Hit songwriters Kent Blazy, Cory Batten and Marv Green will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 19, in the second concert of the 2010 Bluebird on the Mountain Series.
Held on the scenic grounds of 菠萝视频鈥檚 Dyer Observatory, Bluebird on the Mountain showcases artists from one of Nashville鈥檚 top music clubs, the Bluebird Cafe. The series was created in collaboration with Amy Kurland, who founded the Bluebird Cafe in 1982 and built the club into one of Nashville鈥檚 premier performance venues for songwriters before selling the venue to Nashville Songwriters Association International in late 2007.
Season tickets are sold out for this year鈥檚 series, but advance tickets for the remaining single shows are available through or by phone. Tickets are $95 for a carload and a handling fee will be added. No RVs or buses will be admitted.
A 1965 recording of 鈥淢ister Tambourine Man鈥� by The Byrds shifted Blazy鈥檚 attention from baseball to music. 聽Playing in bands along the eastern half of the country, Blazy ultimately landed a job as guitarist and bandleader for Canadian Ian Tyson, co-writer of 鈥淔our Strong Winds.鈥� Moving to Nashville in 1980, Blazy split his time between songwriting and operating a small home recording studio. Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride and Garth Brooks were among the aspiring artists who sang demos for Blazy, and ultimately, went on to enjoy successful music careers.
Blazy forged an ongoing collaboration with Brooks that resulted in numerous hits, including chart-toppers 鈥淚f Tomorrow Never Comes,鈥� 鈥淎in鈥檛 Goin鈥� Down (鈥楾il the Sun Comes Up),鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 Midnight Cinderella,鈥� 鈥淪omewhere Other Than the Night鈥� and 鈥淪he鈥檚 Gonna Make It.鈥� Kenny Chesney, Patty Loveless, Julie Roberts and Chris Young are among the artists to record songs penned or co-written by Blazy. 聽[rquote]In recent years Blazy has released a series of recordings on his own label, Have Guitar Will Travel, Spokes in a Wheel and Play Guitar.[/rquote]
After receiving a degree in psychology from the University of Arizona, Batten moved to Nashville in 1998 with the goal of getting his songs on the country charts.聽 The Arizona native achieved that goal 鈥� and more 鈥� with a pair of No. 1 hits for current country artists Blake Shelton (鈥淪he Wouldn鈥檛 Be Gone鈥�) and Chris Young (鈥淕ettin鈥� You Home鈥�).
Batten also wrote 鈥淚s the Grass Any Bluer鈥� for Rhonda Vincent鈥檚 critically acclaimed album, The Storm Still Rages. Brooks & Dunn, Julie Roberts and Blaine Larsen have also recorded Batten鈥檚 songs.
Green landed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell music within months of moving to Nashville in 1993.聽 A few years later, he had his first hit with George Strait鈥檚 recording of 鈥淭rue.鈥� In 2000, Lonestar鈥檚 recording of 鈥淎mazed鈥� spent eight weeks at the No. 1 spot on Billboard鈥檚 country chart and earned Green the Robert J. Burton Award for Most Performed Country Song of the Year and the Academy of Country Music鈥檚 Song of the Year. In 2001 he was named BMI鈥檚 Songwriter of the Year.
Other No. 1 songs include George Strait鈥檚 鈥淚t Just Comes Natural,鈥� 鈥淲asted鈥� by Carrie Underwood and 鈥淐onsider Me Gone鈥� by Reba McEntire. 聽[lquote]Earlier this year American Idol contestant Danny Gokey included the Green-Blazy song 鈥淢y Best Days Are Ahead of Me鈥� on his debut album My Best Days.[/lquote]
Gates will open at 6 p.m. for the show and visitors are encouraged to bring a blanket, lawn chairs and pack a picnic basket. After the show, visitors can linger to stargaze using the observatory鈥檚 Seyfert telescope.
If severe weather is forecast for show dates, please check the Dyer Observatory calendar for updates or call (615) 373-4897. Tony Arata, J. Fred Knobloch, Jelly Roll Johnson and Thom Schuyler are the scheduled artists for the next concert, which is set for Saturday, July 24 at 8 p.m.
Dyer Observatory is located at 1000 Oman Drive, off Granny White Pike between Old Hickory Boulevard and Otter Creek Road, near Radnor Lake. Directions are available at .
Built in 1953, Dyer Observatory was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The property consists of the observatory, 1953 house and garage and 2006 Star Chamber.聽The observatory serves as a community resource for the teaching of science as well as a venue for public, private and corporate events.