Headliner: Wood Box Heroes

Formed out of a friendship of top musicians, this bluegrass supergroup features Matt Menefee, Jenee Fleenor, Josh Martin, Seth Taylor, and Barry Bales.

They’ve earned acclaim as a supergroup due to the impressive background of each member. Jenee Fleenor, a skilled fiddler and singer, is the four-time consecutive CMA Musician Of The Year and a remarkable songwriter whose work has been featured by artists like Dolly Parton, Kathy Mattea, and more. At the age of 17, Matt Menefee claimed victory in the Winfield Banjo Contest and has collaborated with notable figures such as Jerry Douglas, Mumford and Sons, and Bruce Hornsby. His own bands include Chessboxer and Cadillac Sky. Seth Taylor, a mandolinist, has shared the stage with Ricky Skaggs and the Opry House Band, among others. Barry Bales, known for his role in Alison Krauss & Union Station, handles the bass.

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Headliner: Ward Davis & The Likely Culprits

What do you get when seven A-list musicians and friends play music together? A great time that makes people feel good.  That’s exactly what Ward Davis and the Likely Culprits Band give their audience. The rowdy rebels have played together for over a decade. Their music defies genre as it blends Americana, R&B, bluegrass, folk, and country.

The All-star performance includes Ward Davis (singer/songwriter having songs recorded by Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and others), Ronnie Bowman (three-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Male Vocalist), Melonie Cannon (a country solo artist with powerful vocals), Deanie Richardson (one of the most respected country and bluegrass fiddle players in Nashville), Brandon Bostic (acoustic, electric guitar, and dobro in bluegrass, country, and Americana genres), Ashby Frank (a roots music vocalist and mandolin player that has written four top 5 hits), Garnet Imes Bowman (a Nashville vocalist performing with the likes of Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Chris Stapleton), and Austin Ward (one of the most sought-after bass players in Nashville).

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Ronnie Bowman

Ronnie Bowman has earned a great deal of respect among Bluegrass, Country, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Gospel professionals. Kenny Chesney, Brooks & Dunn as well as multiple Bluegrass artists have brought Ronnie’s originals to #1.

In addition to Kenny Chesney and Brooks & Dunn, Ronnie has seen continued songwriting success with songs recorded by such artists as Wynona Judd, Jake Owen, Lee Ann Womack, Dan Seals and many others including 3 songs recorded on Chris Stapleton’s multiplatinum selling album “Traveller “. The single “Nobody To Blame” won him the ACM award for “Song of the Year”. The album received the ACM and CMA award for “Album of the Year” as well as a Grammy award for “Country Album of the Year”.

As an artist, Ronnie has been awarded IBMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Gospel Performance and Recorded Event of the Year multiple times for each.

As a vocalist, Ronnie has recorded with various artists including, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Lee Ann Womack, Del McCoury, Chris Stapleton, and John Fogerty to name a few.

When Ronnie’s not on the road, he resides in Nashville TN where he’s still writing songs and living the life.

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Moose Brown

Jim “Moose” Brown, based in Nashville, is a studio musician, record producer, and songwriter. He’s a member of Bob Seger’s “Silver Bullet Band,” has won a Grammy Award for songwriting and is a Grammy nominated producer. Additionally, Moose is a highly sought-after session player whose exceptional keyboard skills earned him nominations for Keyboard Player of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 2005, 2006, and 2011.

Moose clinched the Grammy Award for Best Country Song for his collaborative effort on “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” He also co-wrote the Top 10 hit “If Something Should Happen” for Darryl Worley and James Otto’s single “For You.” Moose was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainer’s Hall of Fame in 2010.

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Marla Cannon-Goodman

Marla has been a member of the Gunnison TETWP family for a long time and we are so grateful to have her back again! Raised in Kingston Springs, Tennessee, where she had a front row seat for country music history as she watched her father, Buddy Cannon, shepherd the careers of new and legendary artists as a producer, songwriter and record label executive.  Now, she has earned her own place as one of country music’s most-beloved and respected hit-makers.

Marla was working as a nurse when her song “The Fool”, recorded by Lee Ann Womack, reached #1 on the country charts.  She has had cuts by everyone from Sammy Kershaw, Billy Currington, Blake Shelton, Eric Church, Kenny Chesney, George Strait and many others. 

