First Songwriter Festival brings art of country music to fans outside Nashville

Published by BBNTEAM at May 21, 2023

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Posted: Sunday, May 21, 2023. 11:12 am CST.

By Aaron Humes: On Friday and Saturday, country music fans in Belize were privileged to see a star-studded lineup of entertainers known for penning croonable, toe-tapping tunes.

The inaugural Belize Songwriter Festival began in a beachside setting at the Inn at Jaguar Reef Lodge resort south of Hopkins, Stann Creek District.

Performers Forrest Glen Whitehead, Lindsay Ell, Lucas Hoge, and Paul Overstreet traded guitar licks, earnest lyrics, and stories for two hours as they discussed the songwriting process and how they came up with some of their biggest tunes.

And in Nashville, Tennessee, the acknowledged home and foundation of country, they come none bigger than Overstreet, who delivered his renditions of signature songs from Randy Travis (“Digging Up Bones”, “Forever and Ever, Amen,”) Kenny Chesney (“She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”) and Keith Whitley by way of Allison Krauss (“When You Say Nothing At All”) – all Grammy and industry winners.

But according to Overstreet, many of the stories behind these chart-toppers are about personal experiences and true stories where he and his songwriting partners felt inspiration and wrote down a few words which turned to lyrics and to which music was added.

He says he has been writing since he was a child and two of his sons are also in the business, and that he has been privileged to work in Nashville.

Whitehead, best known as co-producer for singer Kelsea Ballerini’s gold-certified debut album, “The First Time”, as well as her Grammy-nominated follow-up album “Unapologetically,” noted between performances that Nashville is not short on talent, so you quickly learn to identify your weaknesses and work with those who are more established.

Canadian-American Lindsay Ell has produced five albums and a slew of hits, riding a voice that rivals any country music legend while remaining down to earth.

Hoge is best known as the host of “Hoge Wild” on Sportsman Channel and delivered the earthy, bluesy sound country fans are most appreciative of.

The lineup of entertainers also included two military veterans and others performing at local bars in the village on both nights.

While there were no Garifuna drums anywhere in sight, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them crop up in a future song or two from the group that wowed audiences by the beach in Hopkins.

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