MALLORY JOHNSON

With Makayla Lynn & The Woods

Friday August 26, 2022

@ The Listening Room Café in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

The very foundation of what makes Nashville’s music scene thrive rests in the heartbeats of the songwriters who call Music City home.

As such, there are various spots in every pocket of the city that host songwriter rounds, but the stage of The Listening Room Café is mecca! It’s a room built on honoring the craft of songwriting and fully respecting the writers behind the songs.

As the house lights darkened over the Friday night crowd, the video walls on either side of the stage sprang to life with a video package that highlighted some of those familiar faces who have graced the hallowed stage – Carly Pearce, Jimmie Allen, Morgan Wallen, Hardy, Etc. However, the true reason for the video wasn’t to showcase those who have already played the stage, but to shine a light on what was only moments away from taking place as it took us into the brain of a songwriter, shared that some of the songs we’d hear might be brand-new or could be number one hits at radio, and asked that we kept our table conversation to a minimum so we could immerse ourselves in the songs.

To a huge ovation, the evening’s host Mallory Johnson led the round that featured Makayla Lynn and The Woods onto the stage where she then joked with the bachelorette parties in the crowd and talked directly with the few people at the show from her homeland of Canada while each songwriter was putting the final tuning touches on their instruments.

Makalya Lynn, a Nova Scotia born singer/songwriter who now calls Nashville home, opened the night with “Witness,” immediately engaging the receptive crowd as she allowed her incredibly powerful vocals to wrap into a lyric about needing to break away from only seeing those who are surrounding you every day, to becoming a difference maker to them – a witness!

“Songwriter rounds are so special,” Makalya began. “They give you a behind the scenes look at the songs and where they come from,” she told as she then shared, “When I got together to write this one with my-cowriter, we got to talking. One of things we have in common is that we’re both the oldest daughter in our family. When I moved away from my two youngest siblings here to Nashville, I didn’t realize how hard that would be. You’re the protector of them! You look out for them. So, we ended up writing this one,” she finished as she played “Oldest Daughter,” a song which she teased might also be the title track of her forthcoming project.

“It’s either depressing or weird with me; There’s no in-between,” laughed Makayla. “I was in Laurel Canyon…where people like Joni Mitchell and James Taylor started out. That place is so inspiring. I wrote this next song about how I feel that we could give a little more of us to the people around us,” she explained as she then played “Spare A Little Change,” a song which featured a great play on words that made you really ponder if she were talking about actual coins or the internal changes we need to make to become better for those around us.

Admitting that she only plays the next song because it’s her husband’s favorite, Makayla delivered “No More Leaving Now,” which she introduced as being about having a wild adventurous soul getting tamed by the one who comes into your life and changes your whole world.

After talking about signing her first publishing deal this past year, and how as a songwriter you hope that someday you can get lucky enough that artist will hear your song and want to record it, Makayla Lynn performed “Feel Like Him,” which features a stellar lyric that plays out like an older, wiser sister giving advice to her younger sister/best friend in the aftermath of their breakup, lamenting to them how running away won’t change the hurt because you’ll always be reminded of him no matter where you go until you face the pain head on.

“This last song I’m gonna play is one that is the most near and dear to my heart. I guess it’s because it’s something so honest and what I really needed to say the day we wrote it,” she finished as she closed with “Things She Did To You,” tackling the all too real subject of someone putting up walls around themselves and unfairly making you feel like they’re holding you accountable for what the one who broke their heart before you did to them.

FULL SET LIST (Makalya Lynn)

1) Witness

2) Oldest Daughter

3) Spare A Little Change

4) No More Leaving Now

5) Feel Like Him

6) Things She Did To You

“This is a song about finding the good things in the little things,” positively shared Mallory Johnson as she opened with “Where the Good Things Are,” immediately reminding us that the best things in life are right in front of us every day in the simple smiles, conversations, waking up next to the one you love, Etc.

“Has anyone out there ever seen the movie Good Luck Chuck?” Johnson asked to a smattering of applause. “Well, for those of you who haven’t seen it, it stars Dane Cook and Jessica Alba. The character that Dane plays - Chuck – he’s the guy that the girls date and break up with prior to meeting the one who they marry, so he kind of becomes a good luck charm for them. We wrote the sad girl version of Good Luck Chuck,” she finished as she vulnerably delivered the amazing “Wedding Band,” an emotionally charged song which sees her comparing herself and what she and an ex had together with the one who ended up winning his heart and a ring on her finger.

