Sacajawea Hotel Songwriter’s Festival is Friday & Saturday

The 2nd Annual Sacajawea Hotel Songwriter Festival is set for this weekend in Three Forks, MT. The event will include songwriters who have written some of the biggest songs in Country music. It will also feature Bozeman native and Nashville songwriter/singer Stephanie Quayle. It will be hosted by XL Country's Dave Wooten

Led by Montana’s own Kostas, the rest of the lineup, making the trip to Montana’s Favorite Small Town includes Hugh Prestwood, Bobby Pinson, Bobby Tomberlin and Clint Daniels.

Festival events will include:

• A showcase of personally penned, and recorded, songs at a sponsors gathering on Thursday evening.\
• Songwriters Showcase on the Sacajawea back patio where the songwriters will be paired up, for 45 minute sessions, followed by a Songwriters Jam Session in the Sacajawea Bar.
• Songwriter’s clinic on Saturday morning where amateur songwriters can spend some time with the pros, hone their craft, and learn about the business of songwriting.
•  A “Montana Idol” competition on Saturday afternoon, where aspiring singer/songwriters can play original material, and be judged by a Professional Songwriters Panel.
• The intimate “Songwriters In The Round” finale to be held in the Sacajawea tent on Saturday night.

• “Having this caliber of songwriters at our second annual event is really going to be spectacular.” said Sacajawea owner Dean Folkvord. “We had a great event last year, and this one is shaping up to be pretty special. We’re really pumped up about the quality of Nashville talent that’s coming out for this year’s Festival! We’re going to blow the doors off with some fun music and an opportunity to hear the best of these famous songwriters. It’s like – Nashville’s Bluebird Café is coming to Montana. We can’t wait!”

Meet the Songwriters:

Montana’s own Kostas will again headline the festival. He and his family emigrated from Greece to Glendive, MT when he was 8 years old. His knowledge of the world, and living life, has given him the insight to turn his songwriting talent into unique packages of lyrics and melodies. His credits are as follows:
Dixie Chicks – "I Can Love You Better" , Holly Dunn – "Heart Full of Love", Farmer's Daughter - "You and Only You", Sammy Kershaw – "Your Tattoo", Patty Loveless – "Timber, I'm Falling in Love", "The Lonely Side of Love", "On Down the Line", "Can't Stop Myself from Loving You", "Blame It on Your Heart", "High on Love", "Out of Control Raging Fire" (with Travis Tritt), The Mavericks – "Here Comes the Rain", "There Goes My Heart", "What a Crying Shame". Martina McBride – "Life #9", McBride & the Ride – "Going Out of My Mind", "Love on the Loose, Heart on the Run" , Jo Dee Messina – "Because You Love Me", Shane Minor – "Slave to the Habit", Perfect Stranger – "Ridin' the Rodeo", Marty Stuart – "You Can't Stop Love" , Travis Tritt – "Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man", Dwight Yoakam – "Nothing's Changed Here", "Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose", "Ain't That Lonely Yet", "Send a Message to My Heart" (w/ Patty Loveless), "Try Not to Look So Pretty", "Nothing" and many more.

Hugh Prestwood was born in El Paso, TX but has been around the Nashville scene since 1978. His first big country hit – “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart” went #1 for Randy Travis, and was followed by “Ghost In This House” – Alison Krauss, “The Song Remembers When” – Trisha Yearwood, “Savannah Fare You Well” – Jimmy Buffett, “More Fun Than The Law Allows” – The Judd’s, plus many more. Hugh is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Bobby Pinson has had over 150 of his songs recorded by County Music Superstars such as Toby Keith, SugarLand, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts, Brooks and Dunn, LeAnn Rimes, Tracy Lawrence and many, many more. The Texas native has had 7 - #1 singles, including “Want to”, “All I Wanna Do”, “Already Gone”, and “It Happens”, with SugarLand, and “She Never Cried In Front Of Me”, “Made In America”, and “Beers Ago”, with Toby Keith. He has had 30 plus hit singles in the Billboard Top 40, earning him the coveted BMI Songwriter of the Year Award in 2009. one hundred and fifty (150) of his songs recorded by Country Music Superstars.

Bobby Tomberlin is from Luverne, Alabama and started in the music business as a disc jockey. He met and interviewed legends like Johnny Cash, Waylon, Tammy Wynette, Keith Whitley, and Mel Tillis. It’s no wonder that these inspirations helped him launch a very successful songwriting career that includes hits like “One More Day” – Diamond Rio, “A Good Day To Run” – Darryl Worley. His songs have been recorded by Pam Tillis, Dillon Scott, Sylvia, Blake Shelton, Barbra Streisand, Willie Nelson, Josh Turner, Faith Hill, Kenny Rogers, Thompson Square, Rodney Atkins, Joe Nichols, Chris Young, David Nail, Joe Diffie, Lee Brice and the list just goes on and on.

Clint Daniels was raised near Panama City, Florida, and first gained an interest in music as a child, singing with his family in church. Inspired by bluegrass music, Daniels taught himself to play guitar at age twelve. After graduating high school, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee in pursuit of a career in country music. A recording artist in his own right, Daniels has also co-written songs for other country artists, including the Number One hits “Brokenheartsville” by Joe Nichols and “Roll with Me” by Montgomery Gentry, as well as Brooks & Dunn’s 2008 single “God Must Be Busy”. He also co-wrote two songs that were released in late 2010: Clay Walker’s “Where Do I Go from You” and Easton Corbin’s “I Can’t Love You Back”. He has a cut on the new George Strait album Cold Beer Conversation entitled “Wish You Well”.