CHASIN’ MELODIES – NASHVILLE ALBUM ART TAKEOVER

Ft. Trey Lewis, Reid Haughton, and more!

Tuesday May 9, 2023

@ Nashville Palace in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

There are pockets of country music legend spread throughout the Nashville area that as the city continues to grow and lose its original luster under the ruse of expansion, have become the hotspot destinations of pilgrimage for the country music faithful to visit.

One must-see stop is the legendary Nashville Palace.

About 10 miles outside the hustle and bustle of the downtown district, the Music Valley area of town is steeped rich with history and the Palace is certainly one of the mainstay places that allows the patron to soak in the aura of the good ole days.

This is where Randy Travis worked as a line cook before striking it big, the stage that Jerry Reed called home over 30 times the year they first opened their doors in 1977, and the place that had a hand in the career rise of Ricky Van Shelton and Lorrie Morgan.

During the Nashville Album Art takeover of the popular Chasin’ Melodies weekly round, the Palace embraced the here and now with a lineup of 16 artists that provided a strong glimpse of country music’s future, though the history still swirled all around you the moment you walked through the doors and were met with past show posters lining the walls and framed vinyl records that took you on a journey back in time.

On stage, several of the songwriters impressed with their individuality and unique styles, offering a little something for everyone with strong performances from Matt Gorman, Jared Ming, Jericho Rose, and Conner Sweeney.

However, during the third round on the night, while Hunter Chastain and Johnny Day certainly both held their own with tremendous songs such as “Every Beer, Every Bar” and “Get There First," the spotlight shined brightly on Trey Lewis and Reid Haughton.

“I’d been pushing through some s**t personally when we wrote this one,” Trey Lewis transparently told as the singer who’s widely known for his kiss off, breakup anthems first hushed the crowd with “Little Tired,” letting the strong emotional tilt of his voice capture its gifted rasp to hold tight to the poignant lyrics that played out like a worn-down reach for a shoulder to lean on.

“This is for anyone out there who called me a one hit wonder cause it was my second song to hit number one,” Lewis said with a nod and a smirk directed toward the naysayers as he stamped into “Single Again,” pumping into the sway along melody that had several in the crowd singing along as they then rose their fingers up in unison during a showstopping audience/artist moment to sing together, “I'm single like a middle finger up in the sky.”

“Dicked Down in Dallas” really didn’t need any introduction more so than only it’s opening chords to electrify the entire venue and instantly get everyone singing along with what Lewis introduced as “the one that changed my life,” earning a second showstopping moment between him and the audience when he pulled back away from the microphone during the hook, allowing the crowd to scream it out as they raised a beer and radiated the venue with their enthusiasm.

After plugging his upcoming, self-titled debut EP (due out 5/19/23), Reid Haughton drove into “Day You Don’t,” leaning into the groove laden melody as toes across the venue tapped in rhythm while he pulled us through an all too real lyric told from the perspective of the guy on the sidelines as the girl he’s crushing on continues to get hurt by her own wrong choices in partner’s while he’s sitting right there waiting for her to let him in.

Hitting into his Southern rock infused aura on “Flame Still Flickers,” Haughton spewed out lyrics through the reverberation of a moody guitar lick, reminiscing on getting burned by an ex, landing on the ultra-memorable hook line, "I ain't trying to say that I still miss her, but every now and then that flame still flickers.”

Pushing into a captivatingly slick guitar lick to close out the entire round, Haughton left an impression when he showed of his Muscle Shoals upbringing by injecting an ultra-catchy, throwback vibe into the bounce of “Man Made Money,” perfectly utilizing the gravel grit of his voice to give an edgy flare to the lyric that spotlighted another crafty hook, “God made women, so man made money!”

While these types of songwriter nights never really go off without a slight hitch here or there, what always makes them so endearing is the comradery between the writers on stage that transcends across the entire audience to pull them in and bring them into the family circle.

Each of the 4 writers during this round – Johnny Day, Hunter Chastain, Trey Lewis, and Reid Haughton – listened with intention to everyone else’s songs, vibed in the pocket of the grooves, provided harmony backups, and slid into the strings of their guitar to add a rhythmic depth to the richness of each melody.  

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