Front and Center

Iconic musician and five-time Grammy Award nominee Joe Jackson performs an electrifying set at New York City’s Iridium with songs from his latest album Fast Forward, including “A Little Smile” and “Keep On Dreaming.” The multi-Platinum selling singer-songwriter performs his chart topping classics “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” “Steppin’ Out” and “You Can’t Get What You Want.”

Multiple Grammy and CMA Award winner, Darius Rucker performs songs from his recently released #1 studio album Southern Style for the CMA Songwriters Series at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. The Grand Ole Opry inductee is joined by songwriters Casey Beathard, Nathan Chapman, Chris Dubois, Ashley Gorley, Tim James, Charles Kelley, Clay Mills, Frank Rogers and Rivers Rutherford. Collectively they are responsible for some of Rucker’s biggest hits including “Alright,” “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” and his current lead single “Homegrown Honey,” which he performs with co-writers Chapman, and label mate Kelley of Lady Antebellum. “There would be no great songs without great songwriters willing to put everything they feel and think about life’s little nuances out there for the world to hear,” says Rucker. “Writing with these folks over the years is like therapy, camaraderie and comedy all in one session, and it’s made me not only a better songwriter but also a better person to have such incredibly inspiring and talented people as my friends. They are the creative core of our industry, and I’m happy to help shed some light on that process and talent with Front & Center.”

Best known as one half of the legendary Grammy and CMA Award-winning duo Brooks & Dunn, Ronnie Dunn brings out renowned songwriters Tony Martin, Wendall Mobley, Neil Thrasher and Craig Wisemen for a one-of-a-kind taping of the CMA Songwriters Series at the Marathon Music Works in Nashville. Dunn performs some of his best-loved No. 1 hits in front of a sold-out crowd, as well as songs from his third solo album Ain’t No Trucks In Texas, including the lead single and title track. The Country icon also brings out CMA Award winning artist Brett Eldredge to share the stage for the first time ever. Eldredge, who has cited Dunn as one of his longtime musical influences, duets with Dunn on “Believe,” co-written with Wisemen for Brooks & Dunn’s 2005 Platinum album Hillbilly Deluxe, and Eldredge’s “One Mississippi.” “It was a once in a lifetime experience shooting Front and Center in Nashville with a bunch of my buddies, not to mention the best songwriters in Twang Town. I’ve had the pleasure to collaborate with this bunch over the 20 year span of my Brooks and Dunn days as well as my latest solo projects. Being able to share the stage with them is extra special. It was also fun to sing and joke around with one of country music’s most promising new comers, Brett Eldredge. I am a big fan and look forward to watching him soar.” -Ronnie Dunn

Multi-Platinum selling Country star Kip Moore, who recently released his second album Wild Ones, performs an acoustic set for the CMA Songwriters Series at New York City’s Iridium. A songwriter in his own right, having penned songs for Jake Owen and Thompson Square, Moore takes the stage with renowned artists Brett James and Jaren Johnston. The trio strip down versions of Moore’s No. 1 hits “Beer Money,” “Hey Pretty Girl” and “Somethin’ About A Truck” along with his latest single, “I’m To Blame,” while sharing stories behind the making of each. “I sort of forgot the cameras were there, it just felt like a night hanging out with friends,” said Moore. “Brett was one of the first people in Nashville to give me a shot and we’ve been working together for years. I haven’t known Jaren quite as long, but he’s one of my favorite people on top of being a badass songwriter and performer. I knew I wanted to do this with those two guys and we really had a blast.”

British singer-songwriter George Ezra, whose debut album Wanted On Voyage launched his career internationally and landed on the Top 10 charts in over ten countries, brings his bluesy-pop vocals to the Iridium in New York City. The 2015 Artist to Watch nominee at the MTV Video Music Awards performs “Cassy’O,” “Blame It On Me,” and his Top 5 hit from the US Hot Rock Songs Chart, “Budapest.” The young artist also has the crowd singing along for a soulful cover of Macy Gray’s Grammy Award winning single “I Try,” and performs “Girl from The North Country,” written by his longtime musical influence Bob Dylan. “We’ve had an incredible year and been fortunate enough to play some really big rooms in your beautiful country but sometimes playing in smaller ones is fun. Thank you so much to Front & Center. We had an amazing time and we hope to see you all again with some new songs soon!” -George Ezra

Indie pop singer-songwriter BØRNS treats the sold-out crowd at the Iridium in New York City to a captivating performance featuring songs from his debut album Dopamine. The Michigan native debuts his dreamy pop sound with songs like “The Emotion,” “10,000 Emerald Pools,” and his latest single, the Top 10 hit “Electric Love.” During the performance BØRNS shares stories from the making of the album and explains the eerie background noise on “The Emotion.” “Front and Center was a lovely intimate experience that encapsulated a nostalgic feeling of an old cabaret. It was a beautiful room, colorfully arousing stage setup and a very unique night. “

CMA New Artist of the Year winner Brett Eldredge takes the stage for the CMA Songwriters Series at the Marathon Music Works in Nashville with songwriters Ross Copperman, Tom Douglas, Travis Hill and Heather Morgan. A songwriter in his own right, having co-written all of the songs on his recent release Illinois, which debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, Eldredge joins co-writers Copperman and Morgan on a performance of the album’s lead single “Lose My Mind.” Eldredge and the hit makers also perform hits from his debut album Bring You Back including best-loved No. 1 hits including “Beat of the Music,” “Mean To Me” and “Don’t Ya.”

Legendary singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Steven Tyler makes his CMA Songwriters Series debut at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City. The stripped down country inspired set features Tyler sharing the story behind the making of his first country single, “Love Is Your Name,” and performing the chart-topping hit with Nashville-based co-writers Lindsey Lee and Eric Paslay. The Grammy Award winning artist, whose debut Country album is due out in early 2016, also shares the stage with The Loving Mary Band which features longtime Aerosmith collaborator Marti Frederickson and Country hit maker Rebecca Lynn Howard, along with Extreme lead guitarist Nuno Bettencourt for performances of “Jaded,” “Janie’s Got A Gun,” “Sweet Emotion” and more.