In addition to BMI, sponsors include the Florida House Inn, WQIK-FM, Folio Weekly, WRJY the WAVE and Amelia Island Tourism Development Council.

For lodging, schedule, venues and ticket information, please visit www.songwriterfestival.org.

In addition to BMI, sponsors include the Florida House Inn, WQIK-FM, Folio Weekly, WRJY the WAVE and Amelia Island Tourism Development Council.

For lodging, schedule, venues and ticket information, please visit www.songwriterfestival.org.

In addition to BMI, sponsors include the Florida House Inn, WQIK-FM, Folio Weekly, WRJY the WAVE and Amelia Island Tourism Development Council.

For lodging, schedule, venues and ticket information, please visit www.songwriterfestival.org.

In addition to BMI, sponsors include the Florida House Inn, WQIK-FM, Folio Weekly, WRJY the WAVE and Amelia Island Tourism Development Council.

For lodging, schedule, venues and ticket information, please visit www.songwriterfestival.org.

In addition to BMI, sponsors include the Florida House Inn, WQIK-FM, Folio Weekly, WRJY the WAVE and Amelia Island Tourism Development Council.

For lodging, schedule, venues and ticket information, please visit www.songwriterfestival.org.

Hit troubadours including Bobby Pinson (Sugarland’s “Want To,” his own “Don’t Ask Me How I Know”), Jon Randall (Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss’s “Whiskey Lullabye”), Stephony Smith (Tim McGraw & Faith Hill’s “It’s Your Love,” Kenny Chesney’s “Big Star,” Reba McEntire’s “How Was I To Know”), Billy Montana (Sara Evans’ “Suds In the Bucket,” Jo Dee Messina’s “Bring On the Rain,” Garth Brooks’ “More Than A Memory”), John Wiggins (Joe Nichols’ “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off”), and Chuck Jones (Diamond Rio’s “Love A Little Stronger,” Deana Carter’s “Count Me In,” John Berry’s “Your Love Amazes Me”), Woody Mullis and Mike Geiger (co-writers of George Strait’s “Adalida,” Sawyer Brown’s “This Missin’ You Heart of Mine,” and Neil McCoy’s “City Put The Country Back In Me”), along with smoldering singer/songwriters Jessi Alexander and Shelly Fairchild, and CMT Can You Duet show standouts The Coppolas (Kate and Kasey) will mingle with music industry executives and ambitious up-and-comers.

In addition to BMI, sponsors include the Florida House Inn, WQIK-FM, Folio Weekly, WRJY the WAVE and Amelia Island Tourism Development Council. For lodging, schedule, venues and ticket information, please visit www.songwriterfestival.org.

Born from a musical family, Edgar Cortazar has been influenced by art from generations behind. His grandfather, Ernesto Cortazar, composed most of Mexico's popular music hits in the 40's and 50's which were recorded by the voice of Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante among many others. Songs like "No Volveré", "Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes", "Cocula", "Yo Soy Mexicano", "La Chancla", "El Apagón", "Serenata Tapatía", “Esos Altos De Jalisco” , “Amor Con Amor Se Paga”, “Prisionero Del Mar”, “Tequila Con Limón”, “Ansiedad”, “Fiesta Mexicana”, “Soy Puro Mexicano” and many, many others are part of the Cortazar family music catalog.

Edgar Cortazar's father, Ernesto Cortazar Ducker, also kept the family tradition and legacy creating the background music for more than 600 movies in Mexico and his composing skills also gave numerous artists great hit songs in the 70's, 80's, 90's and today. Some of these artists include: Jose Jose, Manoella Torres, Alberto Vazquez, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Cesar Costa, Enrique Guzman, Alejandro Fernandez and Luis Miguel... today's best known contemporary Latin recording artist.

As a lyricist, Edgar Cortazar has shared co-authorship with his father, Ernesto Cortazar Ducker, his brother Ernesto Cortazar, Alejandro Asensi, Scott Blevins, Denise Bradley, Claudia Brant, Lynette Brehm, Alejandro Carballo, Garry Corman, Steve Dorff, Johnson Enos, Maria Entraigues, Rafael Esparza-Ruiz, Anthony Fedorov, Ruy Folguera, Ismael Gallegos, Mauricio Guerrero, Ron Irving, Molly-Ann Leikin, Francisco Loyo, Salo Loyo, Victor Loyo, Ana Malhoa, Paulo Massadas, Tony Melendez, Juan Mesa, Luis Miguel, Ximena Muñoz, D. Pickell, Adrian Pieragostino, Mark Portmann, Michael Ripoll, Toby Sandoval, Stephony Smith, Jose Luis Terrazas, Irene Toumainen, T. Wong, and Antonio Zamora.

Edgar Cortazar’s Songs have been recorded by multiple artists such as:

Luis Miguel, Olga Tañon, Conjunto Primavera, Pablo Montero, Graciela Beltran, La Mafia, Grupo Montez de Durango, Horoscopos de Durango, Banda Machos, Salomon Robles, Chicos De Barrio, No-Pals, Alex Arellano, Grupo Prezisso, Priscilla y Sus Balas de Plata, Witchy's Band, Los Reyes Del Camino, Ke-Zafados and Grupo La Onda among others in the first two years of his exclusive administration agreement with Warner-Tamerlane Music Corp.

Edgar Cortazar is also working Spanish lyric adaptations for authors like, Scott Blevins, Denise Bradley, Lynette Brehm, Garry Corman, Steve Dorff, Johnson Enos, Anthony Fedorov, Ron Irving, Molly-Ann Leikin, Michell Ripoll and Irene Toumainen among others, extending his artistic abilities to the International Music Market.

Edgar Cortazar's singular style of singing and voice recording has made him become part of numerous music projects as a professional in the commercial scene. He has participated in numerous T.V., radio, and commercial voiceover campaigns with companies such as: Ford Motor Company, Disney, Chrysler, Telemundo, Univision and Frito Lay.

Edgar has also become part of many musical productions for the Disney Latin Music Division as a Composer / lead voice and background vocal professional singer.

Some of these productions are: Arrullo (Lullaby) 1996, Navidad Disney (Disney Christmas) 1996, Canciones de Viaje (Travel Songs) 1997, La Fiesta Dinosaurios (Dinosaur Party) 1998 and Multiplicando! (Multiplying!) 1998, among others.

As a professional singer, Edgar Cortazar has participated in the recording of more than 450 demo and full produced songs in different publishing companies and recording studios in the Los Angeles area.

Kylie Sackley

Shelly Fairchild
Her voice conveys the blues of her Mississippi Delta home and the soulful power of a passionate woman who has been "singing with everything I've got" since she began performing as a child. Her edgy style conveys the confidence of a small-town girl from Clinton, Miss., bold enough to head out on her own and earn lead roles in major musicals and national theatrical tours, yet sensitive enough to write heart-tugging stories about love and family as well as steamy tales about desire and living life to the hilt. Her dynamic stage presence conveys the experience of a stage actress and the live-wire energy and hot-blooded emotion of a risk-taker who can open the throttle and roar or slow down to caress a lyric with intimate conviction. Her Columbia Records debut, Ride, is a one-of-a-kind introduction that suggests this country singer won't be held back by preconceptions about Nashville or contemporary country music. Shelly co-wrote four songs on her album, including "You Don't Lie Here Anymore." Her influences range from Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton to Hank Williams Jr. and Travis Tritt.

Stephony Smith
BMI Award-winning songwriter Stephony Smith's list of accolades is unparalleled. An eight-time BMI Million-Air Award winner, she was named both Songwriter of the Year and her Faith Hill and Tim McGraw #1 hit "It's Your Love" was named Song of the Year at the 1998 BMI Country Awards. The song also earned a ACM Award for Song of the Year, as well as a Grammy and CMA nomination. She was named NSAI's Songwriter of the Year and has four NSAI #1 awards. Her other #1 cuts include "Back When" (Tim McGraw), "Sin Wagon" (Dixie Chicks), "Perfect Love" (Tricia Yearwood), "Yes!" (Chad Brock), "Big Star" (Kenny Chesney) and "How Was I to Know" (Reba McEntire). Smith has also written over 100 songs for artists such as Shania Twain, Wynonna, She Daisy, Barbra Streisand, Martina McBride, Shelby Lynne, Diamond Rio, Lonestar, Montgomery Gentry, and many others.

Lisa Carver
Lisa carver is a native Charleston, South Carolina girl, who has been part of the Nashville underground music scene for years. She is a songwriter first and foremost, but has always enjoyed entertaining audiences worldwide with her eclectic, three-dimensional story songs. However, over the last few years, after becoming a grand prize winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Fest, she began getting her collection of audial art cut by today's country artists ranging from Tim McGraw, Shelly Fairchild, Julie Roberts and Jessica Andrews, to Willie Nelson. Her vocal style is pretty much school of Prine, while her writing style lies somewhere between Kinky Friedman and Kris Kristofferson. Her irreverence and originality are refreshing in today's white-washed, politically-correct country music climate, and she's grateful for the chance to be making her mark on Music Row.

Kylie Sackley, Lisa Carver, Shelly Fairchild, & Stephony Smith

Kylie Sackley & Lisa Carver

Kylie Sackley, Lisa Carver, & Shelly Fairchild

Shelly Fairchild & Stephony Smith

photos by Dave Bills

Among those in the lineup are BMI talents Jeffrey Steele, Harley Allen, Stephony Smith, D. Vincent Williams, Sara Evans, Jeff Bates, Lee Thomas Miller, Richie McDonald of Lonestar, Merle Kilgore, Brenda Lee and Delbert McClinton.

In a career that spanned six decades, Howard penned more than 100 Top 10 hits, including such classics as "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down," "I Fall To Pieces," "Heartaches By The Number," "Tiger By The Tail," "Busted," "Why Not Me," "Above And Beyond," "Somebody Should Leave" and "Blame It On Your Heart." A BMI writer for over 45 years, Harlan Howard provided hit songs to several generations of stars, from Kitty Wells to Patty Loveless, from Patsy Cline to Reba McEntire, from Mel Tillis to Pam Tillis. A who's-who of the country music world has sung his compositions: George Jones, Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, the Judds, Jimmy Dickens, Ray Price and Conway Twitty, to name just a few. But his songs have also enjoyed R&B and pop interpretations by a variety of artists such as Ray Charles, Joe Simon, Shirley Caesar, Brenda Lee, The Kingston Trio, Kay Starr and Burl Ives.

Howard was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and, in 1997, to both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Among his numerous accolades were 45 BMI Country Awards, four BMI Pop Awards and two BMI R&B Awards. His presence on Music Row was such that that for a dozen years (1983-95) the community celebrated the "Harlan Howard Birthday Bash," an all-star concert staged in the BMI Nashville parking lot as a benefit for songwriter organizations. Declining health forced him to discontinue these events after 1995, but, with his wife Melanie, he continued to run his song publishing business. Howard died in 2002.

Tickets for the 2003 Harlan Howard Birthday Bash are on sale now at all Ticketmaster at 615/255-9600 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. General Admission tickets are $25. In addition, premium tables for $1,000 can be purchased through Harlan Howard Songs at 615/321-9098. The table for 10 includes a stainless steel flask etched with Harlan Howard's familiar face, Birthday Bash memorabilia journals, table service and commemorative poster signed by the performers. For more information, please visit www.harlanhoward.com.]]> 2003-09-14T18:00:00-05:00