Minnesota’s Caitlyn Smith Intimate Concert Reveals Nashville’s Best-kept Secret

Last Friday night, I experienced one of the most magical concerts I've ever been to in my life. Caitlyn Smith, a Cannon Falls native (who is one of the best-kept secrets in Nashville if you ask me), came to South Haven to perform an intimate backyard concert to a crowd of approximately 300 people. Caitlyn has written songs that have been recorded by some of the biggest artists out there. We'll get more into that later. Caitlyn Smith should be on your radar.

AN ORGANIC OPPORTUNITY

So, how did this magical concert come to be? Caitlyn was invited by another hugely successful artist from Little Falls. His name is Michael Shynes, and if you've seen Michael perform, you know that he has a unique gift of delivering a flawless vocal performance and his long list of amazing songs. Michael shared with me that he and Caitlyn worked with some of the same musicians, and he finally had the opportunity to meet her organically, meaning, they just happened to finally be at the same place at the same time. Michael had a chance to chat with Caitlyn and asked if she might want to come and do a show sometime at Haven House in South Haven. Michael was thrilled when Caitlyn agreed to come.

HAVEN HOUSE

At the Haven House, Caitlyn shared her many stories of what it's like to be a Minnesota girl who couldn't wait to chase her musical dreams. She talked about moving to Tennessee and learning that there wasn't only a community of talented singers there, there was also this whole other community of songwriters, and that you could get paid to write songs! What a dream.

RELATED STORIES: Catch Caitlyn Smith & Michael Shynes Music Magic In South Haven

WRITING ROUNDS

She also shared that the writing experience can be a little 'Stranger Danger,' meaning that you have writing appointments that are set for you, and you never know who you're going to be writing with.

One of those writing sessions was pretty special, although she didn't know it at the time. She was put with another female songwriter, and they decided they were going to write something and said, "I don't know. Why don't we write something that Kelly Clarkson would record?' So they wrote this song, recorded it, and sent it to Kelly Clarkson. They never heard back from her, but a few years later, she was looking through Billboard Magazine and she saw the girl that she was writing with at the top of the charts with a song called 'All About That Bass.' The vocalist was Megan Trainor, who then decided to record the song that she and Caitlyn worked on in the session, "Like I'm Gonna Lose You." Thanks to that song, Caitlyn has been able to have a home in both Nashville and Minnesota now. Who could have ever predicted that the other person she was in the session with would go on to pop fame and record the song?

LETTING GO

Caitlyn also shared that after a while, it can be hard to start letting go of your songs when you want your record deal, and with a voice and talent like Caitlyn, I can see why. She has written a song, which may be one of my favorite songs of all time This Town is Killing Me; A heart-wrenching song that takes you through the ups and downs of a musician; a song that all too many of us can relate to. That song, ironically, got Caitlyn a record deal.

CAITLYN'S SONGS RECORDED BY FAMOUS ARTISTS

Caitlyn has written so many songs, and there are too many artists that have recorded them to name them all. But a few standouts include:

MEGHAN TRAINOR & JOHN LEGEND - LIKE I'M GONNA LOSE YOU

Meghan Trainor/YouTube

GARTH BROOKS - TACOMA

LADY A - 747

Amber Nichole/YouTube

Caitlyn Smith/Old Dominion

Miley Cyrus/YouTube

Warner Music Nashville/YouTube

THE LAST DUET WITH KENNY ROGERS AND DOLLY PARTON

She also wrote the last duet that Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton recorded together, called You Can't Make Old Friends, which Caitlyn said we should all watch the video since it was so special that these two had a chance to sing this song together.

Keep your eyes peeled for more great music from Caitlyn Smith. Not only is she an incredible musician, singer, and songwriter, but she is an even better person. I had to purchase her album Supernova Friday night, and listened to every song on vinyl all day Saturday. Thank you for sharing your music with us, Caitylyn.