Sounds of Nashville

Back for year three, listen to your favorite country songs performed acoustically by the songwriters themselves under the stars. Featuring all-new songwriters!

This year's songwriters:

Tim Nichols:

Tim has been singing and writing in Nashville since the late 1980s. In the 90s, he was part of the artist duo Turner Nichols signed to BNA Entertainment and released an album in 1993. 

In 2004, he took home a Grammy for Best Country Song for “Live Like You Were Dying” recorded by Tim McGraw. His additional songwriting credits include Dustin Lynch’s “Cowboys and Angels,” Chris Young’s “The Man I Want To Be,” Jo Dee Messina’s “Heads Carolina, Tails California” and Joe Nichols’ “She Only Smokes When She Drinks.”  He has also had songs recorded by Trace Adkins, Terri Clark, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, James Otto, Keith Whitley, and Lee Ann Womack to name a few.

Deric Ruttan

Deric Ruttan is a Grammy-nominated, Nashville-based singer/songwriter and a Canadian country music artist. The writer of multiple #1 country songs, Deric has had over 70 songs recorded by other artists, including cuts by Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Justin Moore and David Nail to name a few. Bentley’s chart-toppers “What Was I Thinkin,’” (Billboard #1), and “Lot Of Leavin’ Left To Do” (Radio & Records #2) are Ruttan co-writes, as are the Eric Church hits,  “Guys Like Me” and “Hell On The Heart” (Mediabase #8).

In November 2013, he celebrated a multi-week #1 song when “Mine Would Be You,” recorded by country superstar and The Voice judge Blake Shelton, was a three-week number one (Billboard) for the artist. “Mine Would Be You” was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song and an ACM Award for Song Of The Year. In June 2016, Deric celebrated his second Blake Shelton #1 hit with the introspective “Came Here To Forget.” In July 2016, MCA Nashville’s David Nail took the Ruttan summer anthem “Night’s On Fire” to #10 on the Mediabase chart, and in April of 2017 Deric celebrated his fourth #1 country single when Jason Aldean took his song “Any Ol’ Barstool” to the top of both the Billboard and Mediabase country charts.  

Heather Morgan

Vince Gill once described Heather Morgan’s voice as a combination of Patty Griffin and Dolly Parton.

Growing up in Richardson, Texas, Heather was raised on Willie Nelson, Dolly, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, Dixie Chicks and Motown classics. Heather has written songs for such artists as Randy Rogers Band, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley and Maren Morris.

She had her first #1 song “Beat of the Music”, which was co-written with Ross Copperman and Brett Eldredge. The song won BMI’s Song of the Year in 2015. These three writers followed up with another #1 song for Brett, “Lose My Mind.” Another Brett single, “Love Someone” is currently in the Top 10. In 2018, Morgan released her own album entitled “Borrowed Heart” with Grammy-nominated producer Paul Moak, and she has recently added her vocals to records with Drake White and Dierks Bentley. Heather is also the co-founder of Girls of Nashville, a singer-songwriter show that began in 2014 to highlight female talent in Nashville.