Blair Hit Songwriter Series and CreatiVets

Deanna Walker interviews Claude Kelley and Chuck Harmony for the Blair Hit Songwriters podcast

Blair Songwriter Series

Learn the craft of songwriting from extraordinary legends and up-and-comers. Instructor Deanna Walker connects the class with industry luminaries over Zoom for incredible, up-close and personal conversations about all aspects of songwriting, artistry, and the music business.

Learn from these music industry pros:

Shane McAnally
Four-time Grammy winner with over 50 No. 1 songs to his name, nominations for more CMA Awards than any other songwriter in history, and two ACM Songwriter of the Year titles. He's also the co-writer of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Shucked and founder of SMACKSongs.

Thomas Daniel
Pop/multi-genre songwriter with songs recorded by K-Pop superstars ENHYPEN, plus multiple Lauren Spencer Smith cuts, Alexander Stewart, and TAEYEON, now signed to Big Machine Music (a Hybe America company).

Marty Dodson
Songwriter with seven #1 songs and more than 125 cuts, with hits recorded by Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Billy Currington, and Craig Morgan, plus international success winning South Korea's Song of the Year for "Bounce."

Courtney Harrell
Supervising producer on America’s Got Talent, Grammy-winning songwriter who's penned songs for Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland, and Mary J. Blige, with placements on Grey's Anatomy and Star — also known for her breakout run on The Voice.

Craig King
Veteran writer/producer/multi-instrumentalist who's started his career touring with Ray Charles and worked with Kanye West, Will Smith, Ludacris, Kenny Rogers, and the late Aaliyah, including co-writing on Kanye's multi-platinum Graduation single "Good Life."

Carla Wallace
Co-founder of independent powerhouse Big Yellow Dog Music, home to hits like Luke Bryan's "Drunk on You," Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away," and George Strait's "Love's Gonna Make It Alright," and the publisher who helped launch the careers of Maren Morris and Meghan Trainor.

Your songs will be critiqued by some of these publishers:

Courtney Allen
Senior Director, A&R at Concord Music Publishing, instrumental in signing Russell Dickerson and Runaway June's Jennifer Wayne, and named Song Champion of the Year at the 2025 AIMP Nashville Country Awards.

Cliff Audretch, III
Owner of Greatshakin’ Music (publishing, management, A&R consulting); Former VP of Creative, Downtown Music Publishing; Senior Creative Director, Windswept (where his stint included more than 50 BMI/ASCAP “Most Performed Songs” Awards including multiple #1’s, “What Hurts the Most," Rascal Flatts); Senior Director A&R at Showdog-Universal (signed Randy Hauser & co-produced his debut album); Manager at Patriot Management Group.

Sarah Flick
Independent music publisher and sync consultant with over 14 years of industry experience, formerly Director of Creative at Reach Music Publishing working with A-list clients including John Mayer, Zac Brown, and Ben Rector.

Emma Kiefer
Director of A&R at Group Projects, a music publishing and artist management joint venture between Warner Chappell and Red Light Management, working with writers like Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins, and Jimmy Robbins.

Samantha Sarno
Senior Creative Director at SMACKSongs, Shane McAnally's publishing powerhouse, helping pitch and develop the roster's next wave of hit writers.

Sophie Moll Zeigler
Creative Manager at JRM Publishing/Mailbox Money Music, working under Sarah and Jimmy Robbins after cutting her teeth at Wrensong Entertainment.

Students will also receive an exclusive lecture on sync writing and music placement, along with a personalized sync critique from:

Mimi McCarley
20+ years in Nashville's music industry as founder/president of Collab Music Network, a boutique sync and publishing agency with placements for Facebook, Walmart, Victoria's Secret, and TurboTax, and TV credits including Abbott Elementary.

*Guests subject to change.

Connect with the Blair Hit Songwriter Series:

Instagram - @blairhitsongwriters | Facebook - @BlairHitSongwriterSeries

Testimonials

There is no better class to learn all the facets and faces of becoming a songwriter or artist than Deanna's class. I've gone from a student in the class, soaking up every word, to becoming a songwriter now with enough success in writing to give some insight back as a guest. I sat there and learned and I was able to actually apply the lessons and make it my life. It's the easiest shortcut to being a better songwriter there is.

- Jon Nite
Multiple No. 1 hit songwriter, including "I Hope" (Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth) and "Break Up In the End" (Cole Swindell)

Deanna's songwriting class was instrumental in helping me approach songwriting as a craft. Learning from her Nashville perspective on songwriting, and lyricism in particular, has given me a leg up in the pop world. Years later, I still find myself using some of her tricks in my writing sessions!

- Michael Pollack
"Memories" (Maroon 5), "Holy" (Justin Beiber/Chance the Rapper), Katy Perry, Jonas Brothers

Anyone who wants a comprehensive knowledge of the music industry in all facets should absolutely take Deanna Walker's class. The access that one gets through her class to various songwriters, publishers, producers and executives is an exceptional learning tool for those who are trying to hone their craft and learn the business. As a young songwriter in town, her class was invaluable to me on my journey in the industry!

- Jesse Rice
CMA, AMA, ACM and Billboard Award winner; record-breaking, diamond level hit "Cruise" (Florida-Georgia Line)

Deanna brings in an endless and varied array of the world's greatest songwriters to teach, up close and on a very personal level. Nowhere else will you get to meet this breed of genius. Deanna is an inspiration - full of encouragement, and so very talented herself. She's the perfect teacher for this class. No matter what age or level of experience you are, if you love to write songs, this class is a rare chance to learn from world-class, chart-topping talent. You will come out of each class, head spinning from the "secrets" of success, and if you're like me, you'll go straight home, or to a bar, or coffee shop or heck, right to your car, and immediately start writing! I don't think there's anything like this anywhere else on earth. This class is enchanting, all wrapped up in Deanna's humongous heart of a smile. It's all good, folks. Tap this ... now!

- Jackie DiPillo

CreatiVets

CreatiVets has partnered with Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music to create a songwriting course exclusively for veterans. CreatiVets mission is to empower wounded veterans to heal through the arts and music. The class, hosted by veteran Rick Beresford and Deanna Walker, and is free to veterans around the country on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s presented entirely on Zoom and is limited to 12 full participants (those who can get their songs critiqued) and 20 observers (observers can participate in every way other than submitting material for critique). The class will cover a range of topics, including songwriting craft, creativity, an introduction to production and recording, and will include song critiques with the hosts and major music industry publishers.

Fall 2026 Courses