Breitbart’s American Songwriter Showcase: Family, Faith, Freedom, and the Stories Behind the Hits

One of Andrew Breitbart’s enduring legacies is a simple yet powerful quote: politics is downstream from culture. We see this every day with liberal ideology permeating every aspect of our culture from movies and television to music to programming for children. But there is one cultural Alamo whereby artists are still defending and fighting for the ideals we hold so close to our hearts: faith, family, freedom. That Alamo is country music and as famed Nashville songwriter Jeffrey Steele notes, it is “the last bastion of free speech.”

Breitbart News and SiriusXM brought together three of Nashville’s best songwriters for a one hour special hosted by Breitbart News Daily host Mike Slater, in which Jeffrey Steele, Neil Thrasher, and Michael Farren deliver amazing LIVE performances. But what’s so special about Nashville songwriters is not only their musical talent, but their ability to tell a story and give listeners a behind the scenes look at how their songs came to be: the struggle, the backlash and the ultimate success. Now throw in a spirited discussion about topics ranging from politics, family, faith and prayer…and you have Breitbart News and SiriusXM’s American Songwriter special. We hope you enjoy what will be the first of many and take faith that there are in fact artists who are using their gifts to fight the culture war that conservatives need to be fighting…They are the Nashville songwriters.

…and they are a good hang.

ROUND 1

Michael Farren “Checking In” writers: Michael Farren, Kenneth Hart, Garrett Jacobs

Neil Thrasher “Try that in a Small Town” writers: Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy, Kelley Lovelace, Kurt Allison

Jeffrey Steele “Am I the Only One?” writers: Jeffrey Steele, Aaron Lewis, Ira Dean

ROUND 2

Michael Farren “Jericho” writer: Michael Farren

Neil Thrasher “Fly Over States” writers: Neil Thrasher, Michael Dulaney

Jeffrey Steele “My Town” writers: Jeffrey Steele, Reed Nielsen

A member of the Nashville Songwriting Hall of Fame and a good friend to Breitbart. It’s difficult to summarize his career. He’s written songs for Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Miley Cyrus, Rascal Flatts, Montgomery Gentry, Faith Hill, Trace Adkins and so many others. Steele has received multiple Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, and was named one of Billboards Top 5 writers eight years in a row. He had over 500 songs cut in an eight-year period by over 100 artists with over 100 singles released. He’s written more than 75 gold and platinum records.

Breitbart covered extensively his two recent politically charged songs that both reached #1 without any radio play: Aaron Lewis’ “Am I the Only One” and John Rich’s “Progress.”

CHECK OUT: Steele recently re-recorded his massive #1 hit “What Hurts the Most” as duet with Rascal Flatts frontman, Gary Levox. Find it HERE.

Jeffrey Steele @jsteelemusic

Alabama native Neil Thrasher is one of Nashville’s most accomplished songwriters, having written songs for some of country’s most successful artists including Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Ronnie Dunn, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Montgomery Gentry, and Lee Brice. His songs have sold more than 50 million records and have spent 25 weeks at #1. He’s received 20 ASCAP country music awards and was selected as Country Songwriter of the year.

Most recently, he rocked the world off its politically correct axis with Jason Aldean’s #1 smash “Try that in a Small Town” that he wrote with Kelley Lovelace, Kurt Allison, and Tully Kennedy, which was covered extensively here at Breitbart.com

CHECK OUT: Try that in a Small Town Podcast, hosted by Thrasher and his co-writers, Lovelace, Allison, and Kennedy. The Podcast is designed to “reinforce the traditional principles that have historically shaped our nation.”

Neil Thrasher @neilthrash

2x Grammy nominated and 4x Dove Award winning songwriter Michael Farren migrated to Nashville from Texas 20 years ago. It was a move that proved fruitful for the son of a preacher. Michael has penned hundreds of songs that span multiple genres: From Lauren Daigle’s Grammy Nominated and now platinum single “Trust in You” to Reba McEntire’s Grammy-winning album title track “Sing It Now.”

His first commercial cut was the global worship anthem “Let It Rain,” which appeared on Michael W. Smith’s RIAA certified double platinum album “Worship,” He’s penned songs for Zach Williams, Reba McEntire, Cory Asbury. His latest “Checking in” was just cut by Lee Brice and For King + Country as a collaboration for Curb Records.

COMING SOON: Michael’s own version of “Checking In.”

Michael Farren @michaelfarren