five nominees in the Songwriter/Artist category are: the late Paul Davis (“I Go Crazy”), Larry Gatlin (“All the Gold in California”), John Hiatt (“Ridin’ With the King”), the late Johnny Horton (“Honky Tonk Man”) and Tony Joe White (“Rainy Night in Georgia”).

Biographical information on the nominees, and an online version of this release, is available at: http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/73TEMP/news13B.html.

The ballot was recommended to the NaSHOF board of directors by the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, which is comprised of Hall of Fame members and Music Row historians. Votes are cast by Hall of Fame members and Professional Songwriter members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), as well as the boards of the NaSHOF and NSAI.

Established in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame boasts 168 members, including songwriting luminaries such as Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Bob Dylan, Don & Phil Everly, Flatt & Scruggs, Vince Gill, Harlan Howard, Roger Miller, Bill Monroe, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Carl Perkins, Dottie Rambo, Jimmie Rodgers, Cindy Walker, Jimmy Webb, Hank Williams, Sr. and Hank Williams, Jr. It was announced in September 2007 that the future home of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will be the historic building at 34 Music Square East, former home of the Quonset Hut, Columbia Studio A, Columbia and Epic Records and Sony Music Nashville. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will become the first organization honoring songwriters to emerge from a virtual entity to one with a physical location.

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit foundation dedicated to honoring and preserving the songwriting legacy of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The NaSHOF’s principal purposes are to educate, archive and celebrate songwriting that is uniquely associated with the Nashville music community.

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Memphis, Tenn. — Supporting the classic folk traditions from live performances, guitars, banjos, songs and dances to the new world of podcasts, blogs, Youtube, and VideoRanch, over 2,000 people, both young and old, will gather in Memphis, Tennessee to celebrate the 20th year of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (The Folk Alliance) at the International Folk Alliance Conference February 18 - 22, 2009. Catch up on what’s the best - best performances, best events, best technology, best advice. Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) will be the keynote speaker for the opening session of the conference which is held at the Memphis Marriott Downtown and Cook Convention Center. All showcase entries, early registrations, sales, sponsorships, private showcases, and hotel bookings, begin July 1. Details at www.Folk.org.

The Folk Alliance provides a vital network of activity for the performing folk-arts world on an international and regional level. The regional conferences are ideal for artists, presenters, business people, journalists & bloggers, folk societies, folklorists, and DJ’s to help build a stronger music community in focused geographic areas.

2008 FOLK ALLIANCE CONFERENCES

October 2-5 SWRFA - Southwest Regional Folk Alliance, www.swrfa.com
Location: TBA (Region: TX, OK, NM, CO)
Showcase deadline: August 15 - Registration open

October 10 - 12 FARM - Folk Alliance Region Midwest, www.farmfolk.org
Location: Techny Towers Conference & Retreat Center in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. (Region: IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI)
Showcase deadline: Passed - Registration open

October 17-19 SERFA - Southeast Regional Folk Alliance, www.serfa.org
Location: Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
(Region: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Showcase deadline: TBA

October 24-26 FAR-West - Folk Alliance Region West, www.far-west.org
Location: Phoenix Marriott Mesa Hotel & Convention Center, Ariz.,
(Region: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, MT, WY)
Showcase deadline is July 31, 2008 - Registration open

November 13-16 NERFA - Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, www.nerfa.org
Location: Hudson Valley Resort, Kerhonkson, NY
(Region: CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT)
Showcase deadline: July 25 - Registration open

February 18 - 22, 2009 International Folk Alliance Conference www.folk.org
Location: Memphis Marriott Downtown, Memphis, TN
Showcase deadline: November 20, 2008 - Registration open

Above and beyond the conferences the Folk Alliance offers wonderful programs through their year-round services including arts advocacy, health and instrument insurance, an online music business directory, newsletters, and workshops. Contact www.Folk.org for information on membership and all conferences or call 901/522-1170.

Folk Alliance Mission: The North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance exists to foster and promote traditional, contemporary, and multicultural folk music, dance, and related performing arts in North America. The Folk Alliance seeks to strengthen organizational and individual initiatives in folk music and dance through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and field development.

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