Nicolle Galyon on songwriting, Tin Pan South, and the new talents who are 'giving me life'

Next week marks the return of Nashville's Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival, which will see hundreds of accomplished and on-the-rise artists performing in-the-round — i.e., taking turns playing the tunes they've written and sharing the stories behind their creation.

Ask country songwriter (and 2023 Tin Pan performer) Nicolle Galyon about her early days playing in-the-round in Nashville, and she immediately remembers the gigs that opened doors, and the nerves that came along with it.

10 years ago, the 38-year-old established herself as a creative force to watch on Music Row, earning her first No. 1 with the Keith Urban/Miranda Lambert duet "We Were Us," co-written with Jon Nite and Jimmy Robbins. Soon, country hitmakers like Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne were inviting her to be part of their in-the-round shows.

"I remember it was conflicting for me because I only had one song to play that anyone knew," Galyon recalls. "And they could each play 20 hits, all night long...but the confidence that they gave me by asking me to play with them —while I had to be brave about it, and play a bunch of songs no one knew, having their stamp of approval kept me going."

The dynamic's a little different when Galyon takes the stage today.

Over the past decade, she co-wrote Dan + Shay's Grammy-winning multiplatinum smash "Tequila," Kenny Chesney's "All The Pretty Girls," Kelsea Ballerini's "I Quit Drinking" and Morgan Wallen's "Thought You Should Know," to name a few.

She also launched her own label and publishing house, Songs & Daughters, which has quickly become home to many of modern country's most promising female singer-songwriters, including Hailey Whitters and Tiera Kennedy. Its spirit will extend to Galyon's Tin Pan South showcase this year, taking place Tuesday at the Listening Room.

That's on the first night of Tin Pan, which will run through Saturday at 10 different local venues. Ahead of the fest, we talked to Galyon about her songwriting past, present and future, and how it all connects with Nashville's premier week for songwriting.

'I love ushering people in'

Galyon will be joined at the Listening Room by Songs & Daughters writer/artist Lauren Watkins and Anne Wilson, the 21-year-old Christian country newcomer who topped the charts with "My Jesus." She works with both artists, and in both cases, Galyon was the fan who reached out first.

"I have really learned that I love ushering people in," she says. "Maybe it's about inclusivity, or maybe it's about paying forward what was paid to me. Someone had to open the door for me at some point, probably a thousand times."

"Honestly, I've been writing songs so long, that carrot of having success is not enough for me. What's giving me life and keeping me creative is partnering up with people who are more on the beginning of their journey. And maybe that's an extension of motherhood for me, right? I saw life in a new way through having a daughter, and now I kind of see creativity in a new way through the eyes of these artists."

‘A quiet confidence’

No matter how successful, every songwriter hears this at some point when discussing their work with someone outside of the industry: “I didn’t know that was a job.”

Galyon doesn’t mind: “I was that person,” she says.

“Growing up in Kansas, so removed from the music business, I knew who songwriters were, but I didn't take it one step further and realize that there was an industry. I don't know if I thought they did it as a hobby or what, but now that I am (a songwriter), it's really cool. It feels like a quiet confidence. I think the best creative work is done in privacy….and I think it actually creates a safety and a sacredness for us to be able to do the really precious work of creating, and not being out in the public light.”

’50,000 people singing your words’

In Dan + Shay’s “Tequila,” Shay Mooney sings about being transported back to the nights spent with a former flame, “When I taste tequila.”

In Galyon’s case, she’s transported when she hears “Tequila.”

“If you've ever stood in an arena or a stadium and heard 50,000 people singing your words, and you're thinking back to that to the day that you decided whether to say 'sorority T-shirt,' or 'plain white T-shirt,' and there's 50,000 people singing 'sorority T-shirt,' that's really cool. There's a quiet power in that – (one) that I think songwriters don't always accept about themselves.”

If You Go

The 31st annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival takes place from Tuesday, March 28 to Saturday, April 1, and will see hundreds of songsmiths performing across ten local venues, including the Bluebird Cafe, 3rd & Lindsley, City Winery, The Listening Room and Analog at Hutton Hotel.

Dylan Scott, Ingrid Andress, Chase Rice, Chris Young, Tenille Townes, Mitchell Tenpenny and Maddie & Tae will each hold their own "in-the-round" shows with their friends and co-writers.

Weeklong "Fast Access" passes are $175 for the general public, $145 for members of Nashville Songwriters Association International.

For single-show admission: There will be a cash line at the door for every Tin Pan show, but admission will be based on venue capacity, and is not guaranteed.

For full listings and more information, head to tinpansouth.com or download the festival's mobile app.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nicolle Galyon on songwriting, Tin Pan South, and the new talents who are 'giving me life'