Grammy Award-winners to take the stage at Ector Theatre

Next week, Grammy Award-winning songwriters from Nashville, Tenn., will be taking the stage at Ector Theatre to give an inside look at the heart and soul of the music they’ve written.

Artists Liz Rose, Lori McKenna, and Phil Barton will all take the stage in an evening of storytelling and some performing.

The event, called Bluebird Night, will begin at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. March 25 at Ector Theatre.

 

The event is put on by the Education Foundation in Odessa.

Lori McKenna (Courtesy Photo)

For the past 20 years, the Education Foundation in Odessa has had a concert fundraiser each year to raise money to support its mission in creating opportunities for education at Ector County ISD.

However, Bluebird Night is going to be a separate event from the annual concert fundraiser which usually takes place in the summer.

The Education Foundation still plans on doing its annual concert fundraiser this year, which will take place on July 27 at Ector County Coliseum.

Executive Director to the Education Foundation in Odessa Celeste Potter is hopeful that next week’s event can also become an annual fundraiser as well.

“In recent years, especially due to COVID, we’ve been researching other opportunities and new ways to engage the community to raise money and support our mission,” Potter said. “The idea came about of why don’t we — since concerts are so successful — find something along those lines to do and so we had the opportunity to bring in some songwriters to do a storytelling event and it just so happens the Ector Theatre happens to be available. It’s a great opportunity to have a new event.”

The three songwriters will each take the stage to do an intimate setting with the audience, talking about who they are, the songs they’ve written and perform a little bit.

“It’s just such a phenomenal opportunity and it’s great to bring in a little taste of Nashville to West Texas,” Potter said. “It’s something unique for us and to learn more and have the opportunity to hear from a songwriter is always a special touch. It’s a great opportunity to have these artists give up their time and come help us raise money.”

Liz Rose (Courtesy Photo)

Rose is a Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee, multiple Grammy Award-winning songwriter and Texas Heritage Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee.

A frequent collaborator of Taylor Swift’s, Rose co-wrote 16 songs with Swift, including 2023 Grammy nominated Song of the Year “All Too Well” as well as “You Belong With Me,” “Tim McGraw” and Grammy’s 2010 Best Country Song “White Horse.”

McKenna has emerged as one of the most respected, prolific singer-songwriters in popular music over the last three decades.

On her latest release, “The Balladeer,” McKenna is offering her most uplifting and up-tempo album in a catalog that spans 20 years.

Produced by Grammy Award-winning Dave Cobb and recorded in Nashville’s historic Studio A, The Balladeer follows an incredible stretch of career momentum, including two consecutive Grammy wins as a songwriter for Best Country Song Little Big Town’s “Girls Crush” and Tim McGraw’s “Humble and Kind.”

Barton is an Australian songwriter living in Nashville. He had his first No. 1 with the Lee Brice smash, “A Woman Like you.”

This song led to a Music Row Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year and NSAI award for one of the coveted “Ten Songs I Wish I’d Written.”

His songs have been recorded by Lee Brice, Rachel Warmmack, Trea Landon, Brad Cox, Amy Shephard, Sara Evans, David Nail, Eli Young Band, Dustin Lynch, Morgan Evans, LOCASH and many more.

Being able to bring in talented songwriters to the Permian Basin for a fundraiser is no easy feat but Potter praised the Education Foundation board members for being able to pull it off.

“It really came about by having open conversations with our board on some new opportunities that we could bring to the community that were pretty unique to the education foundation to raise money and appeal to a wide range of audience members,” Potter said. “We have a lot of board members who have some connections in the music industry and they were able to pick up the phone and call in some favors and it evolved from there. We’re super excited. It keeps that tie to music which has been our niche for fundraising for the last 20 years, but it gives it a little something extra.”

All the money from Bluebird Night (as well as the summer concert fundraiser) will go support the Education Foundation which helps support Ector County ISD.

“We award grants to teachers, annually, and to date, we’ve awarded more than $2.2 million to ECISD teachers through the form of a classroom grant,” Potter said. “We’ve got a literacy program called the Bookworms Literacy Program that provides new books every month to students in grades Pre-K through first grade and we’re hoping to expand that program to second grade in the 2023-24 school year. We’ve also got our book vending machines and other initiatives throughout the district that we support financially. It’s through the community support of our events like Bluebird Night and our annual concert that we’re able to do those things for our students.”

For tickets to Bluebird Night, go to tinyurl.com/yc4ypx4n.

If you go

>> What: Bluebird Night.

>> When: 7:30 p.m. March 25 (doors open at 6:30 p.m.).

>> Where: Ector Theatre.

>> Where to purchase tickets: tinyurl.com/yc4ypx4n