Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival

[5] According to Tennessean writer Dave Paulson, the festival allows country music's rising stars to take the stage alongside their closest collaborators.

[1] Some of the former attendees who have gone on to writes successful songs include: Jon Vezner ("Where've You Been" – Kathy Mattea); Tia Sillers ("I Hope You Dance" – LeAnn Womack); Barry Dean ("Pontoon" – Little Big Town); and Lance Carpenter ("Love Me Like You Mean It" – Kelsea Ballerini).

[10] Sponsors of the event have included American Songwriter Magazine, Folk Alliance International, corporate donors and performing-rights organizations such as BMI, SESAC and ASCAP.

The organization raises money, in part to support lobbying efforts in Washington to be advocates for fair reimbursement for songwriters, but this is not their main goal, according to Bart Herbison, former executive director.

"We don't raise vast amounts of money with this [festival]", he said, "because there are a lot of costs involved...we do it to showcase the art form and the artists".