Welcome to our first installment of Center Stage where we interview venues that host a variety of events like songwriter rounds. Songwriter rounds are the backbone of a city like Nashville. The Stockyard has been giving songwriters in Nashville a chance to get their music and their voices heard. The Stockyard founders, Sammy and Amanda have been doing a fantastic job running this round. They didn't know where this would lead but they took the jump anyways. With experience in the music business, they are able to book writers, plan events and can do their own marketing. Much like songwriters, they wear all the hats: marketing, management, social media and booking. Keep reading to find out what The Stockyard is all about.
When did your venue open up/round first start?
"Dawghouse Saloon. Our round started in April 2022."
Why did you start your round and why did you choose Wednesday night?
"There is something about the creative ability that artists and songwriters possess that has always encapsulated us. After spending a few years working within the label and finance aspect of the industry, we both wanted to be more directly involved in the creative side of the industry supporting those that give purpose to our work. Already passionate about songwriters and their craft, Sammy attended several rounds since moving to Nashville. The acoustic sets creating an intimate environment for writers to share their stories just hits deep. Driven by this feeling, her interest in the A&R world and helping writers share their stories was only reinforced and something she wanted to fully immerse herself in. Amanda’s vision had always been more tailored towards wanting to help mobilize artists’ careers in ways that are both strategic and personal. By joining forces, we were able to make the dream of creating a space for writers in town to be able to share their original music into a reality. We consulted with several bars on Demonbreun as this street is home to some incredible showcases and a local hotspot for music. Dawghouse had availability on Wednesday nights and was looking for acoustic country entertainment so we took them up on the opportunity. We were happy to land a spot midweek in midtown as lots of big rounds/weekly music events occur on Mondays/Tuesdays- (Whiskey Jam, In The Round, Porchlight Pickers, etc.)"
What went into creating your events and songwriter nights?
"Crafting a brand and round name that made sense was our first task when creating our showcase. Sammy’s passion for Texas style country paired with Amanda's family owning and operating a cattle farm, we landed on our show title: The Stockyard. With the title decided and our primary intent being to promote original country music, the logo of a cowhead with a record embellishment came together rather naturally. After identifying who we were as a brand we created templates to help us keep track of our bookings and developed a social media posting schedule."
How are you promoting your venue/nights?
"Socials! We heavily use FB and Instagram to promote our rounds. We make sure to provide content of our writers on The Stockyard (@thestockyardnash) Instagram page so they can feel included and reshare on their own socials. The writers themselves are the best way to spread awareness and prompt friends and followers to come support them at the round. We are also thankful for Dawghouse, El Rodal Nashville, and Round Up Nashville for also sharing our weekly lineups."
How can people support you, musicians and non-musicians alike?
"Follow us on socials, share our writer content and support the music and writers themselves by checking them out at Dawghouse on Wednesday nights."
What has been your greatest accomplishment this year?
"Honestly just growing our network and making new connections within the industry. With both of us working on the label and finance side of things, being able to develop relationships with writers in town has been fun and a great way to expand into a side of the business we are not heavily involved in."
What can we expect from you in the future? Where do you see this progressing to?
"Future goals of ours involve partnerships and takeovers with local producers, entertainment groups and publishers. Ultimately, we’d love to grow our show/brand to be known as a showcase that values the creative."
What is one thing you wish you knew before starting up?
"We wish we knew how quickly it was going to start up and how to stay ahead of booking earlier on."
Meet Sammy and Amanda
Socials: @amandacduke2@nsammy_24
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