Conversation and Q&A with Hit Songwriter Lori McKenna

Hit songwriter Lori McKenna will talk about her path to writing No. 1 songs for country artists Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, and Faith Hill, as well as her career as a recording artist, and why she doesn’t have to live in Nashville or Los Angeles. Hopefully, we can get her to play a few of her amazing songs as well. The one-hour presentation will be followed by a 20-minute Q&A.

McKenna puts a magnifying glass on unchampioned lives. She doesn’t just notice the quiet and ordinary, she delights in it, effortlessly transforming the average to extraordinary. The result is over a decade worth of songs filled with honest stories and melodic depth.

While Nashville has become an important artistic and business hub for McKenna, Stoughton, Massachusetts has remained home. Her commute between the two cities hasn’t held her back. Since receiving her first album cut through superstar Faith Hill, McKenna is one of the most sought-after songwriters in the industry with her songs recorded by top artists such as Reba, Hunter Hayes, Alison Krauss, David Nail, and Keith Urban, and multiple awards from BMI, CMA, and the Boston Music Awards. McKenna’s songwriting credits include the the two-time platinum Billboard No. 1 hit, “I Want Crazy,” by Hunter Hayes, and radio favorites like Little Big Town’s “Your Side of the Bed” and “Sober.”

As an artist, McKenna has now recorded a total of 10 albums. Rolling Stone named Numbered Doors, a stunning collection of her gritty, pensive songs, one of the “40 Best Country Albums of 2014.” Massachusetts, released the previous year, introduced McKenna to an even wider audience, hungry for something real, while 2012’s Heart Shaped Bullet Hole and 2011’s Lorraine were also breakthroughs. Her latest solo release, The Bird & the Rifle, was produced by Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb and has been revered by NPR as “one of 2016’s best releases.”