Southern Rounds: Bringing Nashville to New York

Well, you don't have to travel to Nashville to experience some of country's music's biggest hitmakers because the Paley Museum is bringing a little bit of Music City right here to Midtown Manhattan with its new series, Southern Rounds, bringing Nashville to New York. It's an intimate concert experience where the songwriters behind some of country's music's biggest hits get to share their stories and the inspiration behind the music. So joining us now is Maureen Reedy, president and CEO of the Paley Center for Media. And musician and songwriter Kevin Mack, thank you so much for being here, guys. Thank you for having us. Great to be here. Thank you so much. Well, Maureen, when people think of the Paley Center, they might think television and media. What was the inspiration behind this series? Well, so music has long been a part of media, and it's been a long part of Paley's programming. So this was just a natural extension. And we're so thrilled to bring a little bit of that Music City magic to the Paley Museum in Midtown with Southern Rounds. sort of Nashville's hot songwriter showcase where fans can come and experience live music sort of hear the stories behind the songs and then get up close and personal with some of Nashville's hit makers behind your favorite country music songs like Kevin Mack yeah yeah Kevin I love this concept because we may know the songs but we may not know the people or the songwriters or even the stories behind the songs what is it like for you to get to share those stories through music Yes, ma'am. Nashville is a song city. People move there to write songs. The greatest songwriters all go to Nashville. And for us to bring it here to New York City, it's just such a treat, especially at the Paley Center. It's a wonderful venue, the best sound. And I can tell you right now, the news is stirring around in Nashville, and all the songwriters are excited and itching to get up to New York City to play. We had our first show last month, and it's just, in a month, they're like, they want to come up here and play for y'all. It's very exciting, yeah. And, Maury, you guys have some big names. Tell us about some of the big names involved in this project. Well, actually, Kevin serves as emcee, so why don't you tell us a little bit about the first thing. Yeah, we do it down in Nashville. And so for tomorrow night, we're going to have legend, I mean, legend Dan Tominski is a legend. He's got 14 Grammys, played for Kings and Queens, and tomorrow he's playing for you. We got Will Nance, who wrote She's Everything, one of Brad Paisley's biggest hits. Steve Williams, who wrote Redneck Yacht Club for Craig Morgan. And me, and if you want to hear mine, you've got to get a ticket and get down there. I was going to say, I see you brought a prop with you. It's a prop right now, but if you want to hear it picking, you've got to come to the Paley tomorrow. And, Marina, it sounds like there's a songwriter master class that's involved. Tell me a little bit about that. Yeah, that's right. So these guys get up and they teach a really great song, a little bit of original song making and song writing for folks. You could be a music literate, aspiring songwriter, or just a fan. And, Kevin, I've got to ask you, as a songwriter, Is there ever a moment where you know a song will be a huge hit as you're writing it? Or does it sometimes catch you by surprise how beloved it becomes? Well, I'll tell you two things. I always say my favorite song is the last one I wrote, right? And as far as knowing it's going to be a hit, you've got to get out there and play it for people. And really, the fans let you know which one hooks. And when it does, you just keep on playing it. But, yeah, you know, it's just great to be on stage. And what's special about this is we'll play the songs, but you get to hear the data about how they wrote it and what inspired it. And it always, you know, in Nashville, it just brings more out of the song, and it makes you appreciate it a little bit more, I believe. Behind the scenes and the storytelling and the origin, always great to hear. And, Marina, I know this is part of several music events planned in terms of initiatives leading up to February, I believe. Tell us about what else is coming. So the Southern Round series is monthly from now until February, which is great. And then next month, we'll be hosting Santos Bravos, which is the big Latin music sensation. Boy band, that's coming. But even at Paley, we take the music experience beyond the stage because we are the stewards of the Paley Archive, which is the world's foremost publicly accessible collection of TV and radio programming. So guests can come and visit the library and sort of revisit some of those iconic music moments throughout history. So whether it's Elvis to Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Ricky Martin to today's big hit makers, we're really excited to welcome fans and of all ages. So many exciting things to come. Marina, Kevin, thank you so much.