Jay Knowles was born in Texas, raised in Tennessee, and educated in Connecticut. Over the last 20 years, his songs have been recorded by classic singers like George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Harry Connick, Jr., as well as today's hottest Country stars like Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Lainey Wilson, and Raffi. Jay's professional honors include Number One songs on multiple charts, a BMI Million Air Award, and a Grammy nomination for Country Song of the Year.

We’re excited to welcome Jay to the podcast to share more about the details about his songwriting career, the moments in musical history that have influenced him, and where he sees future trends in country music leading. He discusses the evolution of music in Nashville, particularly the blending of country, Southern rock, and Americana genres, and reflects on the current lack of representation in country music. Jay also discusses the Whalefarm project he co-founded, which is a network of unrecorded songs for music industry professionals to discover.

“The way you learn how to write songs is by writing songs." - Jay Knowles

"To me, all good songs are story songs." - Jay Knowles

"You don't have to be country to like country music. It's really about whether your heart is connected to it." - Jay Knowles

This week on Disarming Data:

• Jay Knowles shares his background in country music and politics in Nashville
• The very first song Jay wrote with his dad when he was five years old
• Where Jay starts from when he’s writing a new song
• The importance of having a thread of relatability running through a song
• How country music has evolved with artists like Taylor Swift and Emmylou Harris pushing boundaries and blurring genres
• The lack of storytelling in modern songs and why country music is an exception with its ability to tell a story within three minutes
• Why it’s important not to overthink the creative process but allow the song to unfold naturally
• The concept of Whalefarm, a platform for songwriters to share and collaborate on songs, and why he wanted to create a space for lost or overlooked songs to be heard
• Challenges of getting old songs heard and recorded, particularly for independent songwriters and artists

Connect with Jay Knowles:

• Jay Knowles' Website
• Whalefarm

Connect with Disarming Data:

• David Biderman on LinkedIn

Produced and Edited By The PodcastHaven