Marla has twice more reached #1 status with “Ten Rounds of Jose Cuervo” by Tracy Byrd, and “Cleaning This Gun” by Rodney Atkins.  You can also find her name on the Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard duet album “Django And Jimmie”, “Stealing Home” by Willie Nelson, and “Same Devil” by Brandy Clark (feat. Brandi Carlile).

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Brice Long

Brice has enjoyed a successful 25+ year music career. As a songwriter he has had over 100 of his songs cut with artists such as Garth Brooks, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Hank Williams Jr, Randy Houser, Josh Turner, Reba McEntire, Gary Allan, Cody Johnson, Chris Young,  Jon Pardi, The Grascals, Casey James, Darryl Worley, Randy Travis, Gretchen Wilson, John Michael Montgomery, Porter Wagoner and many more.  Brice’s songwriting hits include the #1 singles “Heartache On The Dance Floor” by Jon Pardi and “Nothing On But The Radio” by Gary Allan.  Randy Houser’s “Like a Cowboy”,a song that also garnered Brice a CMA nomination for Song of the Year.  Other recent chart toppers are Randy Houser’s debut single, “Anything Goes”, “Today” from Gary Allan, Casey James’ “Let’s Don’t Call It A Night” and Jon Pardi’s, “What I Can’t Put Down”.

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Josh Martin

Josh Martin knows how to dance the fine line between radio country and his deep-holler Kentucky roots. It’s clear the songwriter/vocalist/guitarist is no stranger to longnecks and pick-up trucks – but he’s even closer to the bluegrass of his youth. His latest album, Nothing Holding Me, is a taut balancing act of accessibility and credibility, replete with honest songwriting and extraordinary musicianship. His songwriting is a testament to life in Kentucky, where he used to run up and down the holler roads – going anywhere he wanted, just because he could. That freedom, he says, rings out in every note he plays. You can hear traces of Guy Clark and Darrell Scott in his lyric, and the echo of John Mayer and Tony Rice in his guitar licks – and a hint of old-time spirituality in his voice. His songs are both smart and accessible, running wild and smiling back at Nashville from the open road. Martin is at the apex of his musical freedom, not afraid of joy or sorrow, just eager to share what he loves with the audience.

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Trent Willmon

American singer, songwriter, and CMA Award winning music producer. Born in Amarillo and raised on a ranch in west Texas, Trent later moved to Nashville, TN and signed with Sony Records, having hits such as “Beer Man” and “On Again Tonight”, as well as writing songs for other artists like Brad Paisley and Montgomery Gentry. Growing up in Dickens County, Texas, Trent was involved in 4-H and FFA, and went on to study animal science at South Plains College. There he joined his first band and decided to pursue music instead.

Trent continues to write and performs, but spends more time producing albums for Cody Johnson, Hayden Haddock, Chancey Williams, and several other artists; he has made a name for himself as an outstanding producer, recently winning “Single Of The Year” at the 2022 CMA Awards, for Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t”, the most-streamed Country song in 2022. The song is also nominated for a Grammy in 2023 for “Song Of The Year”. After the work is done, you will find Trent giving back to charities, fishing, hunting, on the back of a horse, barbecuing, looking for arrowheads, and spending time with family.

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Wynn Varble

Wynn came to love country music at a very young age when he discovered his dad’s collection of classic country vinyl albums. He even traded his big brother’s “Grand Funk Railroad” for a copy of Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John”, and he still has a scar to prove it! Around the age of 14, a neighbor showed Wynn a few chords on an old guitar. Before long, Wynn was playing on his own and writing his own songs.

After many years of playing in honkytonks & bars, Wynn decided to make the move to Nashville. His first radio single was “Fit to Be Tied Down” by Sammy Kershaw. Since then, Wynn has had numerous hits including three number ones… all three were nominated for “Song of the Year” by the CMA and/or ACM.

Wynn’s three number one songs are: “Have You Forgotten” by Darryl Worley, “Waitin’ on A Woman” by Brad Paisley, and “I’m A Little More Country Than That” recorded by Easton Corbin. In addition to his number ones, Wynn’s had songs recorded by artists such as Garth Brooks, Cody Johnson, Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, Mark Chesnutt, Kellie Pickler, Lee Ann Womack, and many others.

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Please contact Heidi Sherratt at 970-209-6332 if you would like to sponsor the Winter Songwriter Shuffle Series.

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