Dave Barnes, Derek Webb, Thad Cockrell, Alli Rogers and...

One of the simple joys of living is Music City is you get to experience lots of truly special nights of music. Tonight was one of those nights.

MCU partnered with the great guys at Dryve Management to present a round at the Tin Pan South Music Festival, which supports more great folks at NSAI who work tirelessly help to protect the rights of songwriters.

When you put together a festival show, you never really know how it's going to turn out. Will you get the right venue? or time slot? or day? or will you have to compete with Amy Grant or Hanson for an audience?

Well, as luck would have it, the planets, artists, venue and audience aligned for what proved to be an incredibly moving night music from some of the most talented folks out there.

Dave Barnes, Derek Webb, Thad Cockrell and Alli Rogers shared the stage and their music for a full capacity, you-can-hear-a-pin-drop crowd at the Rutledge, where they actually had to turn people away at the door.

And if that stellar line-up wasn't enough (and I can tell you it would certainly have been more than enough!), Dave Banes brought along a very special guest, Jonny Lang. More to come on that...

I've never had the pleasure of hearing Derek Webb live (aside from seeing him back-up his amazing wife Sandra McCracken in their living room for our MCU videocast that you MUST see on our Episodes page). Hearing Derek sing "This To Shall Be Made Right" was one of the most moving musical moments I have experienced in quite a long time.

Then there's the warmth and beauty in the voice of Thad Cockrell. Hearing Thad sing "O To Be Loved By Jesus" with Derek, Dave, Alli and Jonny joining in was definitely one of the highlights in an evening of many.

Alli Rogers (who is 9 month pregnant!) added a bit of grace and a lot more beauty to the night with her tender voice and moving lyrics on songs like "The Thing We Can and Cannot Keep."

Then there was the one and only Dave Barnes showcasing some o' so fancy guitar work, his always engaging personality and quite a bit of soul on songs like "Grace's Amazing Hands."

Oh, and last but not least was our special guest Jonny Lang. As Dave Barnes said, when he was just starting out, he never thought he would one day be playing a round with Derek Webb. And who would have thought Dave would one day be playing an MCU round sitting between Derek and the legendary guitarist Jonny Lang?! Well, tonight he did.

Jonny joined Dave, Derek, Thad and Alli during the second round and blew everyone away with the blues on songs like "Lie To Me." Jonny Lang bleeds raw talent and emotion. Like a shot through the heart, his voice is something everyone needs to experience live, especially in an intimate room like the Rutledge. Jonny's also one heck of a super nice and humble guy. It was both a honor and a thrill to have him along for one heck of a musical ride.

So, there you have it. Another amazing evening of the true artistry that lives and breathes on the streets of Music City. Thankfully, we recorded the entire round, so the MCU community may just get to hear some highlights in the coming months.

A big shout out to Jon Dicus, David McCollum, Chris DeTray and Kirk Dalhgren for helping to assemble such a great night of music.

Cheers,

Johnny T

PS Hope u enjoy my oh so professional iPhone photo.

MCU & TPS Together Again

Tim blogs about MCU's participation in the upcoming Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival