The show starts at 9:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door for $15, however priority is given to festival badge holders.

The South Carolina native grew up listening to musical heroes like John Anderson and bluegrass great Ralph Stanley, and, when a college professor back home suggested he check out Nashville’s Belmont University, he transferred to Music City and got his degree.

Signing with MCA Records after graduation, he immediately struck a chord with listeners with the gospel-infused single/title track of his debut album, Long Black Train. That “Train” quickly took Turner straight into platinum territory, and the follow up to that album, Your Man, debuted at the top of Billboard’s Country Albums chart and yielded two back-to-back, multi-week, No. 1 singles: “Would You Go With Me” and “Your Man.”

The phenomenal success of that double-platinum album helped him become one of the Top 5 best-selling country artists of last year, and earned him a Top New Artist nod from the Academy of Country Music and a CMA nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year for 2007. In keeping with his country-as-cornbread roots, Turner recently released a special album of country standards through the Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores label, which was lauded by critics and fans alike.

Turner is currently gearing up for the release of his third CD, the aptly titled, Everything Is Fine, set for October 30 release. The album has already produced Turner’s fastest-rising single to date, “Firecracker,” and includes seven songs written or co-written by him. Writers Pat McLaughlin, Shawn Camp, Chris Stapleton, Jeremy Spillman, Anthony Hamilton, and others all contribute to the highly anticipated project, as well as Trisha Yearwood, who sings with Turner on the soaring ballad “Another Try.”

Turner is scheduled to appear on the upcoming CMA Awards broadcast in November, but he experienced one of the biggest moments of a country artist’s career on October 27, when, at 29, he becomes one of the youngest singers ever to become a member of the esteemed Grand Ole Opry. He’ll no doubt perform “Long Black Train” during the induction ceremony, since that historic stage is where he first debuted that song five years ago and received a standing ovation — undoubtedly the first of many in what will likely be a long and distinguished career.

A founding sponsor, BMI has helped the festival evolve into a highly anticipated destination for Nashville hit makers. The event’s emphasis on the songs and camaraderie of minds that create them has attracted a diverse collection of new participants each year. First-time attendees this year include hit songwriters Keith Follese, Marty Dodson and Bobby Pinson, auspicious singer/songwriters Luke Laird, Jimmy Stewart and Brandon Jane, up-and-comers Courtney Dashe and Jennifer Stegall, and alt-country heroines Suzi Ragsdale and Kate York.

The list of BMI artists and songwriters slated to attend this year features a jaw-dropping array of talent. Performers include Hugh Prestwood, Keith Stegall, Jamey Johnson, Scotty Emerick, Vicky McGehee, Wendell Mobley, Bart Allmand, Randy Houser, Wayd Battle, Chuck Cannon, Kent Blazy, Lee Brice, Morgane Hayes, D. Vincent Williams, Kylie Sackley, Phillip White, Amber White, Arlis Albritton, Billy Joe Walker, Jr. , Sherrié Austin, Christi Bauerlee, Christina Bell, Kris Bergsnes, Craig Boyd, Richie Brown, John Stone, Deanna Bryant, Lisa Carver, Stephanie Chapman, James Slater, Cliff Cody, Doug Colton, Dallas Davidson, Brian Davis, Fred Wilhelm, Dillon Dixon, Rob Hatch, Pete Sallis, James Dean Hicks, Aleysha Hoffman, Natalie Howard, Kyle Jacobs, Tim James, Ken Johnson, Chuck Jones, David Lee, Levi Simms, Cole Lee, Lauren Lucas, John Mabe, Will Rambeaux, Jason Matthews, Lila McCann, Chas Sandford, Jim McCormick, Jimmy Melton, Sally Mudd, Danny Myrick, Anna Owens, Melissa Pierce, Leslie Satcher, Jen Schott, Elisa Vazzana, Bruce Wallace, Emily West, Melinda Williams, Blake Wise and trio Rhiannon.

For the complete festival schedule, ticket information, performer profiles and line-up, please visit www.kwswf.com or call 305.296.4222.

BMI Performer Schedule at 2007 Key West Songwriters’ Festival

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

6-8pm - Kick-Off show @ The Top (La Concha Hotel on Duval)
7-7:45pm - James Slater

8pm -  Rum Barrel
8pm -  Randy Houser, Brian Davis & Jon Stone
9:30pm - Southland

10pm -  Conch Republic
10pm -  Jamey Johnson, Bobby Pinson & David Lee
10:45pm -  Scotty Emerick
11:30pm -  D. Vincent Williams & Chuck Jones

10pm-2am -  Hog/BMI Stage
The Massacoustics

Thursday, May 3, 2007

1-8pm - Hog/BMI Stage
1-3pm - Cliff Cody & Arlis Albritton
3-4pm - Christina Bell & Mike Loudermilk
4-5pm - Natalie Howard & Katy Kiefer
5-6pm - Sally Mudd & Christi Bauerlee
6-8pm - Pete Sallis & Jim McCormick

4pm - Blue Heaven
4pm - Phillip & Amber White, Cory Heydon, Suzi Ragsdale
4:45pm - Lauren Lucas, Stephanie Chapm - an, Kate York, Misty Loggins
5:30pm - Leslie Satcher, Kent Blazy, Jason Matthews, Courtney Dashe

8pm - Pier House Beach Show hosted by Scott Kirby
8pm - Lila McCann, Jen Schott, Melissa Pierce, Lisa Carver
8:45pm - Keith Stegall & Jen Stegall
9:15pm - Kylie Sackley & Lee Brice
10pm -  Brandon Jane, Luke Laird, Sherrié Austin, Jimmy Stewart

10pm -  Cowboy Bill’s
10pm -  Jon Mabe, Billy Joe Walker, Jr., Anna Owens, Blake Wise
11pm -  Tim James, Fred Wilhelm, Bruce Wallace & Jimmy Melton
12am Wayd Battle, Ritchie Brown, Dallas Davidson, Chas Sandford

10pm-2am - Hog/BMI Stage
The Massacoustics

Friday, May 4, 2007

1-8pm - Hog/BMI Stage
1-2pm - Southland
2-3pm - Ken Johnson & Ben Margulies
3-4pm - Rhiannon
4-5pm - Doug Colton & Aleysha Hoffman
5-6pm - Jon Mabe & Friends
6-7pm - Pat McLaughlin
7-8pm - Fred Wilhelm & Friends

4pm - Sloppy Joes
4pm - Willie Mack, Tim James, Deanna Bryant, Sherrié Austin
5pm - Kyle Jacobs, Blake Wise, Bart Allmand, Danny Myrick

5:30pm - Green Parrot “Sound Check”
5:30-6:45pm -    Southland

6pm - Fury Sunset Sail
Lee Brice & Kylie Sackley

6pm - Piano Show @ Doubletree
6pm -   Christina Bell & Mike Loudermilk
6:30pm - Chris Tompkins
7pm - James Slater & Dallas Davidson

8pm - Hog’s Breath Upstairs Writers Room
8pm - James Dean Hicks
8:30pm - Hugh Prestwood & Don Schlitz
9:15pm - Scotty Emerick
10pm -  Brett James, Hillary Lindsey & Luke Laird

8pm - Tropic Cinema
8pm - Dave Berg, Walt Aldridge, Wendell Mobley & Marty Dodson
9pm - Phillip & Amber White
9:45pm - Chuck Cannon & Chuck Jones

10pm -  Green Parrot
Dillon Dixon, James Dean Hicks & D. Vincent Williams

10pm - -2am Hog/BMI Stage
The Massacoustics

Saturday, May 5, 2007

1-5pm - Hog/BMI Stage
1-3pm - Pete Sallis & Jim McCormick
3-4pm - Jason Matthews
4-5pm - Kent Blazy

1pm - Southernmost Cinco De Mayo Pool Party
1-2pm - Rob Hatch, Cliff Cody, Dillon Dixon
2-3pm - Randy Houser, Brian Davis, Jon Stone

5pm - Cinco De Mayo Bash at Hog’s Breath

6pm - Fury Sunset Sail
Dillon Dixon & James Dean Hicks

8pm - Hog’s Breath Upstairs Writers Room
8pm - Bobby Pinson & Leslie Satcher
8:45pm - D. Vincent Williams & Wendell Mobley
9:30pm - Chuck Cannon & Chuck Jones

8pm - Tropic Cinema
8pm - Courtney Dashe, Misty Loggins, Kyle Jacobs & Jen Schott
9pm - Byron Hill, Hugh Prestwood, Pat McLaughlin, Keith Follese
10pm - Scotty Emerick

10pm - Buck’s Bottle Cap
10pm - Natalie Howard, Chas Sandford & David Lee
10:45pm - Phillip & Amber White
11:15pm - Jamey Johnson, Jon Stone, Wayd Battle

10pm - 2am Hog/BMI Stage
The Massacoustics

Sunday, May 6, 2007

1-5pm - Hog/BMI Stage
1-2pm - Christina Bell & Mike Loudermilk
2-3pm - Deanna Bryant
3-4pm - Suzi Ragsdale
4-5pm - Kate York

6pm - Sunset Show @ Westin
Christina Bell, Mike Loudermilk,  Natalie Howard, Katy Kiefer,  Billy Joe Walker, Jr., Anna Owens, Jon  Mabe, Chuck Jones, Chuck Cannon, Lisa Carver and many more.

BMI presented the co-writers and artist with the traditional No. 1 cups. Pictured are (l to r): BMI songwriter John Scott Sherrill, artist Josh Turner, BMI songwriter Shawn Camp and BMI's Jody Williams

The song's penmen, Camp and Sherrill, first experienced success as a pair when Brooks & Dunn took "How Long Gone" to the top of the charts. Separately, singer, songwriter and guitarist Shawn Camp records critically acclaimed albums of his own and writes jewels for masters of their domains like Guy Clark and Garth Brooks. Songwriting legend-in-the-making John Scott Sherrill's catalog keeps growing, with country standards including Steve Wariner's "Some Fools Never Learn" and Patty Loveless' "Nothin' But the Wheel" already under his belt.

The room filled up quickly with some of the most talented pickers and voices in town. Pictured are (l to r): BMI's David Preston, songwriter John Scott Sherrill, guitarist & singer/songwriter Pat McLaughlin, artist Josh Turner and BMI songwriter John Prine.

Classic country enthusiasts keep cheering on Josh Turner, whose first two albums have both been certified platinum. Turner's quintessential country pipes and songwriting know-how lay the foundation for his burgeoning career and promising future.

It was a good day for one of Nashville's premiere indie publishing companies, Big Yellow Dog, whose staff writers include John Scott Sherrill and Shawn Camp. Pictured are (l to r): artist Josh Turner, Big Yellow Dog's Carla Wallace, Sherrill, songwriter Sarah Siskind, Big Yellow Dog's Hallie Harris, songwriter Scotty Emerick, Camp and producer Frank Rogers.

Photos by Alan Mayor]]> 2006-11-22T03:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/234438 Allan, Gary, McClinton, Delbert, McLaughlin, Pat, Morrison, Van, Prine, John, Tucker, Tanya, Wariner, Steve, Blues, Rock, Hitmaker Pat McLaughlin is well known around Nashville, and in the nationwide musicians’ circle, as one soulful dude. And a humble one, too, because he downplays that endemic respect by saying that practically anybody who tries to do their own thing and is successful at it, gets tagged by others as having soul. Maybe he’s right to a certain degree; but anyone who knows McLaughlin’s music will tell you that there are few as poignant, or smart, or as funky as he is, and that he obviously draws his creativity from a very private, personal well. Most of us think, in fact, that McLaughlin’s groove-power borders on the mystical.

Just listen to his latest release, Next Five Miles (Cream-Style Records), and you’ll understand. Part John Prine — with whom he writes — part Van Morrison, part Stevie Ray Vaughn, yet wholly, unequivocally Pat McLaughlin, Next Five Miles is grown-up, literate soul/pop/cool.

Next Five Miles opens with “Hey, Yeah,” an adult feel-good anthem. “Just Getting By,” with its loping, rise-above-the-fray cinematic quality makes you feel good about the struggle. The of “Little Grass Shack” conjures up Vaughn with Elvis Costello as his channel, and “Mornin’ Train” reincarnates Sam Cooke as Morrison. This is, quite simply, magnificent music for the mature music fan.

And though McLaughlin may not be on the tip of the average music consumer’s tongue, he, for a couple of decades, has been many a musicians’ favorite musician. He’s even been called the greatest rhythm guitar player on the planet. He plays rhythm — he calls it “chunking” — with some venerated bluegrassers, including Tim O’Brien and Ronnie McCoury. And McLaughlin even got a gig as a rhythm player for the last round of the American Recording sessions with Johnny Cash. “That was probably the biggest reward for learning to chunk,” he says.

Besides being a revered under-the-radar artist — an anonymity he nearly escaped with a Capitol recording deal in the mid ’80s — he’s also a heralded songwriter with about 40 cuts. Not bad for a guy who doesn’t really do the Nashville songwriting thing. Delbert McClinton and Tanya Tucker had a hit with “Tell Me About It.” Steve Wariner had a #1 with “Lynda,” and Texafornian Gary Allan recently took McLaughlin’s “Songs About Rain” into the top five. Alan Jackson cut “It’s Alright To Be a Redneck,” and, just to show how deep is his soul, McLaughlin has even been covered by blues icon Taj Mahal.

The Waterloo, Iowa native credits his parents for giving him his start in the business. “I got a lot of encouragement from my parents to play music,” he says. “I came from a family who liked to just sit around and sing songs.”