SPREADING HOPE WITH KEITH GRINER

w/ Eric Paslay, Dylan Schneider, Tiera Kenndy, Spencer Crandall, Alexis Wilkins, Allie Colleen, & more!

Wednesday June 21, 2023

@ 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, TN

(Review By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

Nashville absolutely lives up to its branded moniker of “Music City” as live music flows out from every corner of town day in and day out, while songwriter’s gather in writing rooms to create the next big hit as they pump the city’s lifeblood among swirling rhythms, radiating melodies, and captivating lyrics.

But the true depth of the state of Tennessee, and within the borders of its capital city, is found within its charitable heart and volunteer spirit; something that bi-monthly Spreading Hope with Keith Griner events place well within the bright spotlight.

Working hand in hand with the Ava Suppelsa founded Hope On The Row, these “Concerts With A Purpose” combine great music, incredible songwriters, and a driven passion to raise money to help feed Nashville’s unhoused community while collecting essential items to be distributed to them. 

The concert, co-hosted by Eryn Cooper from Nashville’s Ya’ll 106.7 and Keith Griner, who’s inspiring story brought him from addiction and homelessness to unselfishly giving back to the community he understands from the inside out, featured 3 amazing songwriter rounds that made Nashville hotspot 3^rd & Lindsley the place to be as a packed crowd opened their hearts toward the overall purpose while singing along with their favorite hits and discovering the newest talent to latch onto.

Each of the 4 acts that played the first round, in a trend that would continue throughout the night, brought their unique flare to the stage to grip the crowd and pull them into varying styles, stories, and vocal distinctions.

ROUND ONE

Austin Jenckes, Allie Colleen, Ashley Walls, and Whitney Miller

Austin Jenckes, who many will remember from his time spent on The Voice, kicked off the entire night with “Ride Away” and immediately had heads bobbing along as he poured his voice into its raspy tilts to sing us through the “always by your side as long as we’re together” sway of the chorus.

He continued wowing the crowd with the unbridled power of his voice on “People Crazy,” but brought them to a showstopping standstill with the powerful “How Do I Live With Myself,” before which playing he dedicated to anyone in the audience who has had to deal with the loss of someone by suicide, openly sharing his story of the struggles that came with losing his own father to it.  

Through a natural waver embedded in her voice, Allie Colleen struck nostalgic vibes that transported us to memories of our own growing up in a more innocent time as she reminisced from a today’s perspective that fondly looked back on the way back when through “Smoking Section.”

Keeping focus on brand new, just written material, set closer “What They Can’t Break” dripped a shot of encouragement, while the softer pace of “Nicotine” intriguingly added a folk flare to the underlay of its verses before she power punched the chorus and stunned the crowd with her impeccable vocal.

With an overall theme of relationships - the good, the bad, and the ugly – Ashley Walls floated her voice along the soft pluck of the guitar strings to bring us through the raw honesty of heartbreak on “Sometimes,” lifting her vocal at perfectly timed moments to emphasize specific points while aptly pulling it back to an audible hush to soften others.

While she bookended her set with the downsides of relationships and them not working out on “One Not To,” “Someday” swerved to present optimism toward falling in love through a memorable lyric and an insatiable melody that pulled the crowd into the song as they softly swayed side to side.

Using her three selections as a showcase to every side of who she is as an artist and songwriter, Whitney Miller pumped heart into descriptive attributes that spelled out the kind of cowboy she’s looking for on “Cowboy Like That,” allowing the rasp of her voice to impressively hold the power of the chorus.

Her amazing vocal abilities stayed the centerpiece fixture throughout her set, whether it was the grittiness of the boot stomping kick on “Miller Time,” or when she perfectly encompassed the cheated on moodiness on her recent single “Nobody,” sliding in hints of disappointment while slapping into pure frustration at all the right moments to satisfy the proper lyrical emotion.

ROUND TWO

Reyna Roberts, Jon Wayne Hatfield, Alexis Wilkins, and Matt Roy

With the keyboard as her instrument of choice, Reyna Roberts added a different flavor to the night as she poured soulful pumps of her voice into the fuel of the melody on “I’d Rather Be Wasted,” kicking off the second round with an all-out bop that enticed the crowd and instantly held them in the palm of her hand.

Drawing inspiration from Chris Stapleton, Adele, and Carrie Underwood, Reyna delivered the impactful “Red Roses,” before excitingly sharing that her debut album would be releasing this September (2023) as she closed with “Death of Me.”

Where Roberts before him presented a purely clean, soulful side with her voice, Jon Wayne Hatfield, who made it to the duet round on this past season of American Idol, slid into a deeper drawl with “Holds Me Down,” opening his part of the night with what he said to be one of his favorite songs he had ever written as he leaned into the rough around the edge rawness of his voice to punch the higher strikes of the chorus.

Opening his diary to talk about his grandparents who raised him, he encouraged before playing “Tell Me Ray” that “if someone doesn’t accept you for who you are then that person doesn’t need to be in your life,” while quieting the crowd to pin drop status with “Jealous of Jesus,” turning the Wednesday night bar & grill into a Sunday morning church as he poured out in prayer like fashion his jealously of Jesus for getting to hang out with his grandma in heaven when he himself is broken heartedly wishing for just one more day with her.

Though she hails from Arkansas, Alexis Wilkins carried a Texas styled kick in her vocals as she wrapped a very appropriate western edged flare into “Half As Cowboy,” opening her set with an autobiographical twist that saw her lamenting on how all the cowboys she meets are not nearly as much of one as she is.

Continuing to pull from her latest EP, Grit, the sway to the modern branded country slide in the rhythm  of “Love Me” combined with namechecking Joe Diffie to elicit cheers from the crowd as they sang along with the familiar tune, while her sassy drawl hit the bounce of the melody on the EP’s title track, “Grit,” keeping the crowd shoulder dancing while leaving a lasting impression.

As the others before him left their artist mark on the crowd, Matt Roy was the pure songwriter of the bunch, announcing at the start of his 3 songs, “I thought I’d play songs I wrote that some artists you might know sang.”

Morgan Wallen’s “Money On Me” pulled in the crowd, Chris Janson’s “Done” had everyone singing along when he closed with it, and his witty personality shined before playing “Loose Cannon,” the title track to Jake Owen’s latest album which he told before playing was one that he wrote real honest about his crazy self and his girlfriend of seven years, who he said with a shoulder shrug and smile hates his joke whenever he says, “we’ve been together for seven years, but its felt like ten minutes….underwater.”

ROUND THREE

Spencer Crandall, Tiera Kennedy, Dylan Schneider, and Eric Paslay

Injecting a pop laden country sound into the night with “Things I Can’t Say,” Spencer Crandall took us back to 2020 to open the stacked final round with the ultra-popular duet he released with Julia Cole on his East EP, which has since garnered over 20 million streams on Spotify alone.

Transparently revealing the heavy truths of the weight that comes attached to your dreams happening and the sacrifices that mentally take their toll, Crandall softened the pace to draw in the crowd of Nashville dreamers through “Side of the Stage,” before closing his night with “Made,” requested from the front row by fans who were donning his t-shirts and singing along with every song he played.

With a shot of 90’s country influence infused into her ultra-modern country sound, Tiera Kennedy bounced along the melody of “Alabama Nights,” pouring her incredible vocal into the clap along rhythm throughout this ode to her home state; something she’d bookend her three songs with when she delivered the ultra-catchy “Jesus, My Mama, My Therapist,” enticing crowd participation as they sang and clapped along.

But in a spotlight moment that showcased her depth, she turned up the sultry blues inspired country atmosphere through the tonality of her voice on “Keep Your Promises” as she sassily placed a warning out there to keep your promises to yourself if you ain’t gonna keep them!

A Gold Record now to his credit, his first official single heading to country radio, and a smash hit as a songwriter are the three ways to describe the song selections made by Dylan Schneider, one of country music’s hottest rising stars.

“How Does It Sound” had everyone instantly singing along with the song that only two weeks ago was awarded Gold status, while “Ain’t Missing You,” his first song going to country radio next month (July 2023), came at the crowd from the very unique perspective of the new guy telling his girl’s ex how good he had it with her, while also making it crystal clear to him that she don’t want him back.

“I never thought it’d happen for me,” humbly shared Schneider before closing his part of the round with what he said to be a dream come true as he had everyone singing along with Dustin Lynch’s “Momma’s House,” a song he co-wrote with Michael Lotten, Rodney Clawson, and Justin Wilson that rode into the Top 5 on the country airplay chart.

Immediately getting everyone to dance and sing along, Eric Paslay stuck to the hit songs we all know and love from him as both a writer and as an artist when he opened his set with a double shot of “Friday Night” and “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” the most played song of the decade which before performing he shared the story of his co-writer telling of the experience of seeing U2 in concert that inspired the write that day, which Eric then paid tribute to on this night with snippets of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” fusing together with the Jake Owen smash.

“This song is for all of us crazy dreamers,” told Eric before encouraging, “don’t ever give up on reaching for something bigger than yourself…not just for yourself,” he said with a heartfelt nod to overall purpose of the event as he played the Eli Young Band hit “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” pulling in the crowd of dreamers as they provided harmony to the chorus and sang along with the outro that melded into Tom Petty’s “Learning To Fly” to close out an amazing night of music.

The common thread woven through the uniqueness of each performer was the humble gratefulness that they displayed through their appreciation of being asked to play for such an incredible cause, and that appreciation shined through very brightly as the other writers were singing along with each other, cheering each other on, and encouraging them on the crazy music path they’re all taking.

And that really is what this whole ride of life is about. If we aren’t helping to support one another, then we’re missing out on the most basic thing that we can do for someone else. Want to get involved? Consider donating to Hope On The Row today via Paypal!

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