BEAR HOUSE WRITER MANAGEMENT PRESENTS:

FT. CHLOE COLLINS

Friday September 16, 2022

@ Bold Patriot Brewing Company in Nashville, TN

One of the best parts about living in Nashville is that you not only get to see those up-and-coming country artists that are about to burst onto the scene, but you also get the incredible opportunity to experience the country music family’s newest newcomers as on any given night you can find generation next at songwriter rounds in every pocket of the city.

One of my favorite rounds to always check out is presented by Belmont University’s Bear House Writer Management. Bear House brings together some of the strongest young talent that Belmont University has to offer as they did on this night at Bold Patriot Brewing Company on the West side of Nashville.

Surrounded by walls adorned with symbols of America, such as a painting that featured Benjamin Franklin and George Washington proudly holding mugs of beer in their hand, “We the People” scrolled across the wall in calligraphy styled lettering, and a pallet painted in the style of the American Flag, an incredibly supportive crowd of friends, family, and passerby’s who just happened to stumble upon a great night of incredible songwriting showed up and showed out for the amazing talent on stage.

Several of the young writers stood out - Allie Rohrer, Sarah Bares, Julia Morey, and Sophia Joelle – but there’s always just that special, not everyone has it type of aura that surrounds Chloe Collins and immediately attracts you to her performance and well-written songs.

As she so often does, Collins wraps you into lyrics that you might not expect from her with several lines that offer twists of shock value, helping her guide you through songs with a personality trait that is so endearing and mature that you forget she is still a college student as she is well beyond her years.

“This is my first show back in the US since I was in London writing songs,” Collins gleefully shared as she graciously thanked everyone for taking the time to come out.

“I just got some news that two of my original songs are being featured on upcoming episodes of the television show Heartland,” she gushed to applause from the crowd. “If you haven’t seen that show, it’s like Gilmore Girls with horses. I’ve had 8 songs on the show now, so it is definitely one of my personal favorites. It’s a family friendly show, but this first song I’m gonna play….not so much,” she smiled a mischievous smile as she delivered a brand-new song, “Menage a Trios.”

Though the title of the catchy song, and the possibility of its risky lyrics was enough to capture the audience’s attention as the first notes were played, Collins wowed everyone with her vocal balance that she pushed into lines that showcased her mature songwriting prowess as she belted the memorable hook, “you and me and my relationship anxiety,” perfectly striking a chord with the audience through the unexpected while reeling them into her performance hook, line, and sinker.

“I’ve been writing songs since I was 8 years old, and it was always a dream of mine to move here to Nashville. But when I was finally packing up to move here, I suddenly got really nervous because if you’ve been in this town for more than like an hour you can see that everyone is really talented,” Chloe shared very transparently. “I was like, I don’t know if this is the right move for me… Maybe I should just stay home. But the weirdest coincidence happened! The day before I moved to Nashville, I got an email saying that they wanted to feature my song on the 100^th episode of the TV show Nashville. And I was like YOOOOO….if that’s not a good omen for moving to Nashville, I don’t know what is!” She told encouragingly to the audience of mostly prospective songwriters.

“But yeah…so this is one of my new singles called “That’s On You” and it’s rated PG-13,” she boldly said as she elicited a rousing applause from the crowd when she sang the line, “he’s not even that big girl it’s not worth it,” while using body language that included rolling her eyes and smirks in her facial expressions to enhance the rock fueled performance.

Capturing the anxious emotions that you naturally feel when you find yourself falling for someone even when you told yourself you wouldn’t, Chloe delivered the powerfully honest “Shouldn’t, Couldn’t, Wouldn’t,” as she explored the many ways that giving into temptations leads you to going head over heels, deeper and deeper, as your inhibitions get thrown to the wayside.

“I’m gonna play a song I wrote in London. This is probably the most chaotic song I’ve ever written and that’s probably saying something,” Chloe laughed as she closed out her portion of the songwriter round with “Do It For The Plot,” a tempo driven, vibey song that in many ways empowers you to fully embrace who you are, quirks and all, and to be 100% okay with it.

Songwriter nights are generally hit or miss for many different reasons that usually have absolutely nothing to do with talent and everything to do with attitudes. But whenever Bear House puts on one of their nights, it’s always electric! And a big part of why is because the audience can visually see the young talent on stage supporting each other; a complete showing of pure class.

Throughout this night, each of the songwriter’s were vibing to one another’s songs, swaying along with the mid-tempo melodies, and grooving with the catchy rhythms as they tapped their toes on the rims of their stools. That true showing of respectful support from writer to writer for them and their music transcended across the crowd, effectively pulling them further into listening more and more intently to each song being shared!

FULL SET LIST

1) Menage a Trios

2) That’s On You

3) Shouldn’t, Couldn’t, Wouldn’t

4) Do It For The Plot

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