March 6
March 6, 2025 Featuring Phil Vassar
Jeff Outlaw
Tim Nichols
Wynn Varble
Monty Criswell
Phil Vassar’s life has always been steeped in music. Raised in a home where his father sang and his two sisters spun everything from Motown to West Coast harmonies, his upbringing was a constant melody. Now, celebrating the 25 th anniversary of his breakout hit “Just Another Day in Paradise,” the piano-pounding powerhouse is embarking on his “ 25 Years of Paradise” Tour. This celebration of his impact on country music promises to energize audiences from coast to coast. Over 25 years, Vassar has racked up chart-topping hits and numerous accolades, including performances in Europe, Australia, and the White House, as well as memorable moments with country legends like Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. A life-altering heart attack in 2023 that nearly claimed his life reshaped Vassar’s outlook. “You can’t outrun your genetics, but you can take care of yourself,” he reflects. His recovery has prompted a shift toward a calmer, more grateful life. A prolific talent in Nashville, Vassar’s songwriting career blossomed in the mid-‘ 90 s. He secured a publishing contract with EMI and penned hits for country stars like Collin Raye (“Little Red Rodeo”), Alan Jackson (“Right on the Money”), Tim McGraw (“My Next Thirty Years,” “For a Little While”), Jo Dee Messina (“Bye Bye,” “Alright”), and Blackhawk (“Postmarked Birmingham”). By 1998, Vassar had signed a record deal with Arista and was honored as ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year in both 1999 and 2001. With nine albums to his name, two ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards, and recognition as ACM’s Top New Male Vocalist, Vassar’s reign of chart-topping singles includes 10 No.1 hits and 27 Top 40 tracks. Standout songs like “Carlene,” “SixPack Summer,” and the enduring “Just Another Day in Paradise” showcase his signature style.
Jeff Outlaw is a published songwriter of 14 years and signed a worldwide publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. In addition to collaborating with many of the artists participating in this show, Jeff has worked with Phil Vassar, Troy Cartwright, Matt Nathanson, John Legend, Plain White T’s, Kip Moore, Drake White, and Brothers Osborne. His hits include “She’s On Her Way” by Phil Vassar and “Still Ain’t Made It Home” by Casey Donahew. He has created numerous video treatments for music videos with Vassar and served as Creative Advisor for Vassar’s popular show, Songs from the Cellar.
Tim Nichols, with nearly two dozen smash hits, multiple BMI songwriting awards, a Grammy ® for Best Country Song, as well as being inducted into the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame in 2017, has earned his place among Nashville’s most elite and respected tunesmiths. Tim Nichols wrote the multiple award-winning song “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw. It is the only song to have won every major song award that is presented for country music. Other Nichols’ hits helped launch the careers of Jo Dee Messina’s “Heads Carolina, Tails California” and Dustin Lynch’s “Cowboys and Angels”. Chris Young stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks with the Nichols composition, “The Man I Want To Be.” More recently, Cole Swindell put a new twist on the Jo Dee Messina, “Heads Carolina” classic by staying at the top of the country charts for five weeks and winning the 2023 Academy of Country Music Song of the Year Award with “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.” He has also collaborated with artists like Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Keith Whitley, and Lee Ann Womack, to name a few.
Wynn Varble began writing songs at age 15 and after years of performing in honky tonks and bars, Wynn decided to make the move to Nashville. His first radio single was “Fit To Be Tied Down” by Sammy Kershaw. Since then, Wynn has had many hits including three number ones…all three were nominated for “Song Of The Year” by the CMA or ACM and sometimes both. Wynn’s three number one songs are “Have You Forgotten” by Darryl Worley, “Waitin’ On A Woman” by Brad Paisley, and “I’m A Little More Country Than That” by Easton Corbin. In addition to his number ones, Wynn has had songs recorded by artists such as Garth Brooks, Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi, Trace Adkins, Mark Chesnutt, Willie Nelson, Kellie Pickler, Lee Ann Womack, and many others. In 2009, Wynn received the Nashville Songwriters Association’s Songwriter of the Year Award. He made his Grand Ole Opry Debut in 2011.
Monty Criswall
Monty Criswell is a two-time Grammy ® nominee for Country Song of The Year (“I Saw God Today” and “Just Fishin’) and won the CMA Single of the Year award in 2008 (”I Saw God Today”). In 2021, his Eric Church song “Hell Of A View” won the Music Row Awards Song of the Year award and received a CMA nomination for both song and single of the year. He is also an ACM, Dove, People’s Choice Awards and Canadian CMA nominee. His songs have been featured on ESPN, ABC, The SEC Network, Netflix, The Hallmark Channel and the hit TV series Yellowstone. Monty has had over 300 songs recorded over the span of his 30 -year career as a fulltime songwriter, having at least one #1 in each of the last three decades. On the most recent Trace Adkins album, several of Monty’s songs include collaborations between Trace, Luke Bryan, Pit Bull, Keb Mo’, Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg. Hits include “Tough” (Craig Morgan), “Like Jesus Does,” “Hell of a View” (Eric Church), “I Saw God Today” (George Strait), “Loving Every Minute” (Mark Wills), “Just Fishin’” (Trace Adkins), “Five More Minutes,” “Fall of Summer” (Scotty McCreery), “Country’d Look Good On You” (Frank Ray), Making Me Look Good Again” (Drake White) and “Handle On You” (Parker McCollum) among others.
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