Legendary Nashville songwriters Gordon Kennedy and Wayne Kirkpatrick took the equally legendary Ryman Auditorium stage on Monday night, October 28, to perform for enthusiastic crowd of over 400 NAfME members who were in town for the 2013 NAfME National In-Service Conference.
The Ryman was the home of the Grand Ole Opry until 1974 and continues to be a mecca for country music fans and history lovers worldwide.
Sponsored by Quaver, the Songwriters in the Round performance was introduced by the company’s Steve Gilreath, who explained the background behind the two performers (and musical partners) who made their way to the stage with guitars and baseball caps, and proceeded to entertain the crowd for nearly 90 minutes with stories and songs.
Many of Kennedy and Kirkpatrick’s songs have been written and recorded for films and for other artists including Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton and others over the past 20 years.
The NAfME crowd was enthralled with their insider stories about the industry, the artists, and the processes behind the creation of their highly-crafted tunes. By the end of the show, the applause brought them back out for an encore of “Change the World” which Clapton turned into a major world-wide hit several years ago.
The evening was, to sum it up, a magical event for everyone in attendance.
Photos by Nelson Duffle
Nelson Duffle, Digital Communications Manager, October 29, 2013. © National Association for Music Education
