The Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO) is proud to once again sponsor the fifth annual Oklahoma Songwriters Festival (OSF), presented by Grand Casino Hotel & Resort, Saturday, November 21, 2020.
The Oklahoma Songwriters Festival was created in 2016 by Ada-native Zac Maloy, former singer/songwriter for The Nixons – an Oklahoma-based rock band that rose to fame in the 1990s – in an effort to highlight songwriters and the art of songwriting. Each year Maloy returns home from Nashville, Tennessee, to Oklahoma for the event, inviting award-winning songwriters to join him in writing rooms and on stage for a weekend of celebrating a talented pool of artists who typically shine behind song credits.
Going virtual this year, the event began with a free Songwriting Zoom call, moderated by Oklahoma’s own Nathan Poppe hosting an engaging conversation with three prolific songwriters and record producers in the business. The three panelists are Lee Miller, who served as President of the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International for five years and has charted 15 years’ worth of singles with, to date, seven of them reaching #1 for, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Tim McGraw amoung others; Blair Daly, who has written songs recorded by artists ranging from Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town and Tim McGraw to Halestorm, Kelly Clarkson, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Il Divo, including number one hits for Kelly Clarkson and Rascal Flatts; and OSF Founder Zac Maloy, who most recently celebrated his #1 song, “Atlas Falls”, performed by the rock-band Shinedown.
WATCH THE SONGWRITING PANEL!
The festival concluded with a ticketed virtual Songwriter Showcase Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. live-streamed via the platform veeps.com from the Grand Casino main stage with no audience, benefitting the Red Dirt Relief Fund. On stage Maloy and Marcus Hummon will host and perform songs they’ve written (safely distanced) and will cut to live performances from additional singer/songwriters at home.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL IN THIS INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDER ZAC MALOY!
“I love this event and am always so thrilled to bring it to my home state,” said Maloy. “This year, we’re embracing the altered format and looking forward to having an even broader reach by using the veeps.com format. I kinda love it that people anywhere can watch from their living rooms. We’re excited we get to pull this off in the midst of these uncertain times and hope we can bring a little entertainment and fun to all fans of songwriters and music out there stuck at home.” He continues, “We couldn’t do this without our amazing sponsors Grand Casino & Resort and the Oklahoma Film + Music Office. Huge thanks to both!”
“As it remains a core focus for our office to build a more sustainable music industry in Oklahoma, we encourage anyone inspiring to elevate their songwriting craft, pivoting in to the music business or if you’re just a music fan, to join us at our sponsored virtual event Songwriting Zoom,” said OF+MO Directory Tava Sofsky. “We look forward to celebrating year five in this new innovative platform and are especially excited to see the most diverse line up yet at this year’s Oklahoma Songwriter’s Festival.”
Along with Hummon (“Bless the Broken Road”, “Cowboy Cassanova”) and Maloy, this year’s virtual performances will come from Nashville-based songwriters, including Oklahoma-native Brett James, recently nominated to the Songwriters Hall of Fame (credits include Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Cowboy Casanova,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All,” and more); Tulsa born David Hodges, former member of Evanescence (credits include Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You,” Carrie Underwood’s “See You Again,” Christina Perri’s “Thousand Years,” Maren Morris/Vince Gill’s “Dear Hate,” and more); Desmond Child (“Living on a Prayer”, “Livin’ La Vida Loca”); OSF alum Jim Beavers (Luke Bryan’s “Drink a Beer”, Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup”); Bowling For Soup frontman Jaret Reddick; and Oklahoma singer/songwriters Graham Colton and Abbey Philbrick.
In addition to The Nixons songs, Maloy has co-written songs for Carrie Underwood (Temporary Home), Daughtry (“Used To”), and other chart-topping artists such as Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Halestorm, 3 Doors Down, Jake Owen and David Cook.
For more information and to purchase tickets for the Songwriter Showcase, visit oklahomasongwritersfestival.com.
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About Oklahoma Film + Music Office
Created in 1979, the Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO) strives to share all that Oklahoma has to offer by welcoming filmmakers and music professionals to the state and by creating a network of support to develop Oklahoma’s film and music industries. For more information about the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program or the Oklahoma Film + Music Office, visit okfilmmusic.org.