In The Round with Ben Danaher, Adam Wright, Jason Saenz & Adam Hood

“You can hurt and still feel lucky,” Ben Danaher sings on the title track of his deeply personal debut album, ‘Still Feel Lucky.’ Coming from any other songwriter, it might sound like a simple platitude, but in Danaher’s hands, it’s something far more profound, a moment of true enlightenment in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Years of pain are wrapped up in his delivery, but still he commits to the hope and the beauty inherent in the darkness. It’s a monumental task, but one the Huffman, Texas native handles with a tenacious grace on an album that, despite being born in the fires of struggle and loss, manages to forge its own path toward peace, growth, and even joy.

Drawing on the influence of legendary troubadours like Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, and Townes Van Zandt, Danaher first made a name for himself as a songwriter in Texas before relocating to Nashville. Along the way, he shared bills with Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jack Ingram, Angaleena Presley, Rhett Miller, Travis Meadows, and Amanda Shires, in addition to co-writing songs for Ryan Beaver, Bonnie Bishop, Rob Baird, and Justin Halpin among others. For his own songs, Danaher collaborated with some of Nashville fastest-rising stars, including Maren Morris, on material that blended classic country tradition with modern rock and roll sensibilities.

Georgia native Adam Wright is a twice Grammy nominated songwriter, singer, producer, and musician.  His rooted, literary style, has earned him a stellar reputation among some of Nashville's most well respected artists, producers, and writers.  His songs have been recorded and performed by artists such as Alan Jackson, Lee Ann Womack, Brandy Clark (with Randy Newman), Robert Earl Keen, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Aubrie Sellers, Hailey Whitters, Brent Cobb, Balsam Range, Solomon Burke and many others. 

Adam has toured alongside Robert Earl Keen, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Griffin, Alan Jackson, Lucinda Williams and more.  His studio work is featured most heavily on albums by Lee Ann Womack (The Lonely, The Lonesome and the Gone), Aubrie Sellers (New City Blues, Far From Home), The Wrights and his own releases. 

“All The Trouble”, recorded by Lee Ann Womack and written by Adam, Womack and Waylon Payne, was nominated for Best American Roots Song at the 61st Grammy Awards as well as Americana Song of the Year for the Americana Awards.  The song "So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore", written by Wright and Jay Knowles, was recorded by Alan Jackson and nominated for “Country Song of the Year” at the 55th annual Grammy Awards.  Adam also co-produced Jackson's critically acclaimed 'The Bluegrass Album'.  

The song "Thunder and Lightning", written by Adam and recorded by Lonesome River Band, was nominated for “Song of the Year” at the 2016 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards.  "The Girl Who Invented The Wheel", written with his wife Shannon, was recorded by Balsam Range and nominated for IBMA Song of the Year in 2019.  Adam's work with his wife Shannon as The Wrights is still highly regarded for its songwriting, harmonies and production. 

Adam's own full length solo album 'Dust' was released in June of 2018 and is known as one of the most revered of his bodies of work. The deep, dark 11 song narrative was co-produced with Wright’s long time friend and collaborator Park Chisolm.  Dust is full of characters in mostly dire situations and is delivered, vocally and musically, with the subtlety that comes from master craftsmanship.  Adam points out that one of the lessons he learned from writing with legendary songwriter Guy Clark was that “once you know how, you have to figure out why.”  ‘Dust’ is Wright’s answer to why. This album was featured in Billboard, Pop Matters, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter and others.

In 2019, Adam simultaneously released two separate EPs; ‘Big Ideas from a Small Window Overlooking Legendary RCA Studio B (or Rodeo)’ and ‘Queen of the Meadow’ where he played every instrument and even hand painted the artwork for the releases. In 2020 he released the well received full length album, ‘I Win’. Most recently Adam's songs have been featured in the hit TV series "Yellowstone" and ABC's hit show "Big Sky" He continues to write for Carnival Music in Nashville, TN and works closely with owner and award winning producer Frank Liddell. Adam is currently working on material for a new record slated for a 2023 release.

Solo artist. Frontman. Behind-the-scenes songwriter. For more than a decade, Adam Hood has left his mark both onstage and in the writing room, carving out a southern sound that mixes equal parts country, soul and American roots music.

It's a sound that began shape in Opelika, Alabama. Raised by working-class parents, Hood started playing hometown shows as a 16 year-old, landing a weekly residency at a local restaurant. He'd perform there every Friday and Saturday night, filling his set list with songs by John Hiatt, Hank Williams Jr, and Vince Gill. As the years progressed, the gigs continued — not only in his home state, but across the entire country. Eventually even landing himself a three-year nationwide tour opening for Leon Russell.

These days, though, Hood is no longer just putting his own stamp on the songs of chart-topping country stars. Instead, many of those acts -- including Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Anderson East, Josh Abbott Band, Lee Ann Womack & Brent Cobb -- are playing his songs.

In 2016, Hood signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Nashville and GRAMMY Award-winning producer Dave Cobb’s Low Country Sound. All while remaining adamantly focused on his own career, playing around 100 shows annually promoting third solo release, Welcome to the Big World, and now his newest release, Somewhere in Between.

A showcase for both his frontman abilities and songwriting chops, Somewhere in Between shines a light on Hood's strength as a live performer. He recorded most of the album live at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studios over two quick days. Teaming up with friend and producer Oran Thornton (Miranda Lambert's Revolution, Angaleena Presley's Wrangled) their goal was to create something that reflected the raw, real sound of his concerts, where overdubs and unlimited takes are never an option. The result is a record that reflects Hood's working-class roots, mixing the upbeat thrill of his roadhouse roots-rock songs with the contemplative, stripped-down sway of his country ballads.

Joining him in the studio were guitarist Pat McLaughlin, bassist Lex Price, and drummer Jerry Roe. All of whom captured their parts in just a handful of live takes while Hood simultaneously tracked his vocals. Stripped free of studio trickery and lushly layered arrangements, Somewhere in Between is an honest, story-driven record. One that’s both relatable and deeply autobiographical, with Hood writing or co-writing ten of the record’s eleven tracks, alongside friends like McLaughlin, Brent Cobb -- who also appears on the electrified "She Don't Love Me" -- Josh Abbott, Jason Eady, and plenty of others.

Somewhere in Between is an album that finally finds Hood telling his own story. A dedicated family man, he wrote "Locomotive" — a heartland anthem, full of Telecaster twang and sunny swagger — after watching his young daughter develop her motor skills while playing with a set of blocks. Balancing his life as a relentless road-warrior, Hood penned highway ballad "Downturn" about a life filled with wanderlust and long drives from gig to gig.

As a blue-collar songwriter, Hood shines a light on everyday experiences — from family and friends to the thrill of Friday nights. Partly because he’s stuck to his roots. The native Alabaman still lives in the Yellowhammer State and celebrates America's rural pockets with songs like "Keeping Me Here" and "Real Small Town," two songs filled with images of main streets, open landscapes, hard times, and good people.

"It's southern music," he says, grouping Somewhere in Between’s wide range of music under an appropriate banner. "That's what it represents: the soulful side of southern music, the country side of southern music, the genuineness of southern culture, and the way I grew up. One of the t-shirts I sell at every show simply says ‘Southern Songs,’ and It's a good summary of what I do. It's what I've always done."