TIN PAN SOUTH 

Mitchell Tenpenny, Dallas Wilson, Michael Whitworth, Riley Thomas, Meghan Patrick, & Jordana Bryant

Saturday April 1, 2023 (6PM Show)

@ 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

As the final night of Tin Pan South arrived in Nashville, the early show at 3^rd & Lindsley absolutely knocked it out of the park as the Riser House Entertainment round welcomed one of country music’s hottest rising stars of the past year to the stage, Mitchell Tenpenny.

Sitting among his songwriting peers, Michael Whitworth, Riley Thomas, Dallas Wilson, and special guests Meghan Patrick and Jordana Bryant, Tenpenny set the tone of the night through a showcase of his pure humbleness as he (as well as every other writer on stage) encouragingly supported everyone as they continuously raised the bar with each pass through, choosing to play mostly songs that they had co-wrote with one of the other writers in the round.

Whitworth showcased his modern country stylings when he played the recent Alana Springsteen single “you don’t deserve a country song,” and with permission from Chris Young, he offered a look at his forthcoming album when he played “Country Boys Prayer.” But it was his versatility as a songwriter that would stun the crowd when he closed his part of the night with his first #1 in the rock music genre with Jelly Roll’s “Dead Man Walking.”

Dallas Wilson praised Mitchell for always giving him a stage to share when he was an up-and-coming writer, solidifying the humbleness that Tenpenny had already shown earlier in the night, before he drove through several Dylan Scott songs that he had co-written, including the #1 smash “Nobody,” “Leave Her Alone,” and “Can’t Have Mine,” before closing the entire night to a huge ovation with the current #1 on the country airplay chart, “Heart Like A Truck.”

Whereas Wilson and Whitworth both gave the audience a firm grasp on the here and now through their current hits, Riley Thomas offered a look at what’s coming next. With a gravelly tone to his voice and a dusty western rhythm, he drove us through “Dead Horse,” before softening his edge to deliver “Miss Her the Same,” and his show stopping moment with the gut-punch of “Angels,” a song that praised the unconditional love he received from the girl who he regretfully ended up breaking.

Giving up his seat midway through the round, Tenpenny introduced the crowd to his wife, Canadian country songstress Meghan Patrick.

“The thing about flowers guys, is that we don’t want them when you screw up. We want them on a random Tuesday because you’re thinking about us,” Patrick lamented to an ovation from the females in the crowd as she dropped into a swampy feel on “Red Roses and Red Flags,” pushing her crisp vocal into well thought-out lyrics that earned stunned wows from the mostly unsuspecting crowd as their jaws dropped while she added a snarly growl into lines of the chorus to hammer them home.

Opening her diary to share of the soul searching that she had done over the past few years, Patrick told of her stark realization that part of that journey was having to leave behind the person that she used to be, then turning the otherwise lively venue into a pure listening room as she delivered her current single, “She’s Not Good For Me.”

17-year-old Jordana Bryant took the stage as the second special guest of the night, and impacted the crowd with her ultra emotionally driven vocal through the amazing “Holy,” holding tightly to a prayer like lyric that came from an awestruck peace of mind that focused on how God loves us just as we are, scars and all, radiating the amazement of His love for us as she pushed her voice into power of the chorus, earning one of the loudest ovations of the night.

Instantly popping the crowd’s phones into the air to capture the moment, Mitchell Tenpenny pushed into the familiarity of his newest single at country radio, “We Got History,” with a pollen induced rasp embedded into his voice that added a layer of grittiness and attractive new flavor to power of the chorus as the crowd added harmony, singing along with every word.

“Thank you for listening to country radio and supporting all of the songwriters,” gratefully shared Mitchell. “And thank you for making this a number one song for me last year,” he finished to a huge ovation as everyone sang along with “Truth About You,” including all of those on stage with him, as he earned a deafening ovation when he struck into the opening chorus and hit the hook.

Before relinquishing  his seat to Meghan and Jordana, Tenpenny tugged on the hearts of everyone in the crowd, including his own as he choked up talking about the tragedy that happened earlier in the week.

“I wasn’t going to play this song tonight, but we all know what happened in Nashville this week. So, I just want to send out a prayer through this song. It sums up how I feel we need to deal with these things,” he said, pausing for a quick moment of silence as he completely hushed the crowd to a reflective quiet during “Dear Jesus.”

Each round that we’ve seen throughout the entire Tin Pan South songwriter festival had its spotlight shining moments for a writer or two that would stand out as the definition of the entire round. But this one felt very different, like the entire group of writers had the spotlight over them collectively from start to finish.

And that makes perfect sense!

Mitchell Tenpenny said at the very start of the round that this wasn't just songwriters on stage, but this is the Riser House family, with strong emphasis on the word family. Each songwriter played guitar for the other, slid in on harmony vocal, led the crowd in clap along’s to cheer on each other, and genuinely hyped one another. But the best part of this was how they welcomed in the crowd to be part of the family with them for two hours as we soaked in the new songs, shared touching moments together, and sang along with the big hits!

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