Kelsea Ballerini Performs Writers Round for ‘Tin Pan South’

By Brianna Boyce

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

     NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country star Kelsea Ballerini performed “Tin Pan South” on April 5 at The Listening Room Café, helping kick off the first night of the songwriter festival.

     “Tin Pan South” spotlights a portion of Nashville’s best talent every year, including well-known singer-songwriters such as Ballerini.

     Ballerini, 22, performed on stage alongside local songwriters Josh Kerr, Forest Whitehead and Scott Stepakoff. Each performed his or her own songs, complementing fan favorites by Ballerini.

      Ballerini made her way to Nashville for a career in the music industry, not knowing that at age 19 she would be signed to Black River Entertainment. Her remarkable writing skills would later lead her to become one of the most well-known, young, country artists today.

     Since Ballerini has been signed, she has won multiple awards such as Billboard’s Women in Music Rising Star Award and the ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year Award. That recognition helped make her the highlight of the round on Tuesday night.

     Seats filled quickly after The Listening Room doors opened at 8:30 p.m., leaving others standing in the café. The crowd’s energy fed into the writer’s one-hour performance.

      Ballerini performed several songs for the first time. The audience erupted in screams when she said, “This is ‘Tin Pan South’, and so if it’s okay, I’m going to play you all new songs for the rest of the night.”

     The audience was content with all new music by the country star, but the excitement was yet to end. Ballerini also performed some of her top hits, including “Love Me Like You Mean It” and “Dibs”, which she shared the spotlight with co-writer Josh Kerr.

     The set came to a heart-warming end when Ballerini brought a young fan on stage she had previously met at a meet-and-greet. When the young girl said that her favorite song was Ballerini’s “High School”, Kerr moved his microphone, leaving the young fan no choice but to take the stage alongside her idol.

     “Yeah, she’s singing, oh she’s singing,” said Ballerini.

      The song ended with a hug between the two and a standing ovation from every crowd member in the café, making for a memorable night for every attendee, including the performers themselves.

      “This was one of the best shows I’ve seen here, and a very packed one at that,” said fan Ashley Mitchell.

     Ballerini’s schedule isn’t stopping at “Tin Pan South.” Ballerini is set to perform opening night of the annual “Country Music Festival” held in Nashville. She is also in the process of completing her tour in Alabama, but continuing on with Rascal Flatts for their “Rhythm and Roots Tour” this summer.

     Visit http://kelseaballerini-peterpan.com/ for more info on tickets, dates and news about Kelsea Ballerini.

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