Here are some tips from a veteran songwriter/host on how to conduct yourself and what is important when trying to get your songs heard in Nashville.
Barbara Cloyd gives tips for playing open mics and writers' nights in Nashville, TN.

Bellamy Baylor was singing up a storm at the Pavilion Coffee House last night while another storm was raging outside. Bellamy was in rare form performing her passionate vocal arrangements of her original songs. Here is one song I have heard her do before.

Here is one of the finest blues guitarist I have run across in my travels. Bex Marshall has a firecracker personality that is blowing up in every town she plays . From London to Russia and back through Brazil and all over the USA is a normal year of gigs for Bex.

We had several really talented singer/songwriter ladies put together a show called "Girls with Guitars".
Lee Anna Culp played a set of her original songs for us.
She has a wonderful voice singing her well written songs.
Lee Anna is joy to watch. This is a set of 15 min.

I originally met Crystal at Richards Cafe. Besides being a very pretty lady with a firecracker personality she has some special vocal talents that need to be addressed. The first time I saw her play some of her original songs I was amazed.

I ran across Harry Hookey in the restaurant at the Fontanel in Oct 2011. Harry was a law student on holiday from Australia with a couple of songwriter friends who were touring America.

Learn from these few paragraphs how to look at songwriting if you want to make a living at it.
This is a small excerpt from Bronson's new book "Opening The Closed Door".

Here is Lisa Sanders who was in Nashville while recording a new CD. She was nice enough to grace us with her presence and music. She has been writing for many years and spends her time touring between New York and San Diego playing shows along the way.

There are times when creating these shows when we get something unexpected. When David Crossman played this song I was so very impressed with not only the lyrics but with melody is really quite extraordinarily good.

Here is a trailer for the songwriter project I have been working on. "The Road to Music City"
I have footage of 16 hours of Nashville's best songwriters telling us how and why they are chasing the dream of songwriting in Nashville.

Let me introduce Harlan Pease singing some of his "Coffee Series" songs. Harlan is from New England and has become one of the better songwriters/performers I have run across. Harlan was named the 2012 " NashvilleEar.com "Best of the Best" songwriter.

Gerald Smith is a Nashville veteran songwriter who has written songs that have been recorded by George Jones, Collin Raye and many more major stars. Most of Gerald's songs are really very funny with fantastic hooks and amusing stories usually about drinking too much.

Cody Walden singing "Please Dont Call My Dad" at the Fontanel for the NashvilleEar.com Songwriter Stage. I love the lyrics and the story this song portrays. I know when I was a kid, if I got into trouble at school I knew it would be worse when I got home. If someone told on me.

Don Mc Natt showed up one day at Bost Harley Davidson to hear his wife playing the NashvilleEar.com Songwriter Stage. His wife Karen McNatt was scheduled to play that day.

Her is the beautiful Lisa Torres with her brother equally as beautiful Eric. Lisa is a wonderful vocal experience to enjoy.
Here is her song about selling her soul to Nashville played at the Fontanel one evening.
This is a great song!

Here is how to handle a personal relationship that is ending.
I have known Brittany Blaire Andersen for years. She is an actor as well a singer/songwriter and school teacher.
It takes people like this to make up the songwriter community with creative people.

Here is a wonderful couple Sabrina and Tony Marvelli. These two songwriters are as good as it gets. There is absolute joy on both their faces when you watch their performances.They write great songs and play professionally all over the eastern seaboard.

Here is one of the best guitar players I have met in Nashville. I was going to the Back Alley Diner in downtown Nashville one evening to see a guy named Johnathan New. I was looking for people to play my NashvilleEar.com Songwriter Stage held each week at the Gibson Fontanel stage.

This tail-kicking song was played by Bex Marshall at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi during Juke Joint Festival 2014. Bex rightly tore the place up! Shot on location by Reed R. Radcliffe / TripleRPhotography

Rarely do I sit and watch a songwriter with my mouth open and hanging on each word of the lyrics. I found myself doing exactly that Saturday evening at the Pavilion Coffee House. Karla Davis is so darn good.

This is one amazing performance!
Taylor Dukes was in rare form last Saturday evening at the Pavilion Coffee House.
Every song was better than the last. She has the most mellow voice I have heard in years.
Taylor Dukes will be a big hit in this town soon.

This one of the few times I did not know who I was dealing with. I was out on the internet listening to good songs with lyrics that tells a good story. I ran across a song called "Alabama Gator Oil". It is a song about a bootlegger in northern Alabama.

I saw this written by Gary Cavanauagh about playing in Nashville at an open mic night. I totally agree 100%.He stated 7 great points to remember if you are playing in Nashville or anywhere for that matter. I have held songwriters stages at Bost Harley Davidson and at the Fontanel.

Just to show how this works for you new songwriters...

There is a guy name Joel Shewmake. He is a fantastic songwriter. He is the "Best of the Best " for 2013 awarded by the NashvilleEar.com. He has several songs recorded by major country music stars.