Change The Conversation teamed up with Country Music Television (CMT) to curate an impeccable line-up from the network’s Next Women of Country program hosted by CMT Senior Vice President of Music Strategy and Talent, Leslie Fram, and Jessie James Decker at City Winery in Nashville, TN. The night began with Fram explaining the importance of supporting the future of women in country music as well as what CMT is doing to help the initiative. She then asked Decker to become an official mentor to rising women in the genre, which Decker emphatically accepted.
The show was in the traditional in-the-row songwriter round. Decker introduced the first round of artists, which included four women from the 2022 class and Class of 2021 member, Hannah Dasher. The highlight of the round was a new, unreleased song from Jenna Paulette about getting back to the freckled little girl she was that had the Texan in near tears. Paulette pulled through and was rewarded with a roar of applause.
The second and final round of the evening included dreamy performances from Laci Kaye Booth and powerful renditions from Reyna Roberts. The round also included one of the most triumphant moments for women in country music with Tenille Arts. Arts took a moment to share the spotlight with her producer and co-writer, Alex Kline, who became the first woman to solely produce a number one song on country radio with Arts’ single ‘Somebody Like That’ last spring. The Canadian gave the audience what they came for with a beautifully executed acoustic version of the song. The night ended with new mentor and only non-member of the Next Women of Country program, Decker. After Arts’ sang a song she will be cutting, written by Emily Weisband, Decker made a point to include the importance of supporting all women in the genre, which includes female writers that are writing every day for others. Bringing her point full circle, Decker highlighted ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ as a Carole King song that Aretha Franklin released and delivered her version to end the night.
By: Kaylee Steffel