“I’m at an age where all my friends are getting married; or they already are married….and as amazing as being a bridesmaid and the one who gives the moral support is, I sometimes fantasize about what it’d be like to be the one in white with the cute husband for a day,” mused Johnson as she played her current Billboard charting single “Married,” a up-tempo, tongue and cheek song about wanting to have the party that’s associated with a wedding but not actually wanting to get married, which kept the crowd in stiches and earned her a huge ovation - the loudest of the night.

“Did anyone grow up sitting around the kids table?” asked Johnson who was met with an applause that clearly showed the song she was about to play, “Kids Table,” would resonate with the tuned-in audience. “When I was a kid, I got to a point where I was too cool for the kids table, and I wanted to go sit at the grown-up table. But then once I got there, I wanted to be right back to the kids table,” she said with a smile before encouraging, “I hope y’all don’t ever get too old for that kids table!”

“This next song is probably the most important one that I’ve ever been part of,” began Johnson as she then teared up when telling the story of how “Wise Woman” came together; talking about a girl’s night, songwriting session with Carli and Julie Kennedy (Twin Kennedy) that saw the song become an end result of their conversations about being a woman in a male dominated industry and the struggles that come with it.

“We decided that we would release the song as a collaborative effort, and we filmed a live show here in Nashville with all these great female songwriters and artists…and we’re now nominated for a CCMA Award, which is so cool,” she excitedly shared with a smile as the crowd cheered before going so silent that you could hear a pin drop as they leaned into the stage for a closer listen.

“I’ve been writing for a new album that should be out this fall sometime,” told Johnson. “But I felt like something was missing from it,” she admitted. “I had drinking songs, smoking songs, love songs, and breakup songs, but I really wanted something that reminded me of “All My Favorite Bands” by Dawes, and I went through my phone looking at my notepad full of titles and saw “I hope somebody throws you a surprise party,” she said with a glint of hope in her eye and a smile across her face as she closed her portion of the night with the ultra-encouraging and uplifting “Surprise Party.”

FULL SET LIST (Mallory Johnson)

1) Where The Good Things Are

2) Wedding Band

3) Married

4) Kids Table

5) Wise Woman

6) Surprise Party

One of The Listening Room’s artists to watch, and a Top 50 charting act on the renowned MusicRow BreakOut chart, The Woods opened their set with “Carolina Girl,” a lost love song which instantly put the trio’s rich harmonies on full display as they wrapped them into a toe-tapping, folk infused country style that also acted a bold showcase of their immense guitar pickin’ from both Raquel Cole and Leland Rooney, and crisp musicianship when the three bought their skills together as one.

Telling the story of the middle of nowhere/Southwest located Rancho de la Osa, Dan O’Rouke then led the audience into a song of the same name as the ranch, where Cole’s mandolin pickin’ added a natural bluegrass flare, and the traditional Spanish inspired influences laced throughout the backing music enhanced the lyrics to spring them to life as they painted vivid pictures.

After performing “Wishing on Wildflowers” and wowing the crowd with its layered harmony vocals toward the end, “Do Some Loving” saw Raquel Cole take over the leads as her powerful vocal radiated across the room while the catchy melody provided the crowd with the chance to wiggle along with the rhythm.

“In a way, the whole COVID thing is what brough us three together,” shared O’Rourke. “We started playing right as that was all starting to come out and we thought this next song was a good first one to put out,” he shared as they delivered “World’s On Fire,” their current charting single that inspirationally shows how we as humans can make it through anything thrown at us when we lead with love.

“We do this thing on most Tuesday nights…I say most, because sometimes we’re out on the road,” said Cole. “But we started a livestream on our socials through COVID and we call it “Time Well Spent,” she finished as they closed out the entire round with the song of the same name, invoking a rousing clap along with the crowd as the final chorus was played.

FULL SET LIST (The Woods)

1) Carolina Girl

2) Rancho de la Osa

3) Wishing on Wildflowers

4) Do Some Loving

5) World’s On Fire

6) Time Well Spent

The Listening Room is a space that’s truly built on the songs and the songwriters.

The crowd is always attentive and supportively in tune with what is happening right in front of them, honoring the craft of songwriting by pulling their chairs a little closer toward the stage front to get a better listen

For their part, The Listening Room has earned a reputation as the place to go to hear some of the best songwriters that Nashville has to offer, and tonight was no exception. While each performer on stage brought a little something different to the table with their particular styles and overall sound, they were a picture perfect snapshot of what makes the vast songwriting community in Music City carry such a diverse uniqueness that it’s one of a kind and full of opportunity. 

